German Workers' Party
German Workers' Party Deutsche Arbeiterpartei | |
---|---|
Political position | Far-right[8] |
The German Workers' Party (German: Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, DAP) was a short-lived far-right political party established in Weimar Germany after World War I. It only lasted from 5 January 1919 until 24 February 1920. The DAP was the precursor of the Nazi Party, which was officially known as the National Socialist German Workers' Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, NSDAP).
History
Origins
On 5 January 1919, the German Workers' Party (DAP) was founded in
Adolf Hitler's membership
After
In less than a week, Hitler received a postcard stating he had officially been accepted as a member and he should come to a committee meeting to discuss it. Hitler attended the committee meeting held at the run-down Altes Rosenbad beer-house.[17] Normally, enlisted army personnel were not allowed to join political parties. In this case, Hitler had Captain Karl Mayr's permission to join the DAP. Further, Hitler was allowed to stay in the army and receive his weekly pay of 20 gold marks.[18] Unlike many other members of the organisation, this continued employment provided him with enough money to dedicate himself more fully to the DAP.[19] At the time when Hitler joined the party, there were no membership numbers or cards. It was in January 1920 when a numeration was issued for the first time and listed in alphabetical order Hitler received the number 555. In reality, he had been the 55th member, but the counting started at the number 501 in order to make the party appear larger.[20] In his work Mein Kampf, Hitler later claimed to be the seventh party member, but he was in fact the seventh executive member of the party's central committee.[21]
During 1919, the DAP set out an explicit program of being nationalistic, anti-Semitic, and anti-Marxist.[22] Unlike other similar nationalist parties at the time, the DAP aimed its rhetoric towards working class Germans, hoping to cross class boundaries and recruit them.[22] However, Hitler explicitly rejected the Marxist idea of dictatorship of the proletariat, and instead attempted to appeal to the working class to create a "volksgemeinshaft" (people's community), where German identity took precedence over class, religion, or other ideas.[22]
After giving his first speech for the DAP on 16 October at the Hofbräukeller, Hitler quickly became the party's most active orator. Hitler's considerable oratory and propaganda skills were appreciated by the party leadership as crowds began to flock to hear his speeches during 1919–1920. Such was the popularity of Hitler's speaking skills, the party began charging an entry fee for visitors to hear his speeches.[23] With the support of Drexler, Hitler became chief of propaganda for the party in early 1920. Hitler preferred that role as he saw himself as the drummer for a national cause. He saw propaganda as the way to bring nationalism to the public.[24]
From DAP to NSDAP
The small number of party members were quickly won over to
Membership
Early members of the party included:
- Anton Drexler
- Dietrich Eckart
- Gottfried Feder
- Karl Harrer
- Hermann Esser
- Ernst Boepple
- Hans Frank
- Adolf Hitler
- Ernst Röhm
- Alfred Rosenberg
- Rudolf Jung
References
Informational notes
Citations
- ISBN 978-0-393-33761-7.
- ^ "How a Speech Helped Hitler Take Power". Time. Retrieved 11 September 2020. "Feb. 24, 1920 [...] that Adolf Hitler delivered the Nazi Party Platform to a large crowd in Munich, an event that is often regarded as the foundation of Naziism."
- ^ Goodrick-Clarke 2004, p. 148.
- ^ a b c d e f Kershaw 2008, p. 82.
- .
- ^ ISBN 9783205773375
- ^ David Nicholls. Adolf Hitler: A Biographical Companion. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000. pp. 236–37.
- ^ Colley 2010, p. 11.
- ^ Kershaw 2008, pp. 82, 83.
- ^ a b Kershaw 2008, p. 83.
- ^ Kershaw 1999, p. 109.
- The Great Courses. Event occurs at 23:00–24:30. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ a b Kershaw 2008, p. 75.
- ^ Evans 2003, p. 170.
- ^ Kershaw 1999, p. 126.
- The Great Courses. Event occurs at 15:00–25:00. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ Kershaw 2008, pp. 75, 76.
- ^ Kershaw 2008, p. 76.
- The Great Courses. Event occurs at 24:00–25:00. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ Mitcham 1996, p. 67.
- ISBN 3-430-16373-0.
- ^ The Great Courses. Event occurs at 26:00–31:04. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- The Great Courses. Event occurs at 26:00–27:00. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
- ^ Kershaw 2008, pp. 81, 84, 85, 89, 96.
- ^ Kershaw 2008, p. 87.
- ^ Zentner & Bedürftig 1997, p. 629.
- ^ Shirer 1960, p. 36.
- ^ Konrad Heiden, "Les débuts du national-socialisme", Revue d'Allemagne, VII, No. 71 (Sept. 15, 1933), p. 821.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-14-303469-8.
- Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas (2004). The occult roots of Nazism : secret Aryan cults and their influence on Nazi ideology. London: Tauris Parke. ISBN 9781860649738.
- ISBN 978-0-393-04671-7.
- Kershaw, Ian (2008). Hitler: A Biography. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-06757-6.
- ISBN 978-0-275-95485-7.
- ISBN 978-0-671-62420-0.
- Zentner, Christian; Bedürftig, Friedemann (1997) [1991]. ISBN 978-0-306-80793-0.
- Colley, Rupert (2010). Hitler In An Hour. History In An Hour. ISBN 978-1-4523-1587-4.