The Nazi Party, led by Adolf Hitler, was a small, extremist group in the 1920s.

Its ideology, Nazism, combined extreme nationalism, virulent anti-Semitism, and a rejection of both democracy and communism.

The party promoted the idea that Germans were a racially superior 'Aryan' people.

The Great Depression had a catastrophic impact on Germany, leading to mass unemployment and political instability.

This economic crisis created a fertile ground for the Nazis' message, as they promised to restore German greatness and scapegoated Jews and communists for the country's problems.

Hitler was a charismatic and powerful public speaker who used propaganda effectively.

The Nazis gained increasing support in elections, becoming the largest party in the German parliament (the Reichstag) by 1932.

In January 1933, conservative politicians, believing they could control him, persuaded President Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor.

Once in power, Hitler moved quickly to dismantle democracy and establish a totalitarian dictatorship.

The rise of Nazism was a direct result of the combination of the Treaty of Versailles, economic crisis, and political instability.