Editing Nazi Party (section)

== History ==
=== Origins and early years: 1918–1923 ===
The Nazi Party grew out of smaller political groups with a nationalist orientation that formed in the last years of [[World War&nbsp;I]]. In 1918, a league called the {{lang|de|Freier Arbeiterausschuss für einen guten Frieden}} (Free Workers' Committee for a good Peace){{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=82}} was created in [[Bremen]], Germany. On 7 March 1918, [[Anton Drexler]], an avid German nationalist, formed a branch of this league in [[Munich]].{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=82}} Drexler was a local locksmith who had been a member of the militarist [[German Fatherland Party|Fatherland Party]]{{sfn|Shirer|1991|p=34}} during World War I and was bitterly opposed to the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918|armistice]] of November 1918 and the revolutionary upheavals that followed. Drexler followed the views of militant nationalists of the day, such as opposing the [[Treaty of Versailles]], having [[antisemitism|antisemitic]], anti-monarchist and anti-Marxist views, as well as believing in the superiority of Germans whom they claimed to be part of the [[Aryan race|Aryan]] "[[master race]]" ({{lang|de|Herrenvolk}}). However, he also accused international capitalism of being a Jewish-dominated movement and denounced capitalists for war profiteering in World War I.{{sfn|Spector|2004|p=137}} Drexler saw the political violence and instability in Germany as the result of the [[Weimar Republic]] being out-of-touch with the masses, especially the lower classes.{{sfn|Spector|2004|p=137}} Drexler emphasised the need for a synthesis of {{lang|de|völkisch}} nationalism with a form of economic [[Preussentum und Sozialismus|socialism]], in order to create a popular nationalist-oriented workers' movement that could challenge the rise of communism and [[internationalism (politics)|internationalist politics]].{{sfn|Griffen|1995|p=105}} These were all well-known themes popular with various [[Weimar paramilitary groups]] such as the {{lang|de|[[Freikorps]]}}.

[[File:NSDAP-Logo.svg|thumb|left|upright|Nazi Party badge emblem]]

Drexler's movement received attention and support from some influential figures. Supporter [[Dietrich Eckart]], a well-to-do journalist, brought military figure [[Felix Graf von Bothmer]], a prominent supporter of the concept of "national socialism", to address the movement.{{sfn|Abel|2012|p=55}} Later in 1918, [[Karl Harrer]] (a journalist and member of the [[Thule Society]]) convinced Drexler and several others to form the {{lang|de|[[Politischer Arbeiter-Zirkel]]}} (Political Workers' Circle).{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=82}} The members met periodically for discussions with themes of nationalism and racism directed against Jewish people.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=82}} In December 1918, Drexler decided that a new political party should be formed, based on the political principles that he endorsed, by combining his branch of the Workers' Committee for a good Peace with the Political Workers' Circle.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=82}}{{sfn|Carlsten|1982|p=91}}

On 5 January 1919, Drexler created a new political party and proposed it should be named the "German Socialist Workers' Party", but Harrer objected to the term "socialist"; so the term was removed and the party was named the [[German Workers' Party]] ({{lang|de|Deutsche Arbeiterpartei}}, DAP).{{sfn|Carlsten|1982|p=91}} To ease concerns among potential middle-class supporters, Drexler made clear that unlike Marxists the party supported the middle-class and that its socialist policy was meant to give [[social welfare provision|social welfare]] to German citizens deemed part of the Aryan race.{{sfn|Spector|2004|p=137}} They became one of many [[völkisch movement|''völkisch'' movements]] that existed in Germany. Like other {{lang|de|völkisch}} groups, the DAP advocated the belief that through [[Profit sharing|profit-sharing]] instead of [[socialization (economics)|socialisation]] Germany should become a unified "people's community" ({{lang|de|Volksgemeinschaft}}) rather than a society divided along class and party lines.{{sfn|Fest|1979|pp=37–38}} This ideology was explicitly antisemitic. As early as 1920, the party was raising money by selling a tobacco called {{lang|de|Anti-Semit}}.{{sfn|van der Vat|1997|p=30}}

From the outset, the DAP was opposed to non-nationalist political movements, especially on the left, including the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]] (SPD) and the [[Communist Party of Germany]] (KPD). Members of the DAP saw themselves as fighting against "[[Bolsheviks|Bolshevism]]" and anyone considered a part of or aiding so-called "[[Antisemitic canard|international Jewry]]". The DAP was also deeply opposed to the [[Treaty of Versailles]].{{sfn|Shirer|1991|p=33}} The DAP did not attempt to make itself public and meetings were kept in relative secrecy, with public speakers discussing what they thought of Germany's present [[State of affairs (sociology)|state of affairs]], or writing to like-minded societies in [[Northern Germany]].{{sfn|Fest|1979|pp=37–38}}

[[File:Nsdap01.jpg|thumb|upright|NSDAP membership book]]

