Adolf Hitler

Weimar Republic

Early Nazi Party

After the war, Hitler remained in the army, which was mainly engaged in suppressing socialist uprisings breaking out across Germany, including Munich (Bavarian Soviet Republic), where Hitler returned in 1919. He took part in "national thinking" courses organised by the Education and Propaganda Department (Dept Ib/P) of the Bavarian Reichswehr Group, Headquarters 4 under Captain Mayr. A key purpose of this group was to create a scapegoat for the outbreak of the war and Germany's defeat. The scapegoats were found in "international Jewry," communists and politicians across the party spectrum, especially the parties of the Weimar Coalition, who were deemed "November criminals".

Related Topics:
Socialist - Bavarian Soviet Republic - 1919 - Scapegoat - Weimar Coalition

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In July 1919, Hitler was appointed a V-Mann (Verbindungsmann is the German term for a police spy) of "Aufklärungskommando" ("Intelligence Commando") of the Reichswehr, for the purpose of influencing other soldiers towards similar ideas and was assigned to infiltrate a small nationalist party, the German Workers' Party (DAP). Here Hitler met Dietrich Eckart, one of the early founders of the party.{{ref|Drummer}}

Related Topics:
Reichswehr - German Workers' Party - Dietrich Eckart

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Hitler was discharged from the army in 1920 and (with the army's continued encouragement) began participating full time in the party's activities.

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By early 1921, Adolf Hitler was becoming highly effective at speaking in front of ever larger crowds. In February, Hitler spoke before a crowd of nearly six thousand in Munich. To publicize the meeting, he sent out two truckloads of Party supporters to drive around with swastikas, cause a big commotion, and throw out leaflets, the first time this tactic was used by them.

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Hitler was now gaining notoriety outside of the Party for his rowdy, at times hysterical tirades against the Treaty of Versailles, rival politicians and political groups, especially Marxists, and always the Jews.

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The Party was centered in Munich which had become a hotbed of ultra right-wing German nationalists. This included Army officers determined to crush Marxism and undermine or even overthrow the young German democracy centered in Berlin.

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Slowly, they began looking toward the rising politician, Adolf Hitler, and the growing movement as the vehicle to hitch themselves to. Hitler was already looking at how he could carry his movement to the rest of Germany. He traveled to Berlin to visit nationalist groups during the summer of 1921.

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But in his absence, he faced an unexpected revolt among his own Nazi Party leadership in Munich.

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The Party was still run by an executive committee whose original members now considered Hitler to be highly overbearing, even dictatorial. To weaken Hitler's position, they formed an alliance with a group of socialists from Augsburg.

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Hitler rushed back to Munich and countered them by announcing his resignation from the Party on July 11, 1921.

Related Topics:
July 11 - 1921

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They realized the loss of Hitler would effectively mean the end of the Party. Hitler seized the moment and announced he would return on the condition that he was made chairman and given dictatorial powers.

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Infuriated committee members, including Anton Drexler, founder of the Party, held out at first. Meanwhile, an anonymous pamphlet appeared entitled: "Adolf Hitler: Is he a traitor?" It attacked Hitler's lust for power and criticized the violence prone men now surrounding him. Hitler responded to its publication in a Munich newspaper by suing for libel and later won a small settlement.

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The executive committee of the Nazi Party eventually backed down and Hitler's demands were put to a vote of the party members. Hitler received 543 votes for, and only one against.

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At the next gathering, July 29, 1921, Adolf Hitler was introduced as Führer of the Nazi Party, marking the first time that title was publicly used to address him.

Related Topics:
July 29 - 1921 - Führer

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Hitler changed the name of the party to the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, NSDAP), usually known as the Nazi party.

