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Encyclopedia > National Socialist German Workers' Party
Enlarge
The Nazi swastika symbol

The National Socialist German Workers Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), better known as the NSDAP or the Nazi Party was a political party that was led to power in Germany by Adolf Hitler in 1933. The term Nazi is a short form of the German word (NA)tionalso(ZI)alist (National Socialist), reflecting the ideology of the NSDAP. The NSDAP set up the Third Reich after being democratically elected to lead the German government in 1933. The swastika is a cross with its arms 90° to either right or left. ... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... A political party is a political organization subscribing to a certain ideology or formed around very special issues. ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...


The NSDAP was the main political force in Nazi Germany from the fall of the Weimar Republic in 1933 until the end of World War II in 1945, when it was declared illegal and its leaders were arrested and convicted of crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg Trials. The ideology and practices of the Nazi Party gave rise to an entire new branch of political science, commonly known as "Nazism". Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... The period of German history from 1919 to 1933 is known as the Weimar Republic (Pronounced Vye-Mar, and in German it is known as the Weimarer Republik). It is named after the city of Weimar, where a national assembly convened to produce a new constitution after the German monarchy... The Nuremberg Trials is the general name for two sets of trials of Nazis involved in World War II and the Holocaust. ... Niccolò Machiavelli, ca 1500, became the key figure in realistic political theory, crucial to political science Political Science is the systematic study of the allocation and transfer of power in decision making. ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ...

Nazi Hoheitsadler: Eagle on symbol
Nazi Hoheitsadler: Eagle on Hakenkreuz symbol
Contents

1.1 Origins
1.2 Struggle for power
1.3 Reborn Nazi Party
1.4 Seizure of Power
1.5 Consolidation of power
1.6 Post World War II Nazi Party
ar:صورة:Reich. ... The swastika is a cross with its arms 90° to either right or left. ...

Party history

Origins

In the beginning of 1918, a party called the Freier Ausschuss für einen deutschen Arbeiterfrieden (Free Committee for a German Workers' Peace) was created in Bremen, Germany. (6) Anton Drexler, locksmith and self-styled poet, formed a branch of this league on March 7, 1918, in Munich. In 1919, Drexler, with Gottfried Feder, Dietrich Eckart and Karl Harrer, changed its name to the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (German Workers' Party, abbreviated DAP). This party was the formal forerunner of the NSDAP, and became one of many völkisch movements that existed in Germany after its defeat in World War I. In order to investigate the DAP, German army intelligence sent a young corporal, Adolf Hitler, to monitor party activities. However, he was impressed by what he saw, and he joined as Member Number 555 (although Hitler later claimed to be "Party Member number 7" to make it look like he was a founder). He was in fact the 7th member of the DAP's central committee. At this early stage, Hitler brought up the idea of renaming the party, and he proposed the name "Social Revolutionary Party" (4). However, Rudolf Jung insisted that the party should follow the pattern of Austria's Deutsche Nationalsozialistische Arbeiterpartei. As a consequence, the DAP was shortly renamed the NSDAP on February 24, 1920. 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... For other uses, see Bremen (disambiguation). ... Anton Drexler (June 13, 1884 - February 24, 1942) was a Munich locksmith and member of the völkisch agitators who, together with journalist Karl Harrer, founded the German Workers Party (DAP) in 1919. ... March 7 is the 66th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (67th in Leap years). ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Gottfried Feder (January 1, 1883 - September 24, 1941) was an anti-capitalist, anti-semite and one of the early key members of the German Nazi party. ... Dietrich Eckart (March 23, 1868 - December 26, 1923) was one of the early key members of the German Nazi party and one of the participants in the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch. ... Karl Harrer (1890 - 1926) was a journalist and one of the founding members of the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (German Workers Party, DAP) in 1919, the party that soon would become the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP). ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Rudolf Jung (April 16, 1882 - December 11, 1945) was an instrumental force and agitator of Austrian National Socialism and, later on, became a member of the daughter party German Nazi Party. ... The National Socialist German Workers Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), better known as the NSDAP or the Nazi Party was a political party that was led to power in Germany by Adolf Hitler in 1933. ...


Other early members of the Nazi Party include Rudolf Buttmann, director general of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library), and Hermann Esser, editor of the Völkischer Beobachter. Hermann Esser (1900-1981) entered the Nazi party with Adolf Hitler in 1920, became the editor of the Nazi paper, Völkischer Beobachter, and a Nazi member of the Reichstag. ... One of the last editions of the Völkischer Beobachter (April 20, 1945) hails Adolf Hitler as man of the century on the occasion of his 56th birthday, ten days before his suicide. ...


Struggle for power

Adolf Hitler became Nazi Party chairman on July 29, 1921, and at once began a program where the Nazi Party became a radical and revolutionary organization. The Sturmabteilung (storm troopers) was founded that same year and began a policy of expanding the Nazi Party by way of fear, intimidation, and violent attacks on other political parties. July 29 is the 210th day (211th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 155 days remaining. ... Hitler addressing SA members in the late 1920s The Sturmabteilung (SA, German for Storm Division and is usually translated as stormtroops or stormtroopers) functioned as a paramilitary organisation of the NSDAP – the German Nazi party. ...