The DAP was a comparatively small group with fewer than 60 members.{{sfn|Fest|1979|pp=37–38}} Nevertheless, it attracted the attention of the German authorities, who were suspicious of any organisation that appeared to have subversive tendencies. In July 1919, while stationed in [[Munich]], army {{lang|de|[[Gefreiter]]}} [[Adolf Hitler]] was appointed a {{lang|de|Verbindungsmann}} (intelligence agent) of an {{lang|de|Aufklärungskommando}} (reconnaissance unit) of the {{lang|de|[[Reichswehr]]}} (army) by [[Karl Mayr|Captain Mayr]], the head of the ''Education and Propaganda Department'' (Dept Ib/P) in [[Bavaria]]. Hitler was assigned to influence other soldiers and to infiltrate the DAP.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=71–82}} While Hitler was initially unimpressed by the meetings and found them disorganised, he enjoyed the discussion that took place.{{sfn|Childers|2001a|loc=23:00–24:30}} While attending a party meeting on 12 September 1919 at Munich's [[Sterneckerbräu]], Hitler became involved in a heated argument with a visitor, Professor Baumann, who questioned the soundness of [[Gottfried Feder]]'s arguments against capitalism; Baumann proposed that Bavaria should break away from [[Prussia]] and found a new South German nation with [[Austria]]. In vehemently attacking the man's arguments, Hitler made an impression on the other party members with his oratorical skills; according to Hitler, the "professor" left the hall acknowledging unequivocal defeat.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=75}} Drexler encouraged him to join the DAP.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=75}} On the orders of his army superiors, Hitler applied to join the party{{sfn|Evans|2003|p=170}} and within a week was accepted as party member 555 (the party began counting membership at 500 to give the impression they were a much larger party).{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=75, 76}}{{sfn|Mitcham|1996|p=67}} Among the party's earlier members were [[Ernst Röhm]] of the Army's District Command VII; Dietrich Eckart, who has been called the spiritual father of National Socialism;{{sfn|Blamires|2006|p=185}} then-[[University of Munich]] student [[Rudolf Hess]];{{sfn|Shirer|1991|p=43}} {{lang|de|Freikorps}} soldier [[Hans Frank]]; and [[Alfred Rosenberg]], often credited as the philosopher of the movement. All were later prominent in the Nazi regime.{{sfn|Jaman|1956|p=88}}

Hitler later claimed to be the seventh party member. He was, in fact, the seventh executive member of the party's central committee{{sfn|Rees|2006|p=23}} and he would later wear the [[Golden Party Badge]] number one. Anton Drexler drafted a letter to Hitler in 1940—which was never sent—that contradicts Hitler's later claim:
{{blockquote|No one knows better than you yourself, my Führer, that you were never the seventh member of the party, but at best the seventh member of the committee... And a few years ago I had to complain to a party office that your first proper membership card of the DAP, bearing the signatures of Schüssler and myself, was falsified, with the number 555 being erased and number 7 entered.{{sfn|Kershaw|1998|p=127}}}}

Although Hitler initially wanted to form his own party, he claimed to have been convinced to join the DAP because it was small and he could eventually become its leader.{{sfn|Kershaw|1998|p=126}} He consequently encouraged the organisation to become less of a debating society, which it had been previously, and more of an active political party.{{sfn|Childers|2001a|loc=15:00–25:00}} 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 a week.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=76}} Unlike many other members of the organisation, this continued employment provided him with enough money to dedicate himself more fully to the DAP.{{sfn|Childers|2001a|loc=24:00–25:00}}

Hitler's first DAP speech was held in the [[Hofbräukeller]] on 16 October 1919. He was the second speaker of the evening, and spoke to 111 people.{{sfn|Kershaw|1998|p=140}} Hitler later declared that this was when he realised he could really "make a good speech".{{sfn|Fest|1979|pp=37–38}} At first, Hitler spoke only to relatively small groups, but his considerable oratory and propaganda skills were appreciated by the party leadership. With the support of Anton Drexler, Hitler became chief of propaganda for the party in early 1920.{{sfn|Jaman|1956|p=89}} Hitler began to make the party more public, and organised its biggest meeting yet of 2,000 people on 24 February 1920 in the {{lang|de|[[Hofbräuhaus am Platzl|Staatliches Hofbräuhaus in München]]}}. Such was the significance of this particular move in publicity that [[Karl Harrer]] resigned from the party in disagreement.{{sfn|Shirer|1991|p=36}} It was in this speech that Hitler enunciated the [[National Socialist Program#German Party program|twenty-five points of the German Workers' Party manifesto]] that had been drawn up by Drexler, Feder and himself.{{sfn|Shirer|1991|p=37}} Through these points he gave the organisation a much bolder stratagem{{sfn|Jaman|1956|p=89}} with a clear foreign policy (abrogation of the Treaty of Versailles, a [[German question|Greater Germany]], Eastern expansion and exclusion of Jews from citizenship) and among his specific points were: confiscation of [[War profiteering|war profits]], abolition of unearned incomes, the State to share profits of land and land for national needs to be taken away without compensation.{{sfn|Johnson|1984|p=133}} In general, the manifesto was [[antisemitic]], [[anti-capitalist]], [[Aristocracy (class)|anti-democratic]], [[anti-Marxist]] and [[Fascism|anti-liberal]].{{sfn|Fest|1979|p=42}} To increase its appeal to larger segments of the population, on the same day as Hitler's {{lang|de|Hofbräuhaus}} speech on 24 February 1920, the DAP changed its name to the {{lang|de|Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei}} ("National Socialist German Workers' Party", or Nazi Party).{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=87}}{{sfn|Zentner|Bedürftig|1997|p=629}}{{efn|Some sources say the name change happened on 1 April 1920.{{sfn|Carruthers|2015|p=?}}{{sfn|Lepage|2009|p=9}}}} The name was intended to draw upon both left-wing and right-wing ideals, with "Socialist" and "Workers'" appealing to the left, and "National" and "German" appealing to the right.<ref name="Childers DAP 2">{{Cite episode| title= The Weimar Republic and the Rise of the Nazi Party | url= https://www.wondrium.com/a-history-of-hitlers-empire-2nd-edition|access-date=27 March 2023| series= A History of Hitler's Empire, 2nd Edition| first= Thomas| last= Childers| author-link= Thomas Childers| publisher= [[The Great Courses]] | date= 2001| number= 3 | time= 26:00–31:04| language= English}}</ref> The word "Socialist" was added by the party's executive committee (at the suggestion of [[Rudolf Jung]]), over Hitler's initial objections,{{Efn|Hitler's original name suggested was the Social Revolutionary Party ({{langx|de|link=no|Sozialrevolutionäre Partei}}).<ref>[[Konrad Heiden]], "Les débuts du national-socialisme", Revue d'Allemagne, VII, No. 71 (Sept. 15, 1933), p. 821.</ref>}} in order to help appeal to left-wing workers.{{sfn|Mitcham|1996|p=68}}