Related Topics:
NSDAP - Nazi party

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Hitler's beer hall oratory, attacking Jews, socialists and liberals, capitalists and communists, began attracting adherents. Early followers included Rudolf Hess, the former air force pilot Hermann Göring, and the flamboyant army captain Ernst Röhm, who became head of the Nazis' paramilitary organisation, the SA, which protected meetings and attacked political opponents. He also attracted the attention of local business interests, was accepted into influential circles of Munich society and became associated with wartime General Erich Ludendorff during this time.

Related Topics:
Rudolf Hess - Hermann Göring - Ernst Röhm - SA - Erich Ludendorff

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Encouraged by this early support, Hitler decided to use Ludendorff as a front in an attempt to seize power in the turbulent year 1923. His aim was to emulate Mussolini's March on Rome by a "March on Berlin" but this abortive coup was later known as the Hitler Putsch (and sometimes the Beerhall Putsch). Hitler and Ludendorff obtained the clandestine support of Gustav von Kahr, Bavaria's right-wing de-facto ruler along with leading figures in the Reichswehr and the police. As political posters show, Ludendorff, Hitler and the heads of the Bavarian police and military planned on forming a new government.

Related Topics:
1923 - Mussolini's - Hitler ''Putsch'' - Gustav von Kahr - Reichswehr

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However on November 8, 1923 Kahr and the military withdrew their support during a meeting in the Bürgerbräu beer hall. A surprised Hitler had them arrested and proceeded with the coup. Unknown to him, Kahr and the other detainees had been released on Ludendorff's orders after he obtained their word not to interfere. That night they prepared resistance measures against the coup and in the morning, when the Nazis marched from the beer hall to the Bavarian War Ministry to overthrow what they saw as Bavaria's traitorous government as a start to their "March on Berlin," the army quickly dispersed them (Ludendorff was wounded and a few other Nazis were killed).

Related Topics:
November 8 - 1923

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Hitler fled to the home of friends and contemplated suicide. He was soon arrested for high treason and appointed Alfred Rosenberg as temporary leader of the party but found himself in an environment somewhat receptive to his beliefs. During Hitler's trial in April 1924 sympathetic conservative magistrates allowed Hitler to turn his debacle into a propaganda stunt. He was given almost unlimited amounts of time to present his arguments to the court along with a large body of the German people and his popularity soared when he voiced basic nationalistic sentiments shared by the public. For the crime of conspiracy to commit treason Hitler was sentenced to five years' imprisonment at Landsberg prison where he received favoured treatment from the guards and had much fan mail from admirers. While at Landsberg he dictated his political book Mein Kampf (My Struggle) to his deputy Rudolf Hess. The first volume, called "Abrechnung" (payback), was later published and became the platform of the Nazi party (by the late 1930s nearly every household in Germany had a copy of it). Meanwhile, as he was considered relatively harmless, Hitler was given an early amnesty and was released in December 1924. By this time the Nazi party had dwindled and Hitler began a long effort to rebuild it.

Related Topics:
Friends - High treason - Alfred Rosenberg - 1924 - Landsberg prison - Mein Kampf - Rudolf Hess

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A key element of Hitler's appeal was his ability to convey a sense of offended national pride caused by the Treaty of Versailles imposed on the defeated German Empire by the Allies. Germany had lost economically important territory in Europe along with its colonies and in admitting to sole responsibility for the war had agreed to pay a huge reparations bill totaling $6,600,000 (32 billion marks). Most Germans bitterly resented these terms but early Nazi attempts to gain support by blaming these humiliations on "international Jewry" were not particularly successful with the electorate. The party learned quickly and soon a more subtle propaganda emerged, combining anti-Semitism with an attack on the failures of the "Weimar system" and the parties supporting it.

Related Topics:
Treaty of Versailles - German Empire - Reparations - Weimar

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In restoring the party organisation, Hitler asserted the Führerprinzip, or unquestioning obedience to superiors, with all power and authority devolving from the top down -- consistent with his well-documented statements of disdain for democracy, which he considered an unstable and dangerous form of government.

