The Rise of the Nazi Party

At the end of World War I, Hitler makes his way to the politically charged city of Munich, where he joins a fringe group and begins to transform it into the Nazi Party. After recruiting Hermann Göring, Heinrich Himmler, and others to the cause, he readies his "Brownshirts" for his all-or-nothing bid to seize power by putsch.

Released from prison after just nine months of a five-year sentence, Hitler works with party propagandist Joseph Goebbels to rebrand the National Socialists and broaden their appeal. But by now the Weimar Republic is enjoying a better economy, and people seem unreceptive to the Nazi message until the worldwide events of 1929 change the course of history.

As the Great Depression grips the country, the Nazis grow in popularity to become the second-biggest party in the country. When the Reichstag is burned down, Hitler makes his power grab: he suppresses the Communist Party, reaches out to centrists, blames the Jews, and promises peace abroad and full employment at home.