In 1920, the Nazi Party officially announced that only persons of "pure Aryan descent [{{lang|de|rein arischer Abkunft}}]" could become party members and if the person had a spouse, the spouse also had to be a "racially pure" Aryan. Party members could not be related either directly or indirectly to a so-called "non-Aryan".{{sfn|Ehrenreich|2007|p=58}} Even before it had become legally forbidden by the [[Nuremberg Laws]] in 1935, the Nazis banned sexual relations and marriages between party members and Jews.{{sfn|Weikart|2009|p=142}} Party members found guilty of {{lang|de|[[Rassenschande]]}} ("racial defilement") were persecuted heavily. Some members were even sentenced to death.{{sfn|Gordon|1984|p=265}}

Hitler quickly became the party's most active orator, appearing in public as a speaker 31 times within the first year after his self-discovery.{{sfn|Fest|1979|p=39}} Crowds began to flock to hear his speeches.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=89}} Hitler always spoke about the same subjects: the Treaty of Versailles and [[the Jewish question]].{{sfn|Fest|1979|p=42}} This deliberate technique and effective publicising of the party contributed significantly to his early success,{{sfn|Fest|1979|p=42}} about which a contemporary poster wrote: "Since Herr Hitler is a brilliant speaker, we can hold out the prospect of an extremely exciting evening".{{sfn|Franz-Willing|2001|p=?}}{{Page needed|date=June 2020}} Over the following months, the party continued to attract new members,{{sfn|Rees|2006|p=23}} while remaining too small to have any real significance in German politics.{{sfn|Shirer|1991|p=38}} By the end of the year, party membership was recorded at 2,000,{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=89}} many of whom Hitler and Röhm had brought into the party personally, or for whom Hitler's oratory had been their reason for joining.{{sfn|Fest|1979|p=40}}

[[File:Hitler's DAP membership card.png|thumb|left|Hitler's membership card in the DAP (later NSDAP). The membership number (7) was altered from the original.]]

Hitler's talent as an orator and his ability to draw new members, combined with his characteristic ruthlessness, soon made him the dominant figure. However, while Hitler and Eckart were on a fundraising trip to Berlin in June 1921, a mutiny broke out within the party in Munich. Members of its executive committee wanted to merge with the rival [[German Socialist Party]] (DSP).{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=100, 101}} Upon returning to Munich on 11 July, Hitler angrily tendered his resignation. The committee members realised that his resignation would mean the end of the party.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=102}} Hitler announced he would rejoin on condition that he would replace Drexler as party chairman, and that the party headquarters would remain in Munich.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=103}} The committee agreed, and he rejoined the party on 26 July as member 3,680. Hitler continued to face some opposition within the NSDAP, as his opponents had [[Hermann Esser]] expelled from the party and they printed 3,000 copies of a pamphlet attacking Hitler as a traitor to the party.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=103}} In the following days, Hitler spoke to several packed houses and defended himself and Esser to thunderous applause.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=83, 103}}

Hitler's strategy proved successful; at a special party congress on 29 July 1921, he replaced Drexler as party chairman by a vote of 533{{nbsp}}to{{nbsp}}1.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=83, 103}} The committee was dissolved, and Hitler was granted nearly absolute powers in the party as its sole leader.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|pp=83, 103}} He would hold the post for the remainder of his life. Hitler soon acquired the title {{lang|de|[[Führer]]}} ("leader") and after a series of sharp internal conflicts it was accepted that the party would be governed by the {{lang|de|[[Führerprinzip]]}} ("leader principle"). Under this principle, the party was a highly centralised entity that functioned strictly from the top down, with Hitler at the apex. Hitler saw the party as a revolutionary organisation, whose aim was the overthrow of the [[Weimar Republic]], which he saw as controlled by the socialists, Jews and the "[[Stab-in-the-back legend|November criminals]]", a term invented to describe alleged elements of society who had 'betrayed the German soldiers' in 1918. The [[Sturmabteilung|SA]] ("storm troopers", also known as "Brownshirts") were founded as a party militia in 1921 and began violent attacks on other parties.

[[File:Erstausgabe von Mein Kampf.jpg|thumb|{{lang|de|[[Mein Kampf]]}} in its first edition cover]]

For Hitler, the twin goals of the party were always German nationalist expansionism and [[antisemitism]]. These two goals were fused in his mind by his belief that Germany's external enemies—Britain, France and the Soviet Union—were controlled by the Jews and that Germany's future wars of national expansion would necessarily entail a war of annihilation against them.{{sfn|Hakim|1995|p=?}}{{Page needed|date=June 2020}} For Hitler and his principal lieutenants, national and racial issues were always dominant. This was symbolised by the adoption as the party emblem of the [[swastika]]. In German nationalist circles, the swastika was considered a symbol of an "[[Aryan race]]" and it symbolised the replacement of the Christian Cross with allegiance to a National Socialist State.

The Nazi Party grew significantly during 1921 and 1922, partly through Hitler's oratorical skills, partly through the SA's appeal to unemployed young men, and partly because there was a backlash against socialist and liberal politics in Bavaria as Germany's economic problems deepened and the weakness of the Weimar regime became apparent. The party recruited former World War&nbsp;I soldiers, to whom Hitler as a decorated frontline veteran could particularly appeal, as well as small businessmen and disaffected former members of rival parties. Nazi rallies were often held in beer halls, where downtrodden men could get free beer. The [[Hitler Youth]] was formed for the children of party members. The party also formed groups in other parts of Germany. [[Julius Streicher]] in [[Nuremberg]] was an early recruit and became editor of the racist magazine {{lang|de|[[Der Stürmer]]}}. In December 1920, the Nazi Party had acquired a newspaper, the {{lang|de|[[Völkischer Beobachter]]}}, of which its leading ideologist Alfred Rosenberg became editor. Others to join the party around this time were [[Heinrich Himmler]] and World War I flying ace [[Hermann Göring]].

