The Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP) was the political party that propagated the Nazi ideology.
During the 1920s the party emerged in the weaken Germany out of discontent with the German losses during World War I. The defeat was attributed to communists, Jews, and other enemies of the state.
Under the aegis of Adolf Hitler, the party became the largest in Germany. Hitler used paramilitary militias, first the SA and later the SS. In the 1933 elections the NSDAP received 43.9% of the votes, which equalled 17 million votes. After eliminating the other political parties, the NSDAP became the sole legitimate party by July that year. The NSDAP ideology permeated the entire social and civil structure.