In these early years, the Nazi Party was confined mainly to Bavaria in the city of Munich. Splinter Nazi groups did exist elsewhere in Germany; however, the programs and agendas were such that, even among the Nazis, such extra-Bavarian Nazi groups were considered separate from the main Nazi Party as a whole. With an area of 70,553 km² and 12. ... Munich: Frauenkirche and Town Hall steeple Munich (German: München pronunciation) is the state capital of the German Bundesland of Bavaria. ...


Disaster presented itself in 1923 when the Nazi Party attempted to seize control of the Bavarian government in the so-called "Beer Hall Putsch". The two-day revolution was crushed by Munich authorities, and several Nazis were killed in the process. Hitler and his top Nazi advisors were tried and convicted of treason. Sentences ranged from 12 to 18 months, with Hitler serving his term at Landsberg prison. During this period, from 1923 to 1925, the Nazi Party ceased to exist. However, Hitler would spent the time writing Mein Kampf, detailing how he would accomplish a political comeback once he was released from prison. The Hitler Putsch (also commonly referred to in English as the Beer Hall Putsch) occurred in the evening of Thursday, November 8 to early afternoon of Friday, November 9, 1923 when the nascent Nazi partys Führer Adolf Hitler, the popular World War I General Erich Ludendorff, and other leaders... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Mein Kampf (German My Struggle) is a book written by Adolf Hitler, combining elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitlers political ideology, National Socialism. ...


Reborn Nazi Party

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Early leaders of the Nazi Party (left to right): Heinz Pernet, Friedrich Weber, Wilhelm Frick, Hermann Kriebel, Erich Ludendorff, Adolf Hitler, Wilhelm Brückner, Ernst Röhm, Robert Wagner

Upon Adolf Hitler's release from prison in 1925, the NSDAP was refounded, with Hitler taking Party membership number 1. That same year, the Schutzstaffel (SS) was founded. The evolution of the party, during this era, is an integral part of the decline of the Weimar State. For other uses of the abbreviation SS, see SS (disambiguation) The Schutzstaffel (Protective Squadron), or SS, was a large paramilitary organization that belonged to the Nazi party. ... This Weimar Timeline charts the chronology of the Weimar Republic, including the pre-history before the adoption of the actual Weimar constitution. ...


The second Nazi Party saw Gottfried Feder as economic theoretician. Rudolf Jung supplied the reborn Nazi Party with a ready-made ideology that he carried with him from Czechoslovakia. It was a 25-point program. Hitler added his ideas about foreign policy, and Julius Streicher added his more virulent anti-Semitic views. Gottfried Feder (January 1, 1883 - September 24, 1941) was an anti-capitalist, anti-semite and one of the early key members of the German Nazi party. ... Rudolf Jung (April 16, 1882 - December 11, 1945) was an instrumental force and agitator of Austrian National Socialism and, later on, became a member of the daughter party German Nazi Party. ... Czechoslovakia (Czech: Československo, Slovak: Česko-Slovensko/before 1990 Československo) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1992 (except for the World War II period). ... The National Socialist Program, also referred to as the 25-point program, was developed to formulate the party policies of, first, the Austrian German Workers Party (or DAP) and was copied later by Adolf Hitlers Nazi party. ... Julius Streicher at the Nuremberg Trials Julius Streicher (February 12, 1885–October 16, 1946) was a prominent Nazi prior to and during World War II. He was the publisher of the Nazi Der Stürmer newspaper, which was to become a part of the Nazi propaganda machine. ... Anti-Semitism (alternatively spelled antisemitism) is hostility towards Jews (not: Semites - see the Misnomer section further on). ...


Between 1925 and 1929, the Nazis competed poorly in elections. In the election of 1930, however, the Nazis (propelled by Germany's economic problems in the incipient Great Depression) increased their vote dramatically, becoming the second-largest party in the Reichstag. The NSDAP continued to improve its position in the years thereafter, despite a brief ban in 1932 of the SA (the party's private army). In the elections of 1932 the party reached a total of 13.75 million votes and so became the largest voting bloc in the Reichstag. 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... The Great Depression was a global economic slump that began in 1929 and bottomed in 1933. ... The term Reichstag (in English: Imperial Diet) is a composition of German Reich (Empire) and tag (which does not mean day here, but is a derivate of the verb tagen, which means assembling for debate). ... Hitler addressing SA members in the late 1920s The Sturmabteilung (SA, German for Storm Division and is usually translated as stormtroops or stormtroopers) functioned as a paramilitary organisation of the NSDAP – the German Nazi party. ...