==== Adoption of Italian fascism: The Beer Hall Putsch ====
On 31 October 1922, a [[fascist]] party with similar policies and objectives came into power in Italy, the [[National Fascist Party]], under the leadership of the charismatic [[Benito Mussolini]]. The Fascists, like the Nazis, promoted a national rebirth of their country, as they opposed communism and liberalism; appealed to the working-class; opposed the [[Treaty of Versailles]]; and advocated the territorial expansion of their country. Hitler was inspired by Mussolini and the Fascists, beginning to adopt elements of their program for the Nazi Party and himself.{{sfn|Kershaw|2000|p=182}} The Italian Fascists also used a straight-armed [[Roman salute]] and wore black-shirted uniforms; Hitler would later borrow their use of the straight-armed salute as a [[Nazi salute]].

When the Fascists took control of Italy through their [[coup d'état]] called the "[[March on Rome]]", Hitler began planning his own coup less than a month later.{{sfn|Kershaw|2000|p=182}} In January 1923, France occupied the [[Ruhr]] industrial region as a result of Germany's failure to meet its [[World War I reparations|reparations]] payments. This led to economic chaos, the resignation of [[Wilhelm Cuno]]'s government and an attempt by the German Communist Party (KPD) to stage a revolution. The reaction to these events was an upsurge of nationalist sentiment. Nazi Party membership grew sharply to about 20,000,{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=110}} compared to the approximate 6,000 at the beginning of 1923.{{sfn|Childers|2001a|loc=29:00–30:00}} By November 1923, Hitler had decided that the time was right for an attempt to seize power in Munich, in the hope that the {{lang|de|Reichswehr}} (the post-war German military) would mutiny against the Berlin government and join his revolt. In this, he was influenced by former General [[Erich Ludendorff]], who had become a supporter—though not a member—of the Nazis.{{sfn|Jablonsky|1989|pp=20–26, 30}}
[[File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_119-1486,_Hitler-Putsch,_München,_Marienplatz.jpg|left|thumb|Nazis during the [[Beer Hall Putsch]] in Munich]]
On the night of 8 November, the Nazis used a patriotic rally in a Munich beer hall to launch an attempted {{lang|de|putsch}} ("coup d'état"). This so-called [[Beer Hall Putsch]] attempt failed almost at once when the local {{lang|de|Reichswehr}} commanders refused to support it. On the morning of 9 November, the Nazis staged a march of about 2,000 supporters through Munich in an attempt to rally support. The two groups exchanged fire, after which 15 putschists, four police officers, and a bystander lay dead.{{sfn|Shirer|1990|p=112}}<ref name="H2">[[Hanns Hubert Hofmann]]: ''Der Hitlerputsch. Krisenjahre deutschen Geschichte 1920–1924''. Nymphenburger Verlagshandlung, München 1961, S. 211, 272; als ''Karl Kulm'' bei [[Hans Günter Hockerts]]: ''„Hauptstadt der Bewegung“''. In: Richard Bauer et al. (Hrsg.): ''München – „Hauptstadt der Bewegung“. Bayerns Metropole und der Nationalsozialismus''. 2. Auflage. Edition Minerva, München 2002, S. 355&nbsp;f.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-06-11 |title=Einsatz für Freiheit und Demokratie |url=https://www.stmi.bayern.de/med/aktuell/archiv/2013/20131109demokratie/ |access-date=2023-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611133949/https://www.stmi.bayern.de/med/aktuell/archiv/2013/20131109demokratie/ |archive-date=11 June 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Hitler, Ludendorff and a number of others were arrested and were tried for treason in March 1924. Hitler and his associates were given very lenient prison sentences. While Hitler was in prison, he wrote his semi-autobiographical political manifesto {{lang|de|[[Mein Kampf]]}} ("My Struggle").

The Nazi Party was banned on 9 November 1923; however, with the support of the nationalist [[Völkisch-Social Bloc]] ({{lang|de|Völkisch-Sozialer Block}}), it continued to operate under the name "German Party" ({{lang|de|Deutsche Partei}} or DP) from 1924 to 1925.{{sfn|Jablonsky|1989|p=57}} The Nazis failed to remain unified in the DP, as in the north, the right-wing [[Völkisch movement|Volkish]] nationalist supporters of the Nazis moved to the new [[German Völkisch Freedom Party]], leaving the north's left-wing Nazi members, such as [[Joseph Goebbels]] retaining support for the party.{{sfn|Jablonsky|1989|p=57}}

=== Rise to power: 1925–1933 ===
{{Further|Adolf Hitler's rise to power}}
{{Redirect|Rise of Nazism|the culmination of the rise|Nazi seizure of power}}
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2017}}
[[File:Refoundation.jpg|thumb|right|Adolf Hitler (standing) delivers a speech on the occasion of the refoundation of the NSDAP in February of 1925. Next to him from the perspective of the onlooker: On the right: Gregor Strasser and Heinrich Himmler. On the left: Franz Xaver Schwarz, Walter Buch and Alfred Rosenberg. Behind Hitler the Blutfahne (blood-flag), a central relique within the propaganda of the National-Socialists, can be seen attached to the wall.]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 119-0289, München, Hitler bei Einweihung "Braunes Haus".jpg|thumb|Hitler with Nazi Party members in 1930]]

Pardoned by the Bavarian Supreme Court, Hitler was released from prison on 20 December 1924, against the state prosecutor's objections.{{sfn|Kershaw|1998|p=239}} On 16 February 1925, Hitler convinced the Bavarian authorities to lift the ban on the NSDAP and the party was formally refounded on 26 February 1925, with Hitler as its undisputed leader. It was at this time Hitler began referring to himself as "''der [[Führer]]''".{{sfn|Childers|2001b|loc=13:45–14:12}} The new Nazi Party was no longer a paramilitary organisation and disavowed any intention of taking power by force. In any case, the economic and political situation had stabilised and the extremist upsurge of 1923 had faded, so there was no prospect of further revolutionary adventures. Instead, Hitler intended to alter the party's strategy to achieving power through what he called the "path of legality".{{sfn|Childers|2001b|loc=15:50–16:10}} The Nazi Party of 1925 was divided into the "Leadership Corps" ({{lang|de|Korps der politischen Leiter}}) appointed by Hitler and the general membership ({{lang|de|Parteimitglieder}}). The party and the SA were kept separate and the legal aspect of the party's work was emphasised. In a sign of this, the party began to admit women. The SA and the [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] members (the latter founded in 1925 as Hitler's bodyguard, and known originally as the {{lang|de|Schutzkommando}}) had to all be regular party members.{{sfn|Weale|2010|pp=26–29}}{{sfn|Koehl|2004|p=34}}

