Nazism
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nazism is a political movement that started in the 1920s. Nazism is a form of fascism. A lot of the philosophy of this movement was based on the racist 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 and Roma 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".
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[edit] 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. In the night of between the 27th February and 28th February 1933, there was an arson attack on the Reichstag, which was the building the German Parliament held their meetings in. This attack was a week before the elections, in which Hitler was a candidate. On the 28th of February, a law was passed (called Reichstagsbrandverordnung). This law made it possible to pursue 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 revised. The charge of high-treason against Van der Lubbe was dropped, the charge of the arson remains. At the time, people believed that the NSDAP had ordered the arson. Today, this theory can on longer 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 who counted in the Parliament. As soon as they had enough votes in this way, they immediately voted to give Hitler complete power over Germany.
[edit] 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 exploited 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.[citation needed]
[edit] Killing of Jews, Slavs, and Roma people in the Holocaust
In the Holocaust, millions of Jews and Roma people (also called "gypsies") from Germany and other countries that the Nazi German Army controlled were sent to concentration camps in Poland and Germany. The Nazis killed millions of Jews, Slavs, and Roma 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 labor (when people are forced to do work) without giving them much food or clothes.
[edit] The Nazis lose the war
In 1945, the Soviet Union invaded Berlin, and the Nazis were defeated. During this invasion, Hitler shot himself in a bunker with his new wife, and some other Nazis killed themselves.
[edit] 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 Nuremburg, in Germany. For this reason, these trials are called "the Nuremburg Trials." The Allied leaders accused the Nazi leaders of murdering millions of Jews, Slavs, and Roma people in Holocaust, in concentration camps. The Nazi leaders were found guilty of murdering the Jews by the court, and they were sent to jail or executed by hanging.
[edit] 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, claim that white people are superior to non-whites, spread bad lies about Jews, and tell other people to hate Jewish people. Many neo-Nazis say that the Holocaust killings never really happened – these people are called Holocaust deniers. In the 2000s, denying the Holocaust is against the law in Germany.