Seizure of Power

The Nazis never won an electoral majority on their own, but Hitler was appointed Chancellor of a coalition government by President Paul von Hindenburg in January 1933. His coalition partners were the right-wing Nationalists led by Alfred Hugenberg, the press baron, and his Vice-Chancellor was the ex-Catholic Centre Party leader and former Chancellor Franz von Papen. The head of government in Germany has traditionally been called Kanzler ( Chancellor). ... The Federal President (German: Bundespräsident) is Germanys head of state. ... Paul von Hindenburg President of Germany Paul von Hindenburg (full name Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg) ( October 2, 1847– August 2, 1934) was a German Field Marshal and statesman. ... January is the first month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Alfred Hugenberg (June 19, 1865 - March 12, 1951) was an influential German businessman and politician. ... The Vice-Chancellor of Germany (Vizekanzler) in Germany is often the Minister of Foreign Affairs. ... Franz von Papen (October 29, 1879–May 2, 1969) was a German politician and diplomat from the Catholic Center Party. ...


On February 27, 1933, the Reichstag parliament building caught fire. This Reichstag fire was promptly blamed on the Communists, and was used as an excuse by the Nazis to close the Communist Party of Germany's offices, ban its press and arrest its leaders. Furthermore, Hitler convinced the ageing and senile President von Hindenburg to sign the Reichstag Fire Decree, abolishing most of the human rights provided for by the 1919 constitution of the Weimar Republic. A further decree enabled for preventative detention of all the Communist deputies, amongst many thousands of others. February 27 is the 58th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Reichstag fire The Reichstag fire, a pivotal event in the establishment of Nazi Germany, began at 9. ... The Communist Party of Germany (in German, Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands – KPD) was formed in December of 1918 from the Spartacist League, which originated as a small factional grouping within the Social Democratic Party (SPD) opposed to the First World War on the grounds that it was an imperialist war in... Dementia (from Latin demens) is progressive decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the brain beyond what might be expected from normal aging. ... The Reichstag Fire Decree (in German, Reichstagsbrandverordnung) is the commonly used abbreviation for the law that was passed by the Nazi government in direct response to the Reichstag fire of February 27, 1933. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... The Weimar constitution was the document that governed the short-lived Weimar Republic (1919-1933) of Germany. ... The period of German history from 1919 to 1933 is known as the Weimar Republic (Pronounced Vye-Mar, and in German it is known as the Weimarer Republik). It is named after the city of Weimar, where a national assembly convened to produce a new constitution after the German monarchy...


The main vehicle through which Hitler became dictator of Germany was the so called "Enabling Act" which granted Hitler as Chancellor emergency power and suspension of legislative restrictions on his office as German Chief executive. To pass the Enabling Act, Hitler held a Reichstag election in March of 1933 to find a majority for passing this single law that would empower the cabinet to enact laws on its own authority and make Hitler the dictator of Germany. The Enabling Act (in German: Ermächtigungsgesetz) was passed by the Reichstag on March 23, 1933. ...

Enlarge
Nazi leader Adolf Hitler at a parade.

The Nazis obtained 43.9%; with their right-wing Nationalist DNVP allies included, they controlled a simple parliamentary 51.8% majority coalition. However, to give the Enabling Act legitimacy, Hitler needed to pass a constitutional change. Von Papen, with the leader of the Catholic Centre Party Monsignor Ludwig Kaas, engineered an agreement between the Vatican's Pope Pius XI and Cardinal Pacelli (the future Pope Pius XII). In return for the Concordat, the Centre Party provided parliamentary backing for the Enabling Act and a two-thirds constitutional majority was obtained. The Centre Party's thirty-one votes added to the fragmented middle-class parties and the right-wing Nationalists (DNVP) and gave Hitler the right to rule by his own decree and to further suspend many civil liberties. Adolf Hitler on a parade vehicle Presumed public domain; see Wikipedia_talk:Image_copyright_tags#WWII_Nazi_pictures This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Adolf Hitler on a parade vehicle Presumed public domain; see Wikipedia_talk:Image_copyright_tags#WWII_Nazi_pictures This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The German National Peoples Party (German: Deutschnationale Volkspartei) (DNVP) was a right wing national-conservative party in Germany during the time of the Weimar Republic. ... Centre Party or Center Party is the designation of several parties: Centre Party - a party in Estonia Centre Party - a party in Finland Centre Party - a party in Germany Centre Party - a party in Ireland Centre Party - a party in Norway Centre Party - a party in Sweden This is a... Pius XI (born Achille Ratti May 31, 1857 - Rome, February 10, 1939) was Pope from February 6, 1922 until February 10, 1939. ... The Venerable Pius XII, born Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Eugenio Pacelli (Rome, March 2, 1876 - October 9, 1958) served as the Pope from March 2, 1939 to 1958. ... A concordat is an agreement between the pope and a government or sovereign on religious matters. ... The Enabling Act (in German: Ermächtigungsgesetz) was passed by the Reichstag on March 23, 1933. ...


