The Genesis, Ideology, and Aftermath of Nazism

The Genesis, Ideology, and Aftermath of Nazism

The Aftermath of Nazism and World War Two

In May nineteen forty-five, Germany surrendered to the Allies, marking the end of World War Two in Europe. Anticipating defeat, Adolf Hitler, his propaganda minister Goebbels, and their families committed collective suicide in Berlin in April nineteen forty-five. The fear of retribution was palpable among Nazi supporters, as exemplified by a prominent physician, Helmuth's father, who contemplated killing his family before taking his own life, fearing the Allies would exact revenge for the atrocities committed against the 'crippled and Jews'.

An International Military Tribunal was established at Nuremberg to prosecute Nazi war criminals for 'Crimes against Peace', 'War Crimes', and 'Crimes Against Humanity'. Germany had waged a genocidal war, resulting in the mass murder of millions of innocent civilians, including six million Jews, two hundred thousand Gypsies, one million Polish civilians, seventy thousand mentally and physically disabled Germans, and countless political opponents. The Nazis employed unprecedented methods of killing, such as gassing people in centers like Auschwitz. While eleven leading Nazis were sentenced to death and many others imprisoned, the retribution was widely considered insufficient given the scale of their crimes. The Allies, however, aimed to avoid the harshness imposed on Germany after the First World War.

The Genesis: Germany After World War One

Many believed that the rise of Nazi Germany was rooted in Germany's experience at the end of the First World War.