Nazi, as in short for national socialist, was the term for MEMBERS of the NSDAP...
Not everyone was a member of said organisation. Which does not mean you cannot support them. Many people in germany are NOT part of a political party, and still vote them...as I believe is the case everywhere else in democracy.
Also, Hitler did something very akin to what some certain other superpower does all the time up until now, either stage or find a reason you have been attacked, claim someone responsible and invade their country for revenge, then find some reason to continue.
Hitler was a person with a great way of talking. Else he wouldn´t have found so many followers.
The SA burned the Reichstag and blamed it on Van der luppe and the evil bolchevics. They then invaded poland.
Also, Germany DID NOT invade Austria...it was annexed in part of the Anschluss, which many austrians cheered for.
BUT, one has to know why it became a world war. Prior to WW2, Germany was a very respected country politically. It´s charismatic leader however was seen as someone to be watchful for, which is why suddenly everyone banded together, and formed treatys. After the invasion of Poland, noone really threw a fit, since they shared it with their then ally russia, and people did not want to piss off russia.
Then germany invaded france because they had buissness to do there, mainly, revenge for the poor treatment after WW1. They couldn´t breach the Marginot line so they went the detour over Belgium, which pissed off britain to no extend.
All the while, russia was already piling up massive assault armies on it´s borders for a possible pre-emptive strike at germany, which was focussing on the west more now.
Hitler saw that, and tried to make a counter-move, by invading first.
The Blitzkrieg however did not work out in a long, tedius war, and while initial advances during Barbarossa where significant since russia was prepared for attack, not defence, the 30 or so russian ARMIES agains 4 Panzerkorps and 5 german armies eventually got the upper hand.
They drove back germany, and since they gave them a reason, continued with their planned invasion.
Meanwhile, the war over britain was in full affect. Britains new radar proofed to be valuable against the Luftwaffe, since their by then very few fighters could easily intercept even the largest bomber fleets with maximum efficiency.
If the constant harrassment would have gone on for a month or two, germany would have eventually destroyed the RAF completely, could have comenced an invasion of british mainland and probably use it´s very advanced and battle hardened land forces to win the day. Luckily, Hitler was surrounded by self-proclaimed experts or war, namely a fat opium addict and a short guy with complexes.
Hitler also pretty much jumped the gun by making HIMSELF the ruler over the military forces, not his very able generals, which had planned the previous Blitzkrieg offenses and won.
He grew paranoid of being betrayed (what with the constant assasination attempts he FUCKING SURVIVED EVERY TIME!!!), and thus, dug his own grave.
Also, a majority of germans where anti-semetic at that time, might be the case. But an even larger percentage did not know the real intentions behind the final solution (it was marketed simply as deporting the jews out of german territory), and were very unaware of mass-death camps, which were designed with plans of soviet Gulags by the way.
It is pretty harsh in hind sight, when they discover RECENTLY, documents which describe buildings as Gaskammern (gas chambers), with the intend of WHAT to be gassed left in the air. Clothing was also "gassed" in "gas chambers" against lice and stuff, with Zyclon B no less, making people find large amounts of Zyklon B orders.
They also find lists of names of people being "deported". As I said before, that was the official reason why they where put on the trains.
But nowhere does it say WHERE they got deported to, or what happened to them there. It is then simply assumed they went into a death-camp and got exterminated...a little fast, but actually not so far-fetched. Yet, solid proof is something different.
Also, the name "concentration camp" actually sais what it means. A camp to concentrate certain kinds of people in. It is not synonymous with death-camp and most concentration camps INSIDE german terretory where actually just large penal and labor camps. The most killing operations have been conducted OUTSIDE german territory, in Poland for example, as to not blow their cover with the german populace. Despite the anti-semeticness, they could not afford anyone to find out what they really do, since that would have certainly resulted in a concentrated effort to bring them down.
So the reason why germany lost wasn´t because the allies where supperior, it was because their leader was a crazy lunatic with no skill in strategic planning and losing trust from his generals and people, who put off some of his plans as simply "crazy-talk".
The propaganda machine was running high on all sides, and the aftermath of WW2 is that britain now mocks us of our nazi-past every time a bigger football match is about to commence (IE: The blackshirts are back! Blitz-sieg! and whatever...as if bombing Dresden for no reason wasn´t enough somehow<.<)
The largely popular Erwin Rommel was almost put to trial for disobeying orders (IE, fucking owning everything in france, but not as planned by the Oberkommando Wehrmacht, hence the name "Ghost Division". He lost in Africa because germany had problems with the supplys and generally stopped caring once the ruskies knocked.), but choose to shoot himself to preserve his dignity.
This is what I´VE personally gathered through my research. It is by far not all, and it does not have to be 100% correct, as I have not yet consumed any and ALL information, which is also impossible.
