Following the first World War, Germany was responsible for making huge reparations payments to France and Britain. The financial burden of the reparations made the Weimar government unpopular; it was also unpopular because many Germans believed that Germany had been on the brink of victory when its leaders surrendered. This myth of the stolen victory is called the Dolchstosslegende. Finally, land had been taken from Germany by the Versailles settlement — East Prussia, a part of Germany, was separated from the rest of Germany by the Polish Corridor.

Hitler, an ex-soldier and passionate nationalist, was angered by the reparations, the loss of land, and the Weimar government. In 1919 hen he was given the job of investigating the Nazi Party, he discovered a group of individuals with beliefs similar to his own and rapidly became its leader.

In 1923, the Nazis attempted to overthrow the government of Munich, as a first step in overthrowing the Weimar government. The attempt (the Munich Putsch or Beer Hall Putsch) failed, and Hitler was imprisoned. While in prison, he wrote Mein Kampf, outlining his ideas.

The Great Depression struck in 1929, and Germany, which had begun to recover economically, again collapsed. High unemployment led to unhappiness, and the Nazis began to gain more followers and a few seats in the German Parliament. By 1932, the Nazis had increased their seats in Parliament to 38%. Hitler had broad lower class, middle class, and upper class support; his promises that he would withdraw from the UN, repudiate the Treaty of Versailles, reunify Germany, and expand its territory to provide additional lebensraum (living space) for the German people appealed to many.

His anti-Semitic beliefs also spoke to long-held prejudices embraced by many Germans. In 1933, government leaders invited Hitler to become Chancellor, believing he would be easily controlled. But, Hitler used fear of communists to get the Enabling Act passed; this allowed him to rule by decree. The Law Against the Establishment of Parties (1933) made Germany a single party state. Hitler consolidated his support within the party by having up to 200 top Nazis killed in the Night of the Long Knives (1934).

Hitler pursued an aggressive foreign policy; he pursued the rearmament of Germany, remilitarized the Rhineland and joined in the Spanish Civil War (both in 1936), unified Germany and Austria (the Anschluss, 1938), occupied the Sudetenland (also in 1938 — at the Munich conference, European leaders decided to pursue a course of appeasement), took the rest of Czechoslovakia, signed the Pact of Steel with Mussolini (1939), and the Nazi-Soviet Pact (also 1939). This led to the outbreak of World War II with Hitler’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939.

Hitler’s economic plan was the Wehrwirtschaft; this focused on achieving autarky (self-sufficiency) as well as on promoting Germany’s military development. Germany’s Four-Year Plan (1936-1940) failed to achieve its goals. Albert Speer’s management of production (1942-45) increased military production rapidly.

Hitler’s government attempted to control religion in Germany. Protestant leader Martin Niemöller attempted to resist Hitler’s influence but was sent to a concentration camp. Pope Pius XI expressed criticism of the Nazi regime, but Pope Pius XII was more tolerant. Some Nazis (particularly in the SS) joined the German Faith Movement, in which pagan beliefs replaced Christian ceremonies. The Nazis also attacked other groups like Jehovah’s witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists. Judaism was the target of Hitler’s greatest oppression; in 1935, Germany adopted the Nuremberg Laws, prohibiting marriage between Jews and non-Jews; these laws also stripped Jews of German citizenship. In 1938, there was a coordinated wave of attacks on Jewish businesses and synagogues (Kristallnacht).

The first concentration camp, Dachau, had been established in 1933, and was used for political prisoners. In 1938, Jews were also sent to Dachau. Roma, homosexuals, Slavs, and people with handicaps were confined in concentration camps as well. Other Jews were imprisoned in Ghettos. In 1941, the first extermination camps were built. Ultimately 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust, as well as 5 million non-Jews.

Education was an important focus for the Nazis; they altered History, Biology, and even Mathematics to reflect Nazi ideology. Children were required to belong to youth groups such as the Hitler Youth. The Nuremberg Rallies were yearly Nazi gatherings that included large numbers of Hitler Youth and served as focal points for Nazi propaganda. Leni Riefenstahl’s film “The Triumph of the Will” portrayed the 1934 Nuremberg Rally and was shown throughout Germany.

Nazis’ taste in art celebrated traditional German artists and musicians. They opposed modern art, which they viewed as “degenerate.” The ideal woman in Nazi Germany was portrayed as a mother, and large families were encouraged. In the war, some served as secretaries, nurses, and even guards in concentration camps.

There was opposition to the Nazi’s regime. Some Germans helped shelter Jews, hiding them in their homes. A factory owner, Oskar Schindler, saved 1200 Jews who worked in his factories. Sophie Scholl, a member of the “White Rose” resistance group, led an anti-Nazi movement with her brother Hans. They were both executed; Sophie was 21. Finally, in 1944, an attempt was made by army officers to assassinate Hitler. However, resistance was dangerous; the Gestapo, Hitler’s secret police, were ruthless.

The Nazi authoritarian regime is not described as totalitarian, despite the power of the Nazis and the Führer and the deep penetration of Nazi ideology into German society. Planning was poor, Hitler allowed competition among his subordinates, and the state did not run smoothly or effectively.