The
Third Reich, also
Nazi Germany, is the common name for
Germany when it was a
totalitarian state ruled by
Adolf Hitler and the
National Socialist German Workers' Party. On 30 January 1933 Hitler became
chancellor of Germany, quickly eliminating all opposition to rule as sole leader. The state idolized Hitler as its
Führer, centralizing all power in his hands. Historians have emphasized the hypnotic effect of his rhetoric on large audiences, and of his eyes in small groups. Kessel writes, "Overwhelmingly...Germans speak with mystification of Hitler's 'hypnotic' appeal..."
Under the "leader principle", the Führer's word was above all other laws. Top officials reported to Hitler and followed his policies, but they had considerable autonomy. The government was not a coordinated, cooperating body, but rather a collection of factions struggling to amass power and curry favor with the Führer.
In the midst of the
Great Depression, the Nazi government restored prosperity and ended mass unemployment using heavy military spending and a
mixed economy of free-market and central-planning practices.
Extensive public works were undertaken, including the construction of the
Autobahns. The return to prosperity gave the regime enormous popularity; the suppression of all opposition made Hitler's rule mostly unchallenged.