In the 1920s the Nazi Party expanded beyond its Bavarian base. At this time, it began surveying voters in order to determine what they were dissatisfied with in Germany, allowing Nazi propaganda to be altered accordingly.{{sfn|Childers|2001b|loc=17:00–17:27}} Catholic Bavaria maintained its right-wing nostalgia for a Catholic monarch;{{Citation needed|date=July 2016}} and [[Westphalia]], along with working-class "Red Berlin", were always the Nazis' weakest areas electorally, even during the Third Reich itself. The areas of strongest Nazi support were in rural Protestant areas such as [[Schleswig-Holstein]], [[Mecklenburg]], [[Pomerania]] and [[East Prussia]]. Depressed working-class areas such as [[Thuringia]] also produced a strong Nazi vote, while the workers of the [[Ruhr]] and [[Hamburg]] largely remained loyal to the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democrats]], the [[Communist Party of Germany]] or the Catholic [[Centre Party (Germany)|Centre Party]]. Nuremberg remained a Nazi Party stronghold, and the first [[Nuremberg Rally]] was held there in 1927. These rallies soon became massive displays of Nazi paramilitary power and attracted many recruits. The Nazis' strongest appeal was to the lower middle-classes—farmers, public servants, teachers and small businessmen—who had suffered most from the inflation of the 1920s, so who feared Bolshevism more than anything else. The small business class was receptive to Hitler's antisemitism, since it blamed Jewish big business for its economic problems. University students, disappointed at being too young to have served in the War of 1914–1918 and attracted by the Nazis' radical rhetoric, also became a strong Nazi constituency. By 1929, the party had 130,000 members.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=194}}

The party's nominal Deputy Leader was [[Rudolf Hess]], but he had no real power in the party. By the early 1930s, the senior leaders of the party after Hitler were [[Heinrich Himmler]], [[Joseph Goebbels]] and [[Hermann Göring]]. Beneath the Leadership Corps were the party's regional leaders, the {{lang|de|[[Gauleiter]]s}}, each of whom commanded the party in his {{lang|de|[[Gau (country subdivision)|Gau]]}} ("region"). Goebbels began his ascent through the party hierarchy as {{lang|de|Gauleiter}} of Berlin-Brandenburg in 1926. Streicher was {{lang|de|Gauleiter}} of [[Franconia]], where he published his antisemitic newspaper {{lang|de|[[Der Stürmer]]}}. Beneath the {{lang|de|Gauleiter}} were lower-level officials, the {{lang|de|[[Kreisleiter]]}} ("county leaders"), {{lang|de|[[Zellenleiter]]}} ("cell leaders") and {{lang|de|[[Blockleiter]]}} ("block leaders"). This was a strictly hierarchical structure in which orders flowed from the top and unquestioning loyalty was given to superiors. Only the SA retained some autonomy. Being composed largely of unemployed workers, many SA men took the Nazis' socialist rhetoric seriously. At this time, the [[Hitler salute]] (borrowed from the [[Italian Fascism|Italian fascists]]) and the greeting "Heil Hitler!" were adopted throughout the party.

[[File:1930-election.jpg|thumb|Nazi Party election poster used in [[Vienna]] in 1930 (translation: "We demand freedom and bread")]]
The Nazis contested elections to the national parliament (the {{lang|de|[[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]]}}) and to the state legislature (the {{lang|de|[[Landtag]]e}}) from 1924, although at first with little success. The "[[National Socialist Freedom Movement]]" polled 3% of the vote in the [[December 1924 German federal election|December 1924 ''Reichstag'' elections]] and this fell to 2.6% in [[1928 German federal election|1928]]. State elections produced similar results. Despite these poor results and despite Germany's relative political stability and prosperity during the later 1920s, the Nazi Party continued to grow. This was partly because Hitler, who had no administrative ability, left the party organisation to the head of the secretariat, [[Philipp Bouhler]], the party treasurer [[Franz Xaver Schwarz]] and business manager [[Max Amann]]. The party had a capable propaganda head in [[Gregor Strasser]], who was promoted to national organizational leader in January 1928. These men gave the party efficient recruitment and organizational structures. The party also owed its growth to the gradual fading away of competitor nationalist groups, such as the [[German National People's Party]] (DNVP). As Hitler became the recognised head of the German nationalists, other groups declined or were absorbed. In the late 1920s, seeing the party's lack of breakthrough into the mainstream, Goebbels proposed that instead of focusing all of their propaganda in major cities where there was competition from other political movements, they should instead begin holding rallies in rural areas where they would be more effective.{{sfn|Childers|2001b|loc=23:30–24:00}}

Despite these strengths, the Nazi Party might never have come to power had it not been for the [[Great Depression]] and its effects on Germany. By 1930, the German economy was beset with mass unemployment and widespread business failures. The Social Democrats and Communists were bitterly divided and unable to formulate an effective solution: this gave the Nazis their opportunity and Hitler's message, blaming the crisis on the Jewish financiers and the [[Bolshevik]]s, resonated with wide sections of the electorate. At the [[1930 German federal election|September 1930 ''Reichstag'' elections]], the Nazis won 18% of the votes and became the second-largest party in the {{lang|de|Reichstag}} after the Social Democrats. Hitler proved to be a highly effective campaigner, pioneering the use of radio and aircraft for this purpose. His dismissal of Strasser and his appointment of Goebbels as the party's propaganda chief were major factors. While Strasser had used his position to promote his own leftish version of national socialism, Goebbels was completely loyal to Hitler, and worked only to improve Hitler's image.

