During the years that led to WWII, the word “Nazi” was used as a derogatory term against the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP, translated in English as National Socialist German Worker’s Party.

Headed by Adolf Hitler, the NSDAP was a party which rode to power on the wings of far-right politics. During the 1920s, when the party was not much of a threat, political opponents referred to the party dismissively as “Nazi.”