In five clauses the Enabling Act gave the government power to change the Constitution, the cabinet to enact laws without legislative approval, the Chancellor to draft legislation, the Cabinet to enact foreign treaties abroad, and a renewal every four years dependent on the continuation of the government. The only left-wing party remaining in the Reichstag, the Social Democratic Party of Germany, valiantly protested the Act from being passed. As the Reichstag met in the Kroll Opera House, patrolled and harangued by brown-shirted SA men, the Enabling Act passed and, as punishment for their dissent, the Social Democrats became the second party banned by the Nazis (on 22 June) following the move of their leadership to Prague. The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD – Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands) is the second oldest political party of Germany still in existence and also one of the oldest and largest in the world, celebrating its 140th anniversary in 2003. ... June 22 is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 192 days remaining. ... Prague (Praha in Czech) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. ...


On July 14, 1933, the Nazis banned the formation of new parties and Germany became a one-party state under the NSDAP. This was part of the Gleichschaltung. Hitler kept the Reichstag as a pulpit with the Reichsrat (upper house of the German parliment) controlled by Nazi appointees who quickly voted the Enabling Act and then disolved the Reichsrat as a legislative body. The legislative bodies of the German states soon followed in the same manner, with the German federal government taking over most state and local legislative powers. July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The German word Gleichschaltung (literally synchronising, synchronization) is used in a political sense to describe the process by which the Nazi regime successively established a system of totalitarian control over the individual, and tight coordination over all aspects of society and commerce. ... There was a Reichsrat in Germany, see Reichsrat (Germany) in the Austrian part of Austria-Hungary (Cisleithania), see Reichsrat (Austria) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...


In a declaration on March 23, 1933, Hitler declared that both the main Churches of Germany were "most important factors" for the maintenance of German well-being. Henceforward that which had hitherto been a critical German episcopate now advocated the Nazi regime openly and, with the Concordat, finally gave it an international recognition of acceptability. March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (83rd in Leap years). ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The Nazi party's 1936 Nuremberg Rally was its largest.

Download high resolution version (1248x830, 250 KB)German Nazi Party rally at Nuremberg in 1936. ... Download high resolution version (1248x830, 250 KB)German Nazi Party rally at Nuremberg in 1936. ...

Consolidation of power

Between 1934 and 1939, the Nazi Party began a series of measures to merge the Nazi Party and the German government into one entity. It was also during this time that Nazi racial views were transferred to legal practice with Germany becoming an anti-Semitic and racialist state after the passing of the Nuremburg Laws in 1935. Hitlers Nazi Germany: the epitome of 20th-century racialism Racialism is a term used to describe racial policy, in what is generally perceived to be a negative sense, as promoting stratification and inequality between racial categories (in themselves, often disputed). ... 1933 to 1939 Nazi racial policy changed extensively in the years between 1933 and 1939. ...


Hitler’s first act to merge the Nazi party and German government was upon the death of President Paul von Hindenburg in August of 1934. Three hours before Hindenburg died, Hitler's government passed a law to take effect on Hindenburg's death which proscribed that the office of President would be merged with that of the Chancellor and that Hitler would henceforth be the Führer und Reichkanzler of Germany. By this action, Hitler made himself Head of State, Head of Government and Chairman of the Nazi party combined into one single office.


In the mid 1930s, the Nazi Party appointed and staffed nearly the entire German government with Nazi Party officials. In addition, the SS had by 1936 become the state police service controlling all aspects of law enforcement and political enforcement. By the time World War II began in 1939, there was virtually no distinction between the Nazi Party and the Government of Germany with the latter two being considered one and the same.


The original act which made Hitler dictator of Germany, the Enabling Act, was renewed in 1937 and then in 1941 for an indefinite term. Even as late as 1944, however, there were those in Germany who believed that the Nazis were simply a political party who were currently in power but could be voted out of office when and if the German people so chose. On paper, at least, Hitler’s dictatorship was not to last forever and some Germans saw the Enabling Act as temporary only until World War II was over at which time Germany would again become a democratic country with a Presidency and Chancellorship split into two separate offices once again. Most likely, however, had Germany triumphed in World War II Hitler would have become dictator for life.


Post World War II Nazi Party

The Nazi Party ceased to exist in May 1945 when Law Number 2 of the Allied Control Council declared the Nazi party disbanded and the Nazi party, itself, illegal. Since that time, several “successor groups” have claimed to be continuations of the Nazi party but only one was actually ever declared to be so by German and Allied authorities. The ACA headquarters The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority, known as the Alliierter Kontrollrat, was the name of a military occupation governing body of Germany at the end of World War II in Europe; the members were the United States, United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union. ...


The National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) was founded November 28, 1964 as a political party of West Germany. The NPD advocated a program nearly identical to old Nazi ideals and began combining various Neo-Nazi groups under its authority. This, in combination with a leadership of former Nazis from the Hitler era, became very alarming to the West German government and the allied occupation forces still technically in charge of Germany. Efforts were made in the 1960s to have the NPD declared a direct successor to the Nazi Party and disbanded under West German law, however the Party survived to a large enough extent that it still maintains a presence in German politics to this day. National Democratic Party of Germany can refer to: National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) - a far-right political party in Germany National Democratic Party of Germany (East Germany) (NDPD)- a former political party in East Germany This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might... West Germany was the informal but almost universally used name for the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 until 1990, during which years the Federal Republic did not yet include East Germany. ... The terms Neo-Nazism and Neo-Fascism refer to any social or political movement to revive Nazism or Fascism, respectively, and postdates the Second World War. ... West Germany was the informal but almost universally used name for the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 until 1990, during which years the Federal Republic did not yet include East Germany. ...


