Government of Nazi Germany

Government of the German Reich
Regierung des Deutschen Reiches

Imperial Eagle (Reichsadler), shield of the German Reich.
From left to right: Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring, Joseph Goebbels and Rudolf Hess, 1934.
Date formed30 January 1933; 91 years ago (1933-01-30)
Date dissolved5 June 1945; 79 years ago (1945-06-05)
People and organisations
FührerAdolf Hitler (from August 1934 to April 1945)
ReichskanzlerAdolf Hitler
No. of ministers41
Status in legislatureGroßdeutscher Reichstag
(until 1934, then used for meeting purposes)
History
ElectionsMarch 1933 (8th Reichstag)
November 1933 (9th Reichstag)
1934 referendum (merger of the positions of Chancellor and President)
March 1936 (10th Reichstag)
April 1938 (11th Reichstag)
PredecessorGovernment of the Weimar Republic
SuccessorAllied Control Council

The government of Nazi Germany was a totalitarian dictatorship governed by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party according to the Führerprinzip. Nazi Germany was established in January 1933 with the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany, followed by suspension of basic rights with the Reichstag Fire Decree and the Enabling Act which gave Hitler's regime the power to pass and enforce laws without the involvement of the Reichstag or German president, and de facto ended with Germany's surrender in World War II on 8 May 1945 and de jure ended with the Berlin Declaration on 5 June 1945.

As the successor to the government of the Weimar Republic, it inherited the governmental structure and institutions of the previous state. Although the Weimar Constitution technically remained in effect until the German surrender, there were no actual restraints on the exercise of state power. In addition to the already extant Weimar government, the Nazi leadership created a large number of different organizations for the purpose of helping them govern and remain in power. They pursued a policy of rearmament and strengthened the Wehrmacht, established an extensive national security apparatus and created the Waffen-SS, the combat branch of the Schutzstaffel (SS).