ABSTRACT
This chapter describes development of Nazism in Germany, its ideological origins, the role of the leader, the nature of some of its economic policies and its impact on world affairs. It discusses the nature and impact of the Holocaust as well as persecution of other minorities, such as gypsies and homosexuals. The chapter surveys Nazi policies on the eastern front in Germany's war with the Soviet Union. The barbaric policies that the Nazis used toward both civilians and soldiers in this theater of war were comparable in certain instances to their treatment of Jews. The success of the Nazis was predicated to a large extent on the charismatic authority of Adolf Hitler. Benito Mussolini, like Hitler, rose from humble social origins to become a European dictator in the interwar period, but in his case the setting was Italy. Only fascism promised to bridge the cleavage of social interests and legislate in the interest of the national weal.