The only other successor Nazi group, noticed as extremely dangerous by government officials, was the American Nazi Party under the leadership of George Lincoln Rockwell. The American Nazi Party reached its height in the 1960s with many U.S. law enforcement leaders stating that the party was becoming as dangerous, if not more so, than the original Nazi Party had in the 1920s and early 30s. As American free speech did not allow for the disbanding of political parties, the American Nazi party was allowed to continue its existence but lost most of its membership and finances after the death of George Rockwell. The American Nazi Party was an American Neo-Nazi political party formed in February 1959 by George Lincoln Rockwell. ... George Lincoln Rockwell, (March 9, 1918 - August 25, 1967) was the founder of the American Nazi Party and perhaps the most prominent American neo-Nazi leader. ...


In the 21st century there are no organizations which are seriously recognized as continuations of Hitler’s Nazi party. Most such groups are scattered, disorganized, and so full of Anti-Semitism and white supremacist rhetoric that average citizens look upon such organizations as little more than hate groups. (20th century - 21st century - 22nd century - other centuries) Definition In calendars based on the Christian Era or Common Era, such as the Gregorian calendar, the 21st century is the current century, as of this writing, lasting from 2000-2099. ... Anti-Semitism (alternatively spelled antisemitism) is hostility towards Jews (not: Semites - see the Misnomer section further on). ... White supremacy is the variety of white nationalism that believes the white race should rule over other races. ...


Nazi Party Structure

1921 – 1923

When the Nazi party was first established in February 1920, it consisted of a leadership board based in Munich, Bavaria with a general membership of just under 2000. The NSDAP Leadership Board was democratically elected who, in turn, elected a Board Chairman. On July 29, 1921, Adolf Hitler was elected Chairman of the Nazi Party after previously having served as “Party Speaker” in the summer of 1920. The exact circumstances of Hitler having been elected as Chairman have been lost in history, but it is certainly one of the pivotal events in German politics. Hitler’s charisma no doubt played a part in his assumption of the Chairmanship as did promises to the leadership board that the Nazi Party would grow in numbers and achieve great power and prosperity. Munich: Frauenkirche and Town Hall steeple Munich (German: München pronunciation) is the state capital of the German Bundesland of Bavaria. ...


Almost immediately, Hitler abandoned all democratic notions in the Nazi party. He declared himself the Führer of the Party and the leadership board became a permanent “inner circle”. Many top Nazis of the Second World War can trace their political beginnings to this point. Führer (often written Fuehrer or Fuhrer in English when umlauts are not used) is a proper noun meaning leader or guide in the German language. ...


By the end of 1921, the Nazi Party had become more or less a paramilitary radical organization. All Nazi Party members wore paramilitary uniforms and the Sturmabteilung (SA) had been founded that same year based on the model of the old Freikorps. By 1923, the Nazi party and the SA stormtroopers were considered almost one and the same with the first Nazi paramilitary ranks, those being the ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung, in use. Hitler addressing SA members in the late 1920s The Sturmabteilung (SA, German for Storm Division and is usually translated as stormtroops or stormtroopers) functioned as a paramilitary organisation of the NSDAP – the German Nazi party. ... The designation of Freikorps (German for Free Corps) was originally applied to voluntary armies. ... The ranks and insignia of the Sturmabteilung (SA) were the first paramilitary rank system to be developed by the Nazi Party in 1920. ...


1925 – 1933

Following the abortive Beer Hall Putsch, and a two year period of the Nazi Party having been disbanded, the NSDAP was refounded under a more benign platform that the Party would only seek power through legal means and by use of the Weimar Republic democratic system. To accomplish this, it was necessary for the Nazi party to expand outside of Bavaria and in this way a new Nazi organizational system developed which would last until the Party’s collapse in 1945. The Hitler Putsch (also commonly referred to in English as the Beer Hall Putsch) occurred in the evening of Thursday, November 8 to early afternoon of Friday, November 9, 1923 when the nascent Nazi partys Führer Adolf Hitler, the popular World War I General Erich Ludendorff, and other leaders... The period of German history from 1919 to 1933 is known as the Weimar Republic (Pronounced Vye-Mar, and in German it is known as the Weimarer Republik). It is named after the city of Weimar, where a national assembly convened to produce a new constitution after the German monarchy...


The NSDAP of 1925 was divided into two “classes”, those being the leadership corps of the Nazi Party, known as the Korps der politischen Leiter, and the general membership known as the Partei Mitgleider. Gone were the days where all Nazis wore paramilitary uniforms with the average Nazi Party member indistinguishable from the general citizenry. For the first time, the Nazi Party also began to admit women.


