On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag went up in flames. Afterwards an emergency decree was made and some basic democratic rights were quickly abrogated. An Enabling Act gave the Hitler-led government full legislative power. Only the Social Democratic Party of Germany voted against the measure, while the Communists, who were thought to be behind the fire, were not able to present opposition due to the Reichstag Fire Decree.[23] A centralised totalitarian state was established by a series of moves and decrees making Germany a single-party state. Industry was revitalised, with a focus on military rearmament.[24] In 1936, Germany reacquired control of the Rhineland, the first of several expansionist moves to establish Greater Germany.
In 1939, growing tensions from nationalism, militarism, and territorial issues and a pact promising support from the Soviet Union led the Germans to launch a blitzkrieg ("lightning war") against Poland, which was followed by declarations of war from Britain and France. This marked the beginning of World War II in Europe. As the war continued, Germany and its allies quickly gained direct or indirect control of the majority of Europe.
On 22 June 1941, Germany broke the pact with the Soviets and invaded the Soviet Union. The same year, Japan attacked the American base at Pearl Harbor, and Germany declared war on the United States. Although the German army advanced into the Soviet Union quite rapidly, the Battle of Stalingrad marked a major turning point in the war. Subsequently, the German army started to retreat on the Eastern front. D-Day marked another major turning point in the war, opening up a Western front; the Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy and made advances towards German territory. Germany's defeat soon followed. On 8 May 1945, the German armed forces surrendered after the Red Army occupied Berlin. Approximately seven million German soldiers and civilians—including ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe—died during World War II.
In what later became known as The Holocaust, the Third Reich regime enacted governmental policies directly subjugating many dissidents and minorities. About eleven million people were murdered during the Holocaust, including six million Jews and sizable number of Gypsies, Poles and other Slavs, the mentally ill and homosexuals. World War II and the actions of the German Nazi regime resulted in 35 million premature deaths in Europe.
