Swastika, emblem of the German Nazi Party (Getty)

The German Nazi Party was founded in 1920, two years after the German defeat in World War I. It was able to lead the country in 1933 after obtaining a parliamentary majority, and Adolf Hitler assumed the presidency of the country in 1934. The party continued to rule the country until 1945, then its star went out after the entry The Allies Germany and the Soviet Union's control of Berlin and the end of World War II with Germany's defeat.

Founding and establishment

A state of economic recession and unemployment spread in Germany due to the Versailles Agreement, which was signed by the defeated German government in 1918 in World War I. The agreement obligated Berlin to pay 132 billion German marks to the Allies who won the war.

This led to a social revolution in the country, one of the results of which was the formation of the German Workers’ Party in 1919, which later transformed into the German National Socialist Workers’ Party, or the Nazi Party, a name derived from a phrase meaning “National Socialist” in the German language, and the party’s program was written by German economist Gottfried Feder, later joined by Adolf Hitler and a number of officers who participated in World War I.

Before the opening of the German National Socialist Party conference on September 10, 1935 (Associated Press)

Ideological orientation

The party relied ideologically on a mixture of extreme nationalism and national socialism, focusing on the need to unify the German nation and reassert its dominance in Europe, in addition to its call for the abolition of the Treaty of Versailles, which it considered an insult and injustice to Germany.

Economically, the Nazi Party focused on centralized economic policies based on control, with an emphasis on the trend towards self-sufficiency and massive construction and employment programs, especially during the Great Depression caused by the collapse of the New York stock market. The party also sought to achieve complete economic independence for Germany through armaments policies. and economic reconstruction.

On the social level, the Nazi Party sought to restructure German society according to its racial and ideological principles. Traditional values ​​such as family and loyalty to the state were encouraged, but in a context of extreme control and repression, especially against minorities and groups that the party considered “undesirable,” in addition to promoting the idea of The Aryan race was superior to other races because it was, according to the party's beliefs, the "sovereign race."

The political track

The Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers' Party) began its political path in a limited manner in the political arena after World War I, as it achieved only 2.6% of the votes in the German elections in 1928, but with the worsening of the economic and social crisis, its popularity began to increase due to its economic programs, In 1930, he was able to obtain 18% of the votes.

The party later became the largest party in the Reichstag (German Parliament) when it won about 37% of the votes in the July 1932 elections, and continued to gain the support of the German people in light of difficult economic conditions and political instability in the country.

In January 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler (the party leader) as Chancellor of Germany, but after Hindenburg's death in 1934, army leaders merged the positions of president and chancellor, making Hitler the absolute ruler of Germany, and the party then turned Germany into a one-party state. When Hitler abolished all other parties, suppressed political and civil freedoms, and controlled the media and education, following the Cabinet’s declaration of a state of emergency throughout the country in a period called the “Third Reich.”

The party's path ended at the end of World War II, when Hitler committed suicide and the Soviet Union forces entered Berlin on May 2, 1945. The party was banned and declared a "criminal organization" and its leaders were tried in the Nuremberg Trials.

Deputies from the Nazi Party heading to the Reichstag (Parliament) building in Berlin in May 1933 (Getty)

Nuremberg Trials

The Nuremberg Tribunal was held in the German city of Nuremberg after the end of World War II (1945-1946). It was a military trial organized by the victorious Allies to hold the leaders of the Nazi regime accountable. 24 party officials were tried and charged with crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against... Humanity, and these trials were an example of the application of the principle of "international criminal responsibility" as individuals were sentenced instead of states.

The trials included senior leaders of the Nazi Party, such as Hermann Goering and Rudolf Hess, Hitler's assistants, and resulted in the issuance of 12 death sentences, 3 life imprisonment sentences, and 4 prison sentences for varying periods, while 3 defendants were acquitted.

Source: websites