The SA stormtroopers were refounded in 1925 as was another Nazi paramilitary group, the Schutzstaffel (SS). These organizations, and the many Nazi paramilitary groups that would follow, were considered “support groups” to the Nazi Party as a whole and all members of these groups had first to become regular Nazi Party members. It was also possible for a Nazi Party member to not join a paramilitary group but simple serve as a regular Nazi Mitglied. The Hitler Youth, with origins in 1921 was a Nazi youth corps group whose members were not actually Nazi party members, but were in training to be so. For other uses of the abbreviation SS, see SS (disambiguation) The Schutzstaffel (Protective Squadron), or SS, was a large paramilitary organization that belonged to the Nazi party. ... The German Nazi party established the Hitler Youth (in German: Hitler-Jugend or HJ) in 1926. ...


The leadership of the NSDAP in the late 1920s began at the top with Adolf Hitler and extended to his inner circle from the early days of the Party. As the Nazis were now operating on a national level, the NSDAP maintained a position known as Gauleiter who was a Nazi headman in a particular region of Germany. An even higher position, that of Reichsleiter, was intended for the most senior of Nazis who were part of the inner circle. A Gauleiter was a leader of a local branch of the NSDAP (more commonly known as the Nazi Party) or the head of a Reichsgau (an administrative division of the state). ...


Beneath the Gauleiters were several junior Nazi political leaders with a variety of titles such as Kreisleiter, Zellenleiter and Blockleiter. Such Nazi political officers wore paramilitary brown uniforms, the same as Hitler and his senior Nazi inner circle. In this way, the first Nazi Party ranks came into being.


1933 – 1938

Enlarge
NSDAP Organizational Chart published in 1934

When Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, the Nazi Party suddenly found itself in control of a modern state government. Hitler and top Nazis saw immediately that for Germany to become a dictatorship, the Nazi Party and the German government had to become one and the same. To accomplish this, measures were enacted to merge the German government with the Nazi Party. On the federal level, all German Ministries were staffed with Nazi officials who, in turn, appointed other Nazis to civil service positions within the government. A vast and complex Nazi party civil service system then developed which had, by 1935, completely taken over the German government. Such Nazi Party government officials held regular government postings, but also held ranks in the Nazi Party, wore paramilitary uniforms (a wide variety of which existed by this time) and reported to Adolf Hitler both as the Chancellor of Germany and the Führer of the Nazi Party. Führer (often written Fuehrer or Fuhrer in English when umlauts are not used) is a proper noun meaning leader or guide in the German language. ...


On the state and local level, German town and city governments were allowed to continue as before but the Nazi Party political chain, extending upwards to the Gauleiters, existed side by side with the local government establishments.


Thus, a town could possibly have a non-Nazi Bürgermeister and town council, but such persons were merely “rubber stamps” for the local head Nazi leader.


In 1933, the paramilitary groups of the Nazi Party began merging with the German state, as well, the most notable of which was the SS which would eventually take over all law enforcement functions of Germany and also serve as a political police force. The German Labor Front was another state run Nazi Party organization along with several less known Nazi paramilitary groups.


1938 – 1939

By 1938, there was virtually no distinction between the Nazi Party and the German government. Hitler, by this time, had merged the office of Chancellor and President into the new office of Führer und Reichkanzler of Germany and remained Führer of the Nazi Party. The swastika flag was now the official Flag of Germany and the German armed forces now wore Nazi insignia and swore personal allegiance to Hitler. In addition, nearly all Nazi Party paramilitary groups were sponsored and in some way connected to the German government. Flag ratio of current German flag is 3:5 The article is about the flag of Germany. ...


When Austria was annexed by Germany in the Anschluss of 1938, the existing Austrian Nazi Party was quickly installed to replace the old Austrian government. By 1939, Austria had been completely incorporated into Germany with the leadership of Austria little more than a local Nazi administration taking orders from Berlin. When Czechoslovakia was added to German gains, the newly formed “Reich Protectorate” was a strict dictatorship which would eventually come under the control of the SS in the person of Reinhard Heydrich. The general German term Anschluss is part of the specific political incident Anschluss Österreichs referring to the inclusion of Austria in a Greater Germany in 1938. ... Czechoslovakia (Czech: Československo, Slovak: Česko-Slovensko/before 1990 Československo) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1992 (except for the World War II period). ... Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich (sometimes incorrectly spelled as Reinhardt, March 7, 1904 - June 4, 1942) was an Obergruppenführer in the Nazi German paramilitary corps - the SS led by Heinrich Himmler. ...


1939 – 1945

During World War II, the Nazi Party continued as usual in the homeland of the “Greater German Reich” with the federal government staffed by Nazis and the local and state governments under the control of Nazi political leaders.


As Germany expanded its territory and began conquering other countries, the Nazi Party began establishing dictatorial regimes to replace the fallen governments, all of which were controlled by Nazi appointed puppet leaders with the exception of France which was run by a military government under the control of the Wehrmacht. A puppet state is a state whose government, though notionally of the same culture as the governed people - owes its existence (or other major debt) to being installed, supported or controlled by a more powerful entity, typically a foreign power. ... The Wehrmacht (literally defence force or means/power of resistance) was the name of the armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. ...


