National Socialism (Nazism; NS), German political movement led by Adolf Hitler. The notion of combining the concepts of "national" and "social" became popular in Germany before World War I. In 1919 an antisemitic right-wing political party called the German Workers' Party (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) was founded in Munich; this party adopted the combined "national-social" ideology. In 1920 the party added "National Socialist" to its name and thus became the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, NSDAP or Nazi Party). A year later Adolf Hitler, a man who started out as a public speaker for the party, became its undisputed leader, or Fuehrer. The National Socialist ideology was an outgrowth of earlier political theories that also gave birth to fascism--- a political movement that became popular in Italy some years before the Nazis took over Germany. Nazism brought together the ideas of racial anti-semitism (that Jews were inferior by virtue of their race, or genetic makeup), Social Darwinism (that certain individuals or ethnic groups are dominant because of their inherent genetic superiority), and lebensraum (the belief that Germans needed more "living space," i.e. more territory, particularly in Eastern Europe). Nazism also embraced the attitude of total anti-Bolshevism, and demanded revenge against those people--especially Jews---who, they claimed, had "betrayed" Germany during World War I and caused it to be vanquished by the enemy (see also stab in the back myth). During its first three years of existence, the Nazi Party was mainly active in Bavaria. However, its members used emotional appeals and violence to attract many new members. On November 8--9, 1923 Hitler attempted to take over the Bavarian government, but failed. The Nazi Party was outlawed and Hitler was thrown into jail. During his nine months in prison, Hitler penned much of Mein Kampf (My Struggle), a book that would soon become the National Socialist bible. It included what Hitler alleged to be his life story and his public declarations regarding Nazi ideology. Soon after Hitler was released he revitalized the Nazi Party, and it quickly spread to western and northern Germany. __________________________________________________________________________ Shoah Resource Center, The International School for Holocaust Studies
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