The 1930 elections changed the German political landscape by weakening the traditional nationalist parties, the DNVP and the DVP, leaving the Nazis as the chief alternative to the discredited Social Democrats and the Zentrum, whose leader, [[Heinrich Brüning]], headed a weak minority government. The inability of the democratic parties to form a united front, the self-imposed isolation of the Communists and the continued decline of the economy, all played into Hitler's hands. He now came to be seen as ''de facto'' leader of the opposition and donations poured into the Nazi Party's coffers. Some major business figures, such as [[Fritz Thyssen]], were Nazi supporters and gave generously{{sfn|Evans|2005|p=372}} and some Wall Street figures were allegedly involved,{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}} but many other businessmen were suspicious of the extreme nationalist tendencies of the Nazis and preferred to support the traditional conservative parties instead.{{sfn|Kershaw|2008|p=224}}

In 1930, as the price for joining a [[coalition government]] of the ''Land'' (state) of [[Thuringia]], the Nazi Party received the state ministries of the [[Interior minister|Interior]] and Education. On 23 January 1930, [[Wilhelm Frick]] was appointed to these ministries, becoming the first Nazi to hold a ministerial-level post at any level in Germany.
[[File:Wahl zum Preussischen Landtag, NSDAP-Wahlspendenmedaille 1932.jpg|thumb|right|German NSDAP Donation Token 1932, Free State of Prussia elections]]
In 1931 the Nazi Party altered its strategy to engage in perpetual campaigning across the country, even outside of election time.{{sfn|Childers|2001b|loc=30:35–30:57}} During 1931 and into 1932, Germany's political crisis deepened. Hitler ran for president against the incumbent [[Paul von Hindenburg]] in March 1932, polling 30% in the first round and 37% in the second against Hindenburg's 49% and 53%. By now the SA had 400,000 members and its running street battles with the SPD and Communist paramilitaries (who also fought each other) reduced some German cities to combat zones. Paradoxically, although the Nazis were among the main instigators of this disorder, part of Hitler's appeal to a frightened and demoralised middle class was his promise to restore law and order. Overt antisemitism was played down in official Nazi rhetoric, but was never far from the surface. Germans voted for Hitler primarily because of his promises to revive the economy (by unspecified means), to restore German greatness and overturn the [[Treaty of Versailles]] and to save Germany from communism. On 24 April 1932, the [[Elections in the Free State of Prussia|Free State of Prussia elections]] to the [[Landtag of Prussia|Landtag]] resulted in 36% of the votes and 162 seats for the NSDAP.

On 20 July 1932, the Prussian government was ousted by a coup, the {{lang|de|[[Preußenschlag|Preussenschlag]]}}; a few days later at the [[July 1932 German federal election|July 1932 ''Reichstag'' election]] the Nazis made another leap forward, polling 37% and becoming the largest party in parliament by a wide margin. Furthermore, the Nazis and the Communists between them won 52% of the vote and a majority of seats. Since both parties opposed the established political system and neither would join or support any ministry, this made the formation of a majority government impossible. The result was weak ministries governing by decree. Under [[Comintern]] directives, the Communists maintained their policy of treating the Social Democrats as the main enemy, calling them "[[social fascism|social fascists]]", thereby splintering opposition to the Nazis.{{efn|"Social democracy is objectively the moderate wing of fascism.&nbsp;... These organisations (ie Fascism and social democracy) are not antipodes, they are twins." ([[Joseph Stalin|J.V. Stalin]]: ''Concerning the International Situation'' (September 1924), in ''Works'', Volume 6, 1953; p. 294.) This later led [[Otto Wille Kuusinen]] to conclude that "The aims of the fascists and the social-fascists are the same." (Report To the 10th Plenum of ECCI, in ''International Press Correspondence'', Volume 9, no. 40, (20 August 1929), p. 848.)}} Later, both the Social Democrats and the Communists accused each other of having facilitated [[Hitler's rise to power]] by their unwillingness to compromise.

Chancellor [[Franz von Papen]] called another {{lang|de|Reichstag}} election in November, hoping to find a way out of this impasse. The electoral result was the same, with the Nazis and the Communists winning 50% of the vote between them and more than half the seats, rendering this {{lang|de|Reichstag}} no more workable than its predecessor. However, support for the Nazis had fallen to 33.1%, suggesting that the Nazi surge had passed its peak—possibly because the worst of the Depression had passed, possibly because some middle-class voters had supported Hitler in July as a protest, but had now drawn back from the prospect of actually putting him into power. The Nazis interpreted the result as a warning that they must seize power before their moment passed. Had the other parties united, this could have been prevented, but their shortsightedness made a united front impossible. Papen, his successor [[Kurt von Schleicher]] and the nationalist press magnate [[Alfred Hugenberg]] spent December and January in political intrigues that eventually persuaded President Hindenburg that it was safe to appoint Hitler as Reich Chancellor, at the head of a cabinet including only a minority of Nazi ministers—which he did on 30 January 1933.