The General Government of Poland was the most ruthless of all the installed Nazi Party regimes with the “Reichkommisariats”, established in Russia, coming in a close second. Rule in these regions was based on ruthless terror with civilian reprisals and instant executions a common occurrence. The General Government (in full General government for the occupied Polish areas, in German Generalgouvernement für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete) was the name given by Germany to the governing authority in Poland after its occupation by the Wehrmacht in September and October 1939. ...


Party composition

General membership

The general membership of the Nazi Party, known as the Partei Mitglieder, consisted mainly of the lower middle classes both rural and urban. Seven percent belonged to the upper class, seven percent were peasants, thirty five percent were industrial workers and fifty one percent were what can be described as middle class. The largest single occupational group was elementary school teachers. Rural areas are sparsely settled places away from the influence of large cities and towns. ... Urban is in or having to do with cities, as distinct from rural areas. ... Aristocracy is a form of government in which rulership is in the hands of an upper class known as aristocrats. ... Categories: 1911 Britannica | Historical stubs | Feudalism ... For genres of music known as industrial, see industrial music. ... The middle class (or middle classes) comprises a social group once defined by exception as an intermediate social class between the nobility and the peasantry. ... Primary or elementary education is the first years of formal, structured education that occurs during childhood. ...


When the Nazi Party began in the 1920s, it averaged 2000 members. When the Nazi Party came to power in 1933, party membership had risen to 2.5 million. In 1945, when the Nazi Party was disbanded, official membership rolls listed a total of 8.5 million. 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...


Military membership

Nazi members with military ambitions were encouraged to join the Waffen SS, but a great number enlisted in the Wehrmacht and even more were drafted for service after World War II began. Early regulations required that all Wehrmacht members be non-political, and therefore any National Socialist member joining in the 1930s was required to resign from the Nazi Party. Waffen-SS recruitment poster; Volunteer to the Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS was the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel. ...


This regulation was soon waived, however, and there is ample evidence that full Nazi Party members served in the Wehrmacht in particular after the outbreak of World War II. The Wehrmacht Reserves also saw a high number of senior Nazis enlisting, with such figures as Reinhard Heydrich and Fritz Todt joining the Luftwaffe, as well as Karl Hanke who served in the Army. Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich (sometimes incorrectly spelled as Reinhardt, March 7, 1904 - June 4, 1942) was an Obergruppenführer in the Nazi German paramilitary corps - the SS led by Heinrich Himmler. ... Fritz Todt Fritz Todt (September 4, 1891 - February 8, 1942) was an German engineer and senior Nazi figure, the founder of Organisation Todt. ...


Paramilitary groups

In addition to the NSDAP proper, several paramilitary groups existed which "supported" Nazi aims. All such members of these paramilitary organizations were required to become regular Nazi Party members first, and could then enlist in the group of their choice. A vast system of Nazi party paramilitary ranks developed for each of the various paramilitary groups.


The major Nazi Party paramilitary groups were as follows:

The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary group divided into an adult leadership corps and a general membership open to boys aged fourteen to eighteen. For other uses of the abbreviation SS, see SS (disambiguation) The Schutzstaffel (Protective Squadron), or SS, was a large paramilitary organization that belonged to the Nazi party. ... Hitler addressing SA members in the late 1920s The Sturmabteilung (SA, German for Storm Division and is usually translated as stormtroops or stormtroopers) functioned as a paramilitary organisation of the NSDAP – the German Nazi party. ... The National Socialist Motor Corps (Nationalsozialistisches Kraftfahrerkorps), also known as the National Socialist Drivers Corps, was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi party that existed between the years of 1931 and 1945. ... The German Nazi party established the Hitler Youth (in German: Hitler-Jugend or HJ) in 1926. ...


Party symbols

  • Nazi Flags: The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). Black, white, and red were in fact the colors of the old North German Confederation flag (invented by Otto von Bismarck, based on the Prussian colors black and white). In 1871, with the foundation of the German Reich, the flag of the North German Confederation became the German Reichsflagge (Reich's flag). Black, white, and red became the colors of the nationalists through the following history ( for example World War I and the Weimar Republic).
  • Swastika
  • The Roman Eagle
  • Nazi anthem: Horst Wessel Lied.

The swastika is a cross with its arms 90° to either right or left. ... The North German Confederation (German Norddeutscher Bund), a transitional grouping which existed (1867 - 1871) between the dissolution of the German Confederation and the founding of the German Empire, cemented Prussian control over the 22 states of Northern Germany and emanated that same control (via the Zollverein) into southern Germany. ... Alternative meanings: See Bismarck (disambiguation). ... 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... The period of German history from 1919 to 1933 is known as the Weimar Republic (Pronounced Vye-Mar, and in German it is known as the Weimarer Republik). It is named after the city of Weimar, where a national assembly convened to produce a new constitution after the German monarchy... The swastika is a cross with its arms 90° to either right or left. ... The Horst Wessel Lied was the anthem of the Nazi Party of Germany, chosen to glorify Horst Wessel as a Nazi martyr. ...

