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| Nazi Party: |
| The Nazi party was a political party in the Weimar Republic following World War I. Soon after he joined in 1919, Hitler became the leader of the small party. In 1920, Hitler gave a speech outlining Nazi doctrine, announcing the concept of Aryan superiority, the goal of a totalitarian state, and asserted that inherent evil existed in the hearts of Jews. After an unsuccessful Putsch, or revolt, in Munich, Hitler was imprisoned, and he wrote Mein Kampf, a manifesto detailing Nazi doctrine. When he was released he began to rebuild his party, and took the title of Fuhrer. He created the SS and the SA, two military organizations of the party meant to intimidate opposition and suppress unrest from within the party. In 1929, at the beginning of the depression years, Germany was ready for a revolution, and Hitler realized this. Thousands of impoverished citizens supported Hitler, as he gave had similar views about the Western influence on Germany following World War I as they did. By 1930, the Nazi Party held 18 percent of the Reichstag. In 1932, the Nazi party gained even more seats, making them the most powerful party in Germany. While they did not have a majority, the opposing parties were so busy fighting with each other that they could not organize resistance against the Nazis. The Nazis then outlawed all existing parties except for their own, and they made it illegal to form new parties. They then granted Adolf Hitler dictatorial power, ending the democracy in Germany. The party then took on a governmental and administrative role, as well as a political one. After the war, the Nazi party was dissolved. Nevertheless, some small neo-Nazi groups have emerged in Germany, as well as other countries including the United States. |
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