==== Ascension and consolidation ====
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1982-159-21A, Nürnberg, Reichsparteitag, Hitler und Röhm.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|''Reichsparteitag'' (Nuremberg Rally): Nazi Party leader [[Adolf Hitler]] and SA-leader [[Ernst Röhm]], August 1933]]
In ''[[Mein Kampf]]'', Hitler directly attacked both left-wing and right-wing politics in Germany.{{efn|Hitler stated: "Today our left-wing politicians in particular are constantly insisting that their craven-hearted and obsequious foreign policy necessarily results from the disarmament of Germany, whereas the truth is that this is the policy of traitors [...] But the politicians of the Right deserve exactly the same reproach. It was through their miserable cowardice that those ruffians of Jews who came into power in 1918 were able to rob the nation of its arms."{{sfn|Hitler|2010|p=287}}}} However, a majority of scholars identify [[Nazism]] in practice as being a [[Far-right politics|far-right]] form of politics.{{Sfnm|1a1=Fritzsche|1y=1998|1p=?|2a1=Eatwell|2y=1996|2pp=xvii–xxiv, 21, 26–31, 114–40, 352|3a1=Griffin|3y=2000|3p=?}}{{Page needed|date=June 2020}} When asked in an interview in 1934 whether the Nazis were "bourgeois right-wing" as alleged by their opponents, Hitler responded that Nazism was not exclusively for any class and indicated that it favoured neither the left nor the right, but preserved "pure" elements from both "camps" by stating: "From the camp of bourgeois tradition, it takes national resolve, and from the materialism of the Marxist dogma, living, creative Socialism".{{sfn|Domarus|2007|pp=171–73}}

The votes that the Nazis received in the 1932 elections established the Nazi Party as the largest parliamentary faction of the Weimar Republic government. Hitler was appointed as [[Chancellor of Germany (German Reich)|Chancellor of Germany]] on 30 January 1933.

The [[Reichstag fire|''Reichstag'' fire]] on 27 February 1933 gave Hitler a pretext for suppressing his political opponents. The following day he persuaded the Reich's President [[Paul von Hindenburg]] to issue the [[Reichstag Fire Decree|''Reichstag'' Fire Decree]], which suspended most [[civil liberties]]. The NSDAP won the [[March 1933 German federal election|parliamentary election on 5 March 1933]] with 44% of votes, but failed to win an absolute majority. After the election, hundreds of thousands of new members joined the party for opportunistic reasons, most of them civil servants and white-collar workers. They were nicknamed the "casualties of March" ({{langx|de|link=no|Märzgefallenen}}) or "March violets" ({{langx|de|link=no|Märzveilchen}}).{{sfn|Beck|2013|p=259}} To protect the party from too many non-ideological turncoats who were viewed by the so-called "old fighters" {{lang|de|(alte Kämpfer)}} with some mistrust,{{sfn|Beck|2013|p=259}} the party issued a freeze on admissions that remained in force from May 1933 to 1937.{{sfn|Ingrao|2013|p=77}}

On 23 March, the parliament passed the [[Enabling Act of 1933]], which gave the cabinet the right to enact laws without the consent of parliament. In effect, this gave Hitler dictatorial powers. Now possessing virtually absolute power, the Nazis established [[Totalitarianism|totalitarian]] control as they abolished labour unions and other political parties and imprisoned their political opponents, first at {{lang|de|wilde Lager}}, improvised camps, then in [[concentration camp]]s. [[Nazi Germany]] had been established, yet the {{lang|de|Reichswehr}} remained impartial. Nazi power over Germany remained virtual, not absolute.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: right"
|-
|+ NSDAP federal election results (1924–1933){{sfn|Kolb|2005|pp=224–225}}
|-
!rowspan="2"|Election
!colspan="3"|Votes
!colspan="2"|Seats
!rowspan="2"|Notes
|-
!No.
!%
!+/–
!No.
!+/–
|-
![[May 1924 German federal election|May 1924]]<br />{{small|(as [[National Socialist Freedom Movement]])}}
|1,918,300
|6.5 (No.&nbsp;6)
|
|{{Composition bar|32|472|hex={{party color|Nazi Party}}}}
|
|style="text-align:left;"|Hitler in prison
|-
![[December 1924 German federal election|December 1924]]<br />{{small|(as [[National Socialist Freedom Movement]])}}
|907,300
|3.0 (No.&nbsp;8)
|{{decrease}}&nbsp;3.5
|{{Composition bar|14|493|hex={{party color|Nazi Party}}}}
|{{decrease}}&nbsp;18
|style="text-align:left;"|Hitler released from prison
|-
![[1928 German federal election|May 1928]]
|810,100
|2.6 (No.&nbsp;9)
|{{decrease}}&nbsp;0.4
|{{Composition bar|12|491|hex={{party color|Nazi Party}}}}
|{{decrease}}&nbsp;2
|style="text-align:left;"|
|-
![[1930 German federal election|September 1930]]
|6,409,600
|18.3 (No.&nbsp;2)
|{{increase}}&nbsp;15.7
|{{Composition bar|107|577|hex={{party color|Nazi Party}}}}
|{{increase}}&nbsp;95
|style="text-align:left;"|After the financial crisis
|-
![[July 1932 German federal election|July 1932]]
|13,745,000
|37.3 ('''No.&nbsp;1''')
|{{increase}}&nbsp;19.0
|{{Composition bar|230|608|hex={{party color|Nazi Party}}}}
|{{increase}}&nbsp;123
|style="text-align:left;"|After Hitler was candidate for presidency
|-
![[November 1932 German federal election|November 1932]]
|11,737,000
|33.1 ('''No.&nbsp;1''')
|{{decrease}}&nbsp;4.2
|{{Composition bar|196|584|hex={{party color|Nazi Party}}}}
|{{decrease}}&nbsp;34
|style="text-align:left;"|&nbsp;
|-
![[March 1933 German federal election|March 1933]]
|17,277,180
|43.9 ('''No.&nbsp;1''')
|{{increase}}&nbsp;10.8
|{{Composition bar|288|647|hex={{party color|Nazi Party}}}}
|{{increase}}&nbsp;92
|style="text-align:left;"|During Hitler's term as Chancellor of Germany
|}

