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Germans Assess Legacy of Nazism
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in Germany hold unfavourable views about the Third Reich, according to a poll by TNS Emnid released by Bertelsmann Stiftung. 55 per cent of respondents think Nazism was completely or mostly negative, while 40 per cent think it had some positive aspects.
Adolf Hitler became Germany's chancellor in 1933, as the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP). Hitler effectively established a fascist regime, relied heavily on propaganda, and attempted to expand Germany's "living space" through a particularly hostile foreign policy.
World War II began in September 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. The conflict killed more than 55 million people worldwide. Following Hitler's suicide, field marshall Alfred Jodl surrendered unconditionally to the Allied forces in May 1945.
The Holocaust—a state-sponsored persecution of European Jews by Germany's Nazi administration—began in 1933. In 1942, the systematic extermination of all Jews was ordered under a policy denominated as "Final Solution." Official figures estimate that six million Jews were killed during the Holocaust.
In December 2006, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hosted in Tehran the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust—a seminar seeking to "revise" the veracity of such events. German chancellor Angela Merkel expressed dismay, saying, "I would like to make clear that we reject with all our strength the conference taking place in Iran about the supposed non-existence of the Holocaust."
Polling Data
Looking back at the time of the Third Reich, would you say National-Socialism was completely negative, mostly negative, some negative and some positive aspects, or mostly positive?
2007 | 1991 | |
Completely negative | 21% | 17% |
Mostly negative | 34% | 36% |
Some negative, some positive | 40% | 42% |
Mostly positive | 1% | 2% |
Not sure | 5% | 3% |
Source: TNS Emnid / Bertelsmann Stiftung
Methodology: Interviews with 1,004 German adults, conducted from Jan. 21 to Jan. 26, 2007. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.