Nazi

Nazi is derogatory term for members of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), or for supporters and adherents of National Socialism (better known as Nazism). Nazi is also commonly used to describe those who espouse similar views to the ones expressed by the NSDAP, or in reference to anything related to Nazi Germany (Germany under the rule of the Nazi Party, from 1933 to 1945).

Post-World War II supporters of Nazism are often called "Neo-Nazis". Someone who supported Nazism before 1945 and continued to adhere to Nazism even after the end of the Second World War is sometimes referred to as an "Old Nazi" (Altnazi).

Nazis tend to (though do not always) reject the label, knowing that it was first used in reference to them as an insult and that the word carries a lot of historical baggage.

Etymology

The word Nazi had been in use in German-speaking countries years before the Nazi Party was even founded. The name Ignaz (from the Latin Ignatius) was popular in majority-Catholic regions such as Austria, Bavaria, and Bohemia in the late-1800s and early-1900s, and one common nickname for Ignaz was Nazi. Since the name was so popular in Austria and Bavaria, many Northern Germans began using the term Nazi as an insult for Austrians and Bavarians, who they viewed as backwards, unsophisticated, and reactionary. As a result, the word Nazi gained a negative connotation, similar to redneck or hillbilly in English.

In addition, Nationalsozialist ('National Socialist') could be shortened to just Nazi, just as Sozi (another German political insult) was short for Sozialist ('Socialist').

The fact that the word Nazi already had a negative connotation, the fact that Nationalsozialist could be shortened to just Nazi, and the fact that the Nazi Party itself was founded in Bavaria is why opponents of Nazism began using the term.

See also

• German Reich (1933–1945)
• National Socialism
• National Socialist German Workers' Party
• Sozi