=== After taking power: intertwining of party and state ===
The Nazis embarked on a campaign of {{lang|de|[[Gleichschaltung]]}} (coordination) to exert their control over all aspects of German government and society. During June and July 1933, all competing parties were either outlawed or dissolved themselves and subsequently the [[Law Against the Formation of Parties]] of 14 July 1933 legally established the Nazi Party's monopoly. On 1 December 1933, the [[Law to Secure the Unity of Party and State]] entered into force, which was the base for a progressive intertwining of party structures and state apparatus.{{sfn|Kuntz|2011|p=73}} By this law, the SA—actually a party division—was given quasi-governmental authority and their ''[[Stabschef]]'' became a cabinet [[minister without portfolio]]. By virtue of the 30 January 1934 [[Law on the Reconstruction of the Reich]], the {{lang|de|Länder}} (states) lost their sovereignty and were demoted to administrative divisions of the {{lang|de|Reich}} government. Effectively, they lost most of their power to the {{lang|de|[[Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany|Gaue]]}} that were originally just regional divisions of the party, but took over most competencies of the state administration in their respective sectors.{{sfn|Schaarschmidt|2014|pp=104–05}}

During the [[Night of the Long Knives (1934)|Röhm Purge]] of 30 June to 2 July 1934 (also known as the "Night of the Long Knives"), Hitler disempowered the SA's leadership—most of whom belonged to the [[Strasserism|Strasserist]] (national revolutionary) faction within the NSDAP—and ordered them killed. He accused them of having conspired to stage a ''coup d'état'', but it is believed that this was only a pretense to justify the suppression of any intraparty opposition. The purge was executed by the SS, assisted by the Gestapo and Reichswehr units. Aside from Strasserist Nazis, they also murdered anti-Nazi conservative figures like former chancellor von Schleicher.{{sfn|Evans|2015|p=98}} After this, the SA continued to exist but lost much of its importance, while the role of the SS grew significantly. Formerly only a sub-organisation of the SA, it was made into a separate organisation of the NSDAP in July 1934.{{sfn|McNab|2013|p=20}}

Upon the death of President Hindenburg on 2 August 1934, Hitler merged the offices of party leader, head of state and chief of government in one, taking the title of {{lang|de|[[Führer]] und Reichskanzler}} by passage of the [[Law Concerning the Head of State of the German Reich]]. The [[Hitler's Chancellery|Chancellery of the Führer]], officially an organisation of the Nazi Party, took over the functions of the Office of the President (a government agency), blurring the distinction between structures of party and state even further. The SS increasingly exerted police functions, a development which was formally documented by the merger of the offices of {{lang|de|[[Reichsführer-SS]]}} and Chief of the German Police on 17 June 1936, as the position was held by [[Heinrich Himmler]] who derived his authority directly from Hitler.{{sfn|Kuntz|2011|p=74}} The {{lang|de|[[Sicherheitsdienst]]}} (SD, formally the "Security Service of the Reichsführer-SS") that had been created in 1931 as an intraparty intelligence became the ''de facto'' intelligence agency of Nazi Germany. It was put under the [[Reich Security Main Office]] (RSHA) in 1939, which then coordinated SD, Gestapo and [[Kriminalpolizei|criminal police]], therefore functioning as a hybrid organisation of state and party structures.{{sfn|Delarue|2008|pp=x–xi}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H12704, Bad Godesberg, Vorbereitung Münchener Abkommen.jpg|thumb|Adolf Hitler in [[Bonn]] in 1938]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|-
|+ NSDAP election and referendum results in the [[Reichstag (Nazi Germany)|Reichstag]] under [[Nazi Germany]] (1933–1938)
|-
!Election
!Votes
!%
!Seats
|-
![[November 1933 German federal election|November 1933]]
|39,655,224
|92.1
|{{Composition bar|661|661|hex={{party color|Nazi Party}}}}
|-
![[1936 German election and referendum|1936]]
|44,462,458
|98.8
|{{Composition bar|741|741|hex={{party color|Nazi Party}}}}
|-
![[1938 German election and referendum|1938]]
|44,451,092
|99.0
|{{Composition bar|813|813|hex={{party color|Nazi Party}}}}
|}

=== Defeat and abolition ===
Officially, Nazi Germany lasted only 12 years. The [[German Instrument of Surrender|Instrument of Surrender]] was signed by representatives of the German High Command at [[Berlin]], on 8 May 1945, when the war ended in Europe.{{sfn|McNab|2009|p=25}} The party was formally abolished on 10 October 1945 by the [[Allied Control Council]], followed by the process of [[denazification]] along with [[Nuremberg trials|trials of major war criminals]] before the International Military Tribunal (IMT) in Nuremberg.{{sfn|McNab|2009|pp=25, 26}} Part of the [[Potsdam Agreement]] called for the destruction of the Nazi Party alongside the requirement for the reconstruction of the German political life.{{sfn|Lewkowicz|2008|p=74}} In addition, the Control Council Law no. 2 Providing for the Termination and Liquidation of the Nazi Organization specified the abolition of 52 other Nazi affiliated and supervised organisations and outlawed their activities.{{sfn|Cogen|2016|p=226}} The denazification was carried out in Germany and continued until the onset of the Cold War.{{sfn|Judt|2006|p=?}}{{Page needed|date=June 2020}}{{sfn|Junker|2004|p=65}}

Between 1939 and 1945, the Nazi Party led regime, assisted by [[Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy|collaborationist]] governments and recruits from occupied countries, was responsible for the deaths of at least eleven million people,{{sfn|Rummel|1994|p=112}}{{sfn|Snyder|2010|p=416}} including 5.5 to 6&nbsp;million Jews (representing two-thirds of the Jewish population of Europe),{{sfn|Evans|2008|p=318}}{{sfn|Fischel|1998|p=87}}{{sfn|Bauer|Rozett|1990|p=1799}} and between 200,000 and 1,500,000 [[Porajmos|Romani people]].{{sfn|Hancock|2004|pp=383–96}}{{sfn|Holocaust Memorial Museum}} The estimated total number includes the killing of nearly two million non-Jewish [[Nazi crimes against the Polish nation|Poles]],{{sfn|Holocaust Memorial Museum}} over three million [[Nazi crimes against Soviet POWs|Soviet prisoners of war]],{{sfn|Snyder|2010|p=184}} [[communist]]s, and other political opponents, homosexuals, the physically and mentally disabled.{{sfn|Niewyk|