A man does not die for something which he himself does not believe in.
-Adolf Hitler
The National Socialism party began in 1920, under Hitler and his followers, Goering, Goebbels, and Himmler. It Began as a small, worthless, political party, but by the end of World War 1 great promises were made, which attracted many followers, commonly called Nazis for short. The principles attracted members beyond belief. As ideas spread, the membership grew larger. Anti-communist ideas and the promise to rebuild the economy attracted the bankers and industrialists. Each new member brought the party a step closer to its ultimate goal.
Germany's defeat in World War 1 brought the country great humiliation. In debt and in need of an economical revolution, Germany searched for a promising answer, but the depression prevented such an ideal.
Using nationalism, the Socialist party played on this humiliation. It brought together the German population, while scapegoating problems on the Jews. Anti-semitism, was the answer to these problems.
After trying to take over the government, Hitler was put in jail, where he wrote Mein Kamph (1923). He didn't give up yet, but instead legally became part of policy making. Hitler was announced chancellor in 1933. Little by little his politics took over the country. The Democratic party could no longer reign, and in mid 1933 the government passed an act making Hitler the dictator for four years.
The book Hitler wrote in prison, Mein Kamph, became the anti-semitic
bible of the Nazi party. The official philosopher was Alfred Rosenberg.
Hitler along with Rosenberg fancied social principles like the Aryan (blonde
hair, blue eyed, Germans) race superiority led by an infallible leader called
a Fuhrer. They established a pan-Germanic Third Reich. Above all, the final
solution was the annihilation of their greatest enemies, the Jews, Communists,
and Polacks.
After Hitler took power, the Nazis became the sole legal party. Its policy was enforced by the Gestapo (secret police), the SS (storm troops), and the SA (the Fuhrer's elite bodyguards). During World War II, the Germans imposed their system and dogma on Europe by force. Millions of Jews, Poles, Russians, and others were brought to concentration camps and later executed. Millions more were used for forced labor.
The doctrines and policies of the National Socialist German Workers' party ruled Germany under Hitler from 1933 until Germany's defeat in 1945, at which time it was outlawed. Nazism represented a barbarity unprecedented in history.