Editing Joseph Goebbels (section)

==Nazi activist==
Goebbels first took an interest in [[Adolf Hitler]] and [[Nazism]] in 1924.{{sfn|Longerich|2015|p=36}} In February 1924, Hitler's trial for treason began in the wake of his failed attempt to seize power in the [[Beer Hall Putsch]] of 8–9 November 1923.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=127–131}} The trial attracted widespread press coverage and gave Hitler a platform for propaganda.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=133–135}} Hitler was sentenced to five years in prison, but was released on 20 December 1924, after serving just over a year, including [[pre-trial detention]].{{sfn|Bullock|1962|p=121}} Goebbels was drawn to the Nazi Party mostly because of Hitler's charisma and commitment to his beliefs.{{sfn|Longerich|2015|pp=36, 37}} He joined the Nazi Party around this time, becoming member number 8762.{{sfn|Manvell|Fraenkel|2010|p=33}} In late 1924, Goebbels offered his services to [[Karl Kaufmann]], who was ''[[Gauleiter]]'' (Nazi Party district leader) for the Rhine-Ruhr District. Kaufmann put him in touch with [[Gregor Strasser]], a leading Nazi organiser in northern Germany, who hired him to work on their weekly newspaper and undertake secretarial work for the regional party offices.{{sfn|Manvell|Fraenkel|2010|pp=40–41}} He was also put to work as party speaker and representative for [[Rhineland]]-[[Westphalia]].{{sfn|Manvell|Fraenkel|2010|p=46}} Strasser founded the [[National Socialist Working Association]] on 10 September 1925, a short-lived group of about a dozen northern and western German ''Gauleiter''; Goebbels became its business manager and the editor of its biweekly journal, ''NS-Briefe''.{{sfn|Longerich|2015|p=61}} Members of Strasser's northern branch of the Nazi Party, including Goebbels, had a more socialist outlook than the rival Hitler group in [[Munich]].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=167}} Strasser disagreed with Hitler on many parts of the party platform, and in November 1926 began working on a revision.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=169}}

Hitler viewed Strasser's actions as a threat to his authority, and summoned 60&nbsp;''Gauleiters'' and party leaders, including Goebbels, to a [[Bamberg Conference|special conference in Bamberg]], in [[Julius Streicher|Streicher's]] ''[[Gau (country subdivision)|Gau]]'' of [[Franconia]], where he gave a two-hour speech repudiating Strasser's new political programme.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=168–169}} Hitler was opposed to the socialist leanings of the northern wing, stating it would mean "political bolshevization of Germany." Further, there would be "no princes, only Germans," and a legal system with no "Jewish system of exploitation&nbsp;... for plundering of our people." The future would be secured by acquiring land, not through expropriation of the estates of the former nobility, but through colonising territories to the east.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=169}} Goebbels was horrified by Hitler's characterisation of socialism as "a Jewish creation" and his assertion that a Nazi government would not expropriate private property. He wrote in his diary: "I no longer fully believe in Hitler. That's the terrible thing: my inner support has been taken away."{{sfn|Longerich|2015|p=66}}

After reading Hitler's book ''[[Mein Kampf]]'', Goebbels found himself agreeing with Hitler's assertion of a "Jewish doctrine of [[Marxism]]".{{sfn|Reuth|1994|p=66}} In February 1926, Goebbels gave a speech titled "Bolshevism or National-socialism? Lenin or Hitler?" in which he asserted that communism or Marxism could not save the German people, but he believed it would cause a "socialist nationalist state" to arise in Russia.{{sfn|Longerich|2015|p=63}} In 1926, Goebbels published a pamphlet titled ''Nazi-Sozi'' which attempted to explain how National Socialism differed from Marxism.{{sfn|Goebbels|1927}}

In hopes of winning over the opposition, Hitler arranged meetings in Munich with the three Greater Ruhr ''Gau'' leaders, including Goebbels.{{sfn|Longerich|2015|p=67}} Goebbels was impressed when Hitler sent his own car to meet them at the railway station. That evening, Hitler and Goebbels both gave speeches at a beer hall rally.{{sfn|Longerich|2015|p=67}} The following day, Hitler offered his hand in reconciliation to the three men, encouraging them to put their differences behind them.{{sfn|Longerich|2015|p=68}} Goebbels capitulated completely, offering Hitler his total loyalty. He wrote in his diary: "I love him&nbsp;... He has thought through everything," "Such a sparkling mind can be my leader. I bow to the greater one, the political genius." He later wrote: "Adolf Hitler, I love you because you are both great and simple at the same time. What one calls a genius."{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=171}} As a result of the Bamberg and Munich meetings, the National Socialist Working Association was disbanded.{{sfn|Stachura|2015|p=50, n.58}} Strasser's new draft of the party programme was discarded, the original [[National Socialist Program]] of 1920 was retained unchanged, and Hitler's position as party leader was greatly strengthened.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=171}}