Related Topics:
Führerprinzip - Democracy

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In 2004, it was discovered that Hitler had spent years evading taxes on income from sales of Mein Kampf. He owed the German government 405,000 Reichmarks (equivalent to $8 million at 2004 exchange rates) by the time he took power and the tax debt was forgiven.

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The road to power

See also the Weimar Timeline.

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The political turning point for Hitler came when the Depression hit Germany in 1930. The democratic Weimar Republic established in 1919 had never been accepted by conservatives and was openly opposed by fascists. While the Social Democrats and traditional parties of the centre and right were unable to cope with the shock of the Depression, in the September 1930 elections the Nazis suddenly rose from relative obscurity to win 18.3% of the vote along with 107 seats in the Reichstag, becoming the second largest party in Germany.

Related Topics:
Depression - 1930 - Weimar Republic - 1919 - Reichstag

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Hitler appealed to the bulk of German farmers, war veterans and the middle-class who had been hard-hit by both the inflation of the 1920s and the unemployment of the Depression. The urban working classes generally ignored Hitler's appeals (Berlin and the Ruhr towns were particularly hostile). The 1930 election was a disaster for Heinrich Brüning's centre-right government, which was now deprived of a majority in the Reichstag.

Related Topics:
1920s - Berlin - Ruhr - 1930 - Heinrich Brüning

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Meanwhile in September 1931 Hitler's niece Geli Raubal was found dead in her bedroom in his Munich apartment (his half-sister Angela and her daughter Geli had been with him in Munich since 1929), an apparent suicide. Geli was much younger than he was and had used his gun, drawing rumours of a relationship between the two. The event is viewed as having caused lasting turmoil for him.

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Brüning's austerity measures brought little economic improvement and the government was anxious to avoid a presidential election in 1932, hoping to secure Nazi agreement to an extension of President Paul von Hindenburg's term. Hitler refused and ultimately ran against Hindenburg in the 1932 presidential election, coming in second on both rounds, attaining more than 35% of the vote during the second one in April.

Related Topics:
1932 - Paul von Hindenburg - 1932 presidential election

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Hindenburg dismissed the government and appointed a new one under the ex-military conservative Franz von Papen, which immediately called for new Reichstag elections. In July 1932 the Nazis had their best showing yet, winning 230 seats and becoming the largest party in the Reichstag. Since the Nazis and the communists now together controlled a majority of the Reichstag, the formation of a stable government of mainstream parties was impossible. After a vote of no-confidence in the Papen government, supported by 84% of the delegates, the new Reichstag was dissolved and new elections were called.

Related Topics:
Franz von Papen - 1932

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Papen and the Centre Party (Zentrumspartei) separately began negotiations to secure Nazi participation in order to provide a new government with a basis in parliament. Hitler however set high terms, demanding the Chancellorship along with the President's agreement that he be able to use the 1919 constitution's sweeping emergency powers. Hence the negotiations failed. During the November 1932 elections the Nazis lost votes although they remained the largest party in the Reichstag. After Papen failed to secure a majority he proposed to dissolve parliament again along with an indefinite postponement of elections. Hindenburg at first accepted this, but after General Kurt von Schleicher and the military withdrew their support, Hindenburg instead dismissed Papen and appointed Schleicher, who promised he could secure a majority government by negotiations with both the Social Democratic labour unions and the dissident Nazi faction led by Gregor Strasser.

Related Topics:
Centre Party - Kurt von Schleicher - Gregor Strasser

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In November 1932, Fritz Thyssen, Hjalmar Schacht and other leading German businessmen appealed to Hindenburg in a letter to appoint Hitler as leader of a government "independent from parliamentary parties" which could turn into a movement that would "enrapture millions of people." http://www.glasnost.de/hist/ns/eingabe.html Finally, Papen and Alfred Hugenberg (Chairman of the German National People's Party, the DNVP, which before the Nazis had been Germany's principal right-wing party) conspired to persuade Hindenburg to appoint Hitler Chancellor in a coalition with the DNVP, promising they would be able to control him and stabilize the government. When Schleicher was forced to admit failure in his efforts to form a coalition and asked for emergency powers along with the same postponement of elections he had opposed earlier, Hindenburg fired him and reluctantly agreed to appoint Hitler Chancellor, Papen Vice-Chancellor and Hugenberg Minister of Economics in a cabinet which included three Nazis in key positions (Hitler, Göring and Wilhelm Frick). On the morning of January 30, 1933 in Hindenburg's office Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor during what some observers later described as a brief and indifferent ceremony.

