Nazism

Nazism, formally named National Socialism, is the far-right, ultranationalist, racist and totalitarian ideology associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP). It emerged in Germany during Hitler's rise to power and was frequently called Hitlerism. Nazism is a form of fascism that emphasizes pseudo-scientific theories of racial hierarchy which identify ethnic Germans and Nordic Aryans as a master race. The term "neo-Nazism" is applied to far-right groups formed after World War II with a similar ideology.

Nazism opposes liberal democracy and the parliamentary system. It advocates dictatorship, fervent antisemitism, anti-communism, anti-Slavism, anti-Romani sentiment, scientific racism, white supremacy, Nordicism, social Darwinism, homophobia, ableism, and eugenics. The Nazis sought to overcome social divisions and create a homogeneous German society based on racial purity. They aimed to unite all Germans living in historically German territory, gain lands for expansion under the doctrine of Lebensraum, and exclude those deemed either Community Aliens or "inferior" races (Untermenschen).

The term "National Socialism" arose from attempts to create a nationalist alternative to Marxistsocialism and free-market capitalism. Nazism rejected Marxist concepts of class conflict and universal equality, opposed cosmopolitan internationalism, and sought to convince the social classes in German society to subordinate their interests to the "common good". The Nazi Party's precursor, the German Workers' Party, was founded in 1919. In 1920, the party was renamed the National Socialist German Workers' Party to appeal to left-wing workers, a renaming Hitler initially opposed. In Mein Kampf (My Struggle), Hitler outlined his antisemitism, anti-communism, and opposition to representative democracy, proposing instead the Führerprinzip (leader principle). Hitler's objectives involved eastward expansion of German territories, colonization of Eastern Europe, and an alliance with Britain and Italy against the Soviet Union.

The Nazi Party became the largest party in the German parliament in the elections of 1932, but it did not have a majority. Because other parties were unable or unwilling to form a coalition government, Hitler was appointed Chancellor in January 1933 by President Paul von Hindenburg, with the support of conservative nationalists who believed they could control Hitler. Using the Reichstag Fire Decree and the Enabling Act, the Nazis established a one-party state and began the Gleichschaltung (Nazification). Under Nazi Germany, Jews, Romani, political opponents and other "undesirable" people were marginalised, imprisoned or murdered. During World War II, millions – including two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population – were exterminated in a genocide known as the Holocaust. After Germany's defeat and the public disclosure of the full extent of the Holocaust, Nazism became widely regarded as evil. Only a few fringe racist groups, usually called neo-Nazis, describe themselves as its followers. Use of Nazi symbols is illegal in many European countries.