This interpretative study attempts to ascertain why the Nazi movement gained the support of German voters by examining its persuasive strategies. The growth of the movement was divided into three periods. In each period, the verbal and non-verbal rhetorical strategies were explored. It was found that the movement's success stemmed largely from the display of party unity, the display of power through the Storm Troopers' use of violent street rhetoric, and the spread of Nazi ideals through speeches at meetings, on tours, and especially at the Nuremberg Party Rallies. Their communication capitalized skillfully on the conditions in Germany between 1919 and 1933. Hopefully, the findings of this study add to our knowledge of the role of rhetoric in creating mass movements.

This thesis addresses the controversy of Nazism as a political ideology in an ethical context, with emphasis on the role of man. The descriptive section looks at the origins and history of Nazism, its formation as a political party (NSDAP) and its main attributes. The topics of the prescriptive section are disputations the question of how Nazism stands in the context of various historical periods from antiquity to the peak period of Nazism. This section also deals with the problems of neo-Nazism. Two controversial publications of the major neo-Nazism promoters are subjected to examination and criticism. These publications and their promoters are ?My Awakening? by David Duke from the context of the world, and ?Taboos in the Social Sciences? by Petr Bakalář from the context of the Czech Republic.