Related Topics:
Fritz Thyssen - Hjalmar Schacht - Alfred Hugenberg - German National People's Party - Vice-Chancellor - Wilhelm Frick - January 30 - 1933 - Chancellor

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After the Reichstag was set on fire (and the communists were blamed for it), the Reichstag Fire Decree (28 February) suspended basic rights including habeas corpus. On 5 March, 1933, in elections marred by paramilitary violence, the Nazis received 43.9% of the vote, which brought the coalition between them and the DNVP an absolute majority. Hitler further strengthened his parliamentary basis by detaining Communist deputies and (illegally) excluding them from parliament.

Related Topics:
The Reichstag was set on fire - Reichstag Fire Decree - 28 February - 5 March - 1933 - DNVP - Communist

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At an impressive constitutional opening ceremony of the Reichstag, held in the replacement parliament building on 21 March, both Hindenburg and the world press were impressed by Hitler's apparent acceptance of constitutional government.

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The government confronted the newly elected Reichstag with the Enabling Act which gave Hitler's cabinet sweeping legislative powers. The bill required a two-thirds majority in order to pass and the Nazis needed support from other parties. The Centre Party was split on this issue, but eventually followed its chairman, Monsignor Kaas, who had advocated supporting the bill in parliament in return for government giving sundry guarantees to civil servants belonging to the Centre Party along with freedom and autonomy of the Catholic Church. These guarantees were orally transmitted and Kaas was promised a letter with them in writing.

Related Topics:
Reichstag - Enabling Act - Kaas

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On 23 March the Reichstag assembled under turbulent circumstances. Some SA paramilitaries served as guards as others crowded outside the building to intimidate opposing views. Hitler gave a speech which emphasized the importance of both Christian denominations to German culture. Later that day, still waiting for the promised letter, Kaas gave his speech, voicing the Centre's support for the bill amid "concerns put aside." At last, all parties except the Social Democrats voted in favour of the Enabling Act, which was dutifully renewed every four years, even through World War II.

Related Topics:
23 March - Reichstag - SA paramilitaries - Social Democrats - Enabling Act - World War II

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With this combination of legislative and executive power, Hitler's government soon suppressed all opposition. The SPD was banned and all other political parties dissolved themselves. Labour unions were merged with employers' federations into an organisation under Nazi control and the autonomy of state governments was severely diminished. Hitler also used the SA paramilitary to push Hugenberg into resigning and proceeded to politically isolate Vice Chancellor von Papen. Meanwhile the SA was growing into an independent power of its own and Hitler used allegations of a plot by the SA leader Ernst Röhm to purge the paramilitary force's leadership during the Night of the Long Knives. Opponents unconnected with the SA were also murdered, notably Gregor Strasser and former Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher.

Related Topics:
SPD - SA - Ernst Röhm - Night of the Long Knives - Gregor Strasser - Kurt von Schleicher

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Soon after, president Paul von Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934. Rather than hold new presidential elections Hitler's cabinet passed a law combining the offices of president and chancellor with Hitler holding both offices (which included the president's decree powers) as leader and national chancellor. This consolidation was approved by 90% of the electorate in mid-August 1934. Then in an unprecedented step, Hitler ordered every member of the military to swear a personal oath of allegiance to him.

Related Topics:
Paul von Hindenburg - 2 August - 1934 - Swear - Oath

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