Nazism: Quick Facts

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Nov. 13, 2026

News •

More than 80 years after WWII, victims of Nazi Germany's war in Poland are still looking for reparations • Nov. 10, 2026, 12:54 PM ET (Deutsche Welle)

Trying to find true owners, Paris' Musee D'Orsay exhibits art looted by Nazis • Nov. 8, 2026, 5:04 PM ET (NPR)

Man wearing Nazi uniform while kids went trick-or-treating was 'disturbing,' woman says • Nov. 3, 2026, 8:31 AM ET (CBC)

An infamous Nazi sub sank a ship in 1944, days after landing spies in Maine. The wreckage has now been found. • Oct. 29, 2026, 6:39 AM ET (CBS)

John Oliver Issues Urgent Warning Ahead of Midterms About the Republican Party’s Nazi Ties • Oct. 26, 2026, 1:21 AM ET (Variety)

Facts

Also Known As	Naziism • National Socialism • Nazismus • Nationalsozialismus
Date	1919 - 1945
Location	Germany
Context	antisemitism • Superman • totalitarianism • white supremacy

Photos and Videos

Nazi SS troops march in formation carrying banners with swastikas and eagles at the 1933 Party Day rally in Nuremberg, Germany, with trees in the background.

Adolf Hitler in a formal portrait from 1932, wearing a suit and tie, looking directly at the camera with a neutral expression.

Delivering the Nazi salute

Heinrich Himmler

Invasion of Poland

Learn about the rise of Adolf Hitler, the Nazi Party, and the antisemitism they fomented in pre-WWII Germany

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Topics

World War II fascism Holocaust Third Reich antisemitism nationalism Nazi Party Aryan extermination camp Was Coco Chanel a Nazi Spy?

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Key People

Portrait of Adolf Hitler in a collared shirt and tie, facing forward with a serious expression, circa 1933.

Adolf Hitler

dictator of Germany

default image

Carl Schmitt

German jurist and political theorist

Alfred Rosenberg

Alfred Rosenberg

German Nazi leader

Daluege, Himmler, and Röhm

Ernst Röhm

German army officer

D-Day. American soldiers fire rifles, throw grenades and wade ashore on Omaha Beach next to a German bunker during D Day landing. 1 of 5 Allied beachheads est. in Normandy, France. The Normandy Invasion of World War II launched June 6, 1944.

A History of War

Germany invades Poland, September 1, 1939, using 45 German divisions and aerial attack. By September 20, only Warsaw held out, but final surrender came on September 29.

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