Sayings, mottos and slogans

  • "Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil!"
    • "Hail Victory" (common Nazi chant at rallies)
  • "Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer!"
    • "One people, one nation, one leader!".
  • "Deutschland, erwache!"
    • "Germany, Awake!" (Coined by Dietrich Eckart, this was the title to one of their songs and put on all their banners.) (5)
  • "Die Juden sind unser Unglück!"
    • "The Jews are Our Misfortune!"
  • "Lang lebe unser ruhmvoller Führer!"
    • "Long Live Our Glorious leader!"
  • "Heute Deutschland, morgen die Welt!"
    • "Today Germany, Tomorrow the World!"
  • "Die Deutschen immer vor dem Ausländer und den Juden!"
    • "The German Always Before the Foreigner and Jew!"
  • "Sicher ist der Jude auch ein Mann, aber der Floh ist auch ein Tier"
    • "Certainly the Jew is Also a Man, But the Flea is Also an Animal".

Sieg Heil! or Hail to Victory (lit. ... Dietrich Eckart (March 23, 1868 - December 26, 1923) was one of the early key members of the German Nazi party and one of the participants in the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch. ...

Election statistics

date votes in millions share
May 20, 1928  0.81  2.6%
September 14, 1930  6.41 18.3%
July 31, 1932 13.75 37.3%
November 6, 1932 11.74 33.1%
March 5, 1933 17.28 43.9%

May 20 is the 140th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (141st in leap years). ... September 14 is the 257th day of the year (258th in leap years). ... 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... July 31 is the 212th day (213th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 153 days remaining, as the final day of July. ... November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 55 days remaining. ... March 5 is the 64th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (65th in leap years). ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Related topics

This is a list of words, terms, concepts, and slogans that were used in Nazi Germany. ... Ex-Nazis are those who were once Nazis and resigned from the party. ... Note: For the Nazi Lebensborn programme of selective human breeding, please see that article for details. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Nazi Party (NSDAP) leaders and officials Gunter dAlquen Ludolf von Alvensleben Max Amann Benno von Arent Heinz Auerswald Hans Aumeier Arthur Axmann Erich von dem Bach Herbert Backe Richard Baer Alfred Baeumler Gottlob Berger Werner Best Hans Biebow Paul Blobel Werner von Blomberg Hans-Friedrich Blunck Josef Blösche... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... Horst Wessels Song The official anthem of the Nazi Party was the Horst Wessel Lied. ... Austrian National Socialism was a Pan-Germanic movement that was formed at the beginning of the 20th century. ...

References

  1. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William L. Shirer (1960). Gramercy. (ISBN 0517102943)
  2. The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich by Christian Zenter and Friedemann Bedurftig. (1985 by Sudwest Verlag GmbH & co. KG, Munich)
  3. Reappraisals of Fascism, ed. by Henry A. Turner, New Viewpoints, NY, 1975. pg 99 and Leftism Revisited, Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, Regenery Gateway, Washington, D.C., 1990, pg 163.
  4. Hitler and Nazism, Louis Leo Snyder, pg 21. Leftism Revisited, Von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, pg 162.
  5. Hitler and Nazism, Louis L. Snyder, Franklin Watts, Inc., NY, 1961. pp 23, 69, 80-81. (The author was in Germany and witnessed the mass meetings.)
  6. Liberty or Equality, von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, pg 259. Ref. Konrad Heiden, "Les débuts du national-socialisme", Revue d'Allemagne, VII, No. 71 (Sept. 15, 1933), p 821. Also confirmed by Dr. Hans Fabricius, Geschichte der Nationalsozialistischen Bewegung (2nd ed.; Berlin; Spaeth, 1937), p 15.
  7. Where Ghosts Walked, Munich's Road to the Third Reich, David C. Large, W.W. Norton & Co., NY, 1997. pg 165.
  8. Konrad Heiden Geschichte des Nationalsozialismus; die Karriere einer Idee, pg 19 as quoted in Liberty or Equality, pg 258; Nazism and the Third Reich, Henry A. Turner, Quadrangle Books, NY, 1972, pg 8.
  9. German Resistance Against Hitler, Klemens von Klemperer, Clarendon Press, 1992, p.38 ( Prelate Ludwig Kaas' importance) .

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by journalist William L. Shirer was the first definitive history of Nazi Germany in English. ... William Lawrence Shirer (1904 - 1993), U.S. historian & journalist. ... Erik Ritter von Kuehnelt-Leddihn (July 31, 1909 - May 26, 1999) was an Austrian Catholic aristocrat intellectual. ... Louis Leo Snyder (1907- ?) was an American born German scholar who witnessed the Nazi mass meetings and wrote about it in Hitlerism, the Iron Fist in Germany and predicted Adolf Hitlers rise to power, alliance with Mussolini, and war upon the French and the Jews. ...

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