At a glance
National socialism, or Nazism, is a racist, antisemitic form of fascism centered on dictatorship, a fabricated racial hierarchy and expansionist German ultranationalism.
Core principles
- Leader dictatorship; racial exclusion; antisemitism; anti-communism; militarism; territorial conquest; rejection of universal human equality.
Origins & development
The Nazi movement developed after the First World War and ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945. Its policies culminated in aggressive war and the Holocaust.
Economic outlook
Private businesses operated under increasingly coercive state direction. Rearmament, confiscation, exclusion and forced labor served regime goals; the name did not signify socialist worker control.
Society & government
The regime destroyed multiparty democracy and civil freedoms. Racial laws, forced sterilization, persecution and genocide targeted Jews and numerous other groups.
Variations & related traditions
Nazism is distinct from socialism and from nationalism generally. Neo-Nazism denotes later movements adopting Nazi beliefs, with variations in organization and presentation.
Debates & criticisms
Its racial claims have no scientific validity. Genocide, enslavement and totalitarian repression are central to its historical record, not incidental deviations from an otherwise neutral program.