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Concept
Nazi Germany
Summary
Nazi Germany (officially known as the German Reich 1933–43, later the Greater German Reich 1943–45) was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a dictatorship.
Under Hitler's rule, Germany quickly became a totalitarian state where many aspects of life were controlled by the government. The Third Reich, meaning "Third Realm" or "Third Empire", referred to the Nazi claim that Nazi Germany was the successor to the earlier Holy Roman Empire (800–1806) and German Empire (1871–1918). The Third Reich, which the Nazis referred to as the Thousand-Year Reich, ended in May 1945, after only 12 years, when the Allies defeated Germany and entered the capital, Berlin, ending World War II in Europe.
The Nazi Party became the largest in parliament following the July 1932 German federal election, but it did not hold a majority. Hitler refused to participate in a coalition government unless he was its leader. By the constitution of the Weimar Republic, in those circumstances the chancellor of Germany (the head of government) could be appointed by the president, Paul von Hindenburg, who appointed Hitler on 30 January 1933, on behest of right-wing politicians and industrialists. The Reichstag fire was used to pass the Reichstag Fire Decree, leading to the suppression of civil liberties and mass arrests of political opponents. The Enabling Act of 1933 gave Hitler's government the power to make and enforce laws without the Reichstag (parliament) or president. The Nazis began to eliminate political opposition and consolidate power. Hindenburg died in August 1934, and Hitler became dictator by merging the powers of the chancellery and presidency. A 1934 German referendum confirmed Hitler as sole Führer (leader). Power was centralised in Hitler's person, his word became the highest law. The government was not a coordinated, co-operating body, but a collection of factions struggling for power and Hitler's favour.
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