The Nazis demanded that Germans accept the premises of the Nazi worldview and live their lives accordingly. They tolerated no criticism, dissent, or nonconformity. Hitler's political opponents were the first victims of systematic Nazi persecution.
Erwin Rommel was a German army officer who rose to the rank of Field Marshal. He was renowned as an innovator of armored tactics, particularly as commander of the Afrika Korps in North Africa. There is a “myth” or legend which depicts Rommel as a chivalrous and noble military opponent who was not driven by political ideology. In reality, there is ambiguity about the depth of his commitment to Nazi ideology.
In 1918, Germany transitioned from a semi-authoritarian empire to the Weimar Republic, a democracy that protected individual rights and limited police power. During the Weimar Republic, police struggled to respond to a rise in crime, political violence, and high unemployment. The Nazis promised to fix these problems, which helped policemen to eventually accept the new Nazi regime in 1933.
Theories of eugenics, or “racial hygiene” in the German context, shaped many of Nazi Germany’s persecutory policies.
In 1933, Nazi students at more than 30 German universities pillaged libraries in search of books they considered to be "un-German." Among the literary and political writings they threw into the flames were the works of Louis Fischer.
In 1933, Nazi students at more than 30 German universities pillaged libraries in search of books they considered to be "un-German." Among the literary and political writings they threw into the flames were the works of Werner Hegemann.
In 1933, Nazi students at more than 30 German universities pillaged libraries in search of books they considered to be "un-German." Among the literary and political writings they threw into the flames were the works of Morris Hillquit.
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