Nazism
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
Nazism was a political movement in Germany. It started in the 1920s. Nazism is a form of fascism. A lot of the philosophy of this movement was based on a idea that the Aryan race was superior to all others and had the greatest ability to survive. According to the racist ideas of Nazism, the Jews, Slavs and Roma (also known as "Gypsies") people were called "inferior races". The Nazis sent millions of Jews, Roma and other people to concentration camps where they were murdered. These killings are now called the Holocaust.
The word Nazi is a short for Nationalsozialist (supporter of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) in the German language. This means "National Socialist German Workers' Party".
Contents |
[change] How Nazis became the leaders
Adolf Hitler, the founder of Nazism, said that all the problems of Germany were the result of Jews plotting against the country. He even said that it was Jewish politicians who arranged the Armistice of 1918, and who allowed Germany to pay massive reparations. On the night of the 27 February 1933 and 28 February 1933, there was an arson attack on the Reichstag building, which was where the German Parliament held their meetings. This attack was a week before the elections, in which Hitler was a candidate. On the 28 February, a law was passed (called Reichstagsbrandverordnung). This law made it possible to catch the people who had burned the Reichstag. It also abolished most of the civil rights of the Weimar Republic. Later on, the communists were blamed for the arson. Marinus van der Lubbe, a left-wing activist was sentenced to death for high treason and the arson. Communist politicians who were accused alongside were set free. In 1967 the verdict was changed. The charge of high treason against Van der Lubbe was dropped, the charge of the arson was not. At the time, people believed that the NSDAP had ordered the arson. Today, this theory cannot be verified. At the time, Hitler's party blamed the arson on their opposition. They won the elections. The Nazis did this so that they would then be the only large party left in the Parliament. As soon as they had enough votes, they immediately voted to give Hitler complete power over Germany.
[change] Attacking other countries
As leader of Germany, Hitler began moving Nazi armies into neighboring countries. When Germany attacked Poland, this started World War II. Western countries like France, Belgium and the Netherlands were to be treated by Germany as colonies, while in Eastern countries such as Poland and the Soviet Union, the Nazis planned to wipe out the Slavic peoples so that German settlers could take their land.
[change] The Holocaust
In the Holocaust, millions of Jews and Roma people (also called "Gypsies"), as well as the disabled, homosexuals and political opponents from Germany and other countries that the Nazis controlled were sent to concentration camps in Poland and Germany. The Nazis killed millions of these people at the concentration camps with poison gas. The Nazis also killed millions of Polish people, other Slavic people, and Communists (people who believed in communism) by forcing them to do slave labour without giving them much food or clothing.
[change] The Nazis lose the war
In 1945, the Soviet Union occupied Berlin after defeating the German army in Russia, and met the American and British armies who had fought right across Germany after invading Nazi Europe from the west in 1944. The Nazis were defeated. During the invasion of Berlin Hitler shot himself in a bunker with his new wife, Eva Braun. Other Nazis also committed suicide, including Joseph Goebbels just one day after Hitler named him as his successor.
[change] Trial for the Nazis
After the war, the Allied governments, such as the United States and Britain held trials for the Nazi leaders. These trials were held in Nuremberg, in Germany. For this reason, these trials are called "the Nuremberg Trials." The Allied leaders accused the Nazi leaders of murdering millions of people (in the Holocaust), of starting wars, of conspiracy, and belonging to illegal organisations. Most Nazi leaders were found guilty by the court, and they were sent to jail or executed by hanging.
[change] Nazis after the war
While there has not been a Nazi state since 1945, there are still a few people who believe in Nazi ideas. These people, called neo-Nazis, (new-Nazis) claim that white people are superior to non-whites, spread lies about Jews, and tell other people to hate Jewish people and other groups of people. Many neo-Nazis say that the Holocaust killings never really happened (or that the numbers of those killed are wrong) – these people are called Holocaust deniers. After the war, laws were made in Germany and other countries. These laws say it is forbidden to say that the Holocaust never really happened. Sometimes they also ban questioning the number of people affected by it, that is saying that not so many people were killed as most people think.
