“What Is Nazism and How Did Hitler Come to Power?”

Nazism stands for National Socialist German Worker’s Party. Adolf Hitler was the leader and expressed his ideas in his book “Mein Kampf” which, when translated into English, means ‘my struggle’. Nazism was a political party in Germany that began to gain power in the 1920’s. Nazi’s believed that Germans were the superior race also known as Aryans. Even though Hitler’s ideal race involved blonde hair and blue eyes, however, Aryans did not typically meet these criteria. Hitler had Nazi “Storm Troopers” fight in the streets against communists.
The Nazi’s blamed the Weimar Republic for Germany’s problems. The Nazi’s made and followed through on promises made to the German people, such as putting Germans back to work. Nazis also believed in Anti-Semitism, they hated all Jewish people and when the Nazis gained enough political power the Jewish people suffered. Many synagogues and businesses were destroyed during Kristallnacht. The Jews were no longer considered German citizens; they lost their jobs, were forced to wear yellow stars on their clothing, and were not allowed to marry other German citizens.
Hitler, like the Nazis came to power completely legally, yet shockingly after his actions of the past. After World War I, Hitler was a spy for the Weimar government. When he discovered that he agreed with the Nazis, he left and became a part of the Nazi political party in 1920. Hitler made an attempt to seize power in Munich, Germany in 1921. He was unsuccessful and thrown in prison. Rather than exiling him back to Austria, or away from Germany, Hitler gained his citizenship in 1932. Due to the Great Depression, Hitler and the Nazis popularity rose.

There were nearly one million Nazi members during the Great Depression. Hitler made promises to end reparations, create jobs, and rearm Germany. Even though they despised him, some conservative politicians felt Hitler needed to be Chancellor. These people planned to use Hitler for their own benefits. After this, Hitler was appointed chancellor, democratically. Then, in 1934, he became the Fuhrer and established a new government. Within one year of Hitler’s reign he made Germany into a one party state with Nazi flags raised high all across the country.