*A belief of the Nordic “Aryan” man as superior in blood, intellect, and culture over all other races of man, given emphasis by the works of Frederich Nietzsche (''Mensch und Übermensch'') and other 19th century intellectuals.
Added to these beliefs was the science of the time, specifically the theories related to “survival of the fittest” and “natural selection” as postulated by British naturalist Charles Darwin; these theories would be used later as justification for Nazi removal and extermination of non-German people throughout much of Europe prior to and during World War II.
Through the writings of Houston Stewart Chamberlain, Nazi theorists were influenced by the ideas of Arthur de Gobineau, sometimes referred to as [[Gobinism]], who was the first to formulate the idea of an ''Aryan master race''. Hitler met Chamberlain in the 1920s.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Q8L42KtTrw0C&pg=PA211 Adolf Hitler: A Biographical Companion]</ref>
After Hitler joined and later took control of the German Workers' Party in 1921, he added what could be the most damaging elements: