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National Socialism did not come into its own until after Germany’s defeat in World War I.  What gave it impetus was the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, in which Germany was forced to assume guilt and responsibility for causing the war and the death and destruction which resulted.  The Allies’ insistence on the drafting of the Treaty without German participation, the heavy reparations, the despair and disillusionment felt by many Germans after the war, and those diplomats Hitler felt had agreed to cease the war (the “November criminals”) were all used in Hitler’s propaganda to persuade as many Germans as possible to support the Nazi cause.  The hyper-inflation of 1923 which wiped out middle-class savings and made the German mark worthless added to the National Socialist cause.

National Socialism did not come into its own until after Germany’s defeat in World War I.  What gave it impetus was the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, in which Germany was forced to assume guilt and responsibility for causing the war and the death and destruction which resulted.  The Allies’ insistence on the drafting of the Treaty without German participation, the heavy reparations, the despair and disillusionment felt by many Germans after the war, and those diplomats Hitler felt had agreed to cease the war (the “November criminals”) were all used in Hitler’s propaganda to persuade as many Germans as possible to support the Nazi cause.  The hyper-inflation of 1923 which wiped out middle-class savings and made the German mark worthless added to the National Socialist cause.

Hitler went into detail as to what National Socialism would be when he wrote his political testament while in prison in 1924.  In ''Mein Kampf'' he outlined his racial policies and theories, his theories regarding German expansion, and his understandings of mass psychology and propaganda; in the latter he understood that a weak-minded people would be led by someone who can speak at their level, regarding "truth" less important than "success":

Hitler went into detail as to what National Socialism would be when he wrote his political testament while in prison in 1924.  In ''[[Mein Kampf]]'' he outlined his racial policies and theories, his theories regarding German expansion, and his understandings of mass psychology and propaganda; in the latter he understood that a weak-minded people would be led by someone who can speak at their level, regarding "truth" less important than "success":

:''"It is part of a great leader's genius to make even widely separated adversaries appear as if they belonged to but one category, because among weakly and undecided characters the recognition of various enemies all too easily marks the beginning of doubt of one's own rightness."''

:''"It is part of a great leader's genius to make even widely separated adversaries appear as if they belonged to but one category, because among weakly and undecided characters the recognition of various enemies all too easily marks the beginning of doubt of one's own rightness."''

==See also==

==See also==

* [[Gun Control in Nazi Germany]]

* [[Gun Control in Nazi Germany]]

==Further reading==

==Further reading==