Why do we call our WW2 opponents Nazis. They were Germans – Nazism was a political belief I thought?
The Nazis were short for the National Socialist German Workers Party. This was a minor political party in Germany for years until Hitler became a member and a mouthpiece for the party. After the elections in 1932, the Nazis became the major party in the German Parliament (Reichstag) and Hitler became Chancellor. The actual government was more Fascism which became popular in other European countries due to the worldwide economic crisis. Mussolini in Italy and Franco in Spain were also advocates of this type of govt.
Correct. Nazism was a fascist political movement that took control of Germany. And Germany was the principal culprit of the Axis powers – and our official enemy. Germany declared war upon the rest of the world, and it was Germany, not the ‘Nazis’ that surrendered at the close of the war. However, a more proper title is NAZI GERMANY because remember that many Germans opposed the war, and millions of exterminated Jews were also Germans. Final note; another good reason the best title is NAZI GERMANY is that you may recall the flag flown by the enemy was not a German flag, it was the Nazi swastika. Germany was only the capital of an emerging Nazi empire. Nazi’s could have included Germans, Austrians, Italians, etc.
The political belief was Fascism; Nazism is something else. The two go together well but they are not the same thing, nor is one inevitable where the other exists. The Nazi party was the official political party in Germany; there were some 6 million members by 1944. In the earlier stages of WW2 most of the soldiers would have been members of the party. I agree with those who say to call all Germans Nazis is wrong, likewise to say Nazis were German. Nazi Germany is as close to accurate as we’re going to get. By the time it fell, Nazism was pretty widespread in Germany; much more of a cultural force than could be said of either of the main parties here – now or then – or in the USA. Things like the Hitler Youth began well before WW2 and had a powerful effect. To characterise the Italians as ideologically or politically equivalent to Nazi germany is also wrong. Italy was Fascist – as was Spain, and there was a fascist movement in the UK. Again, another answerer has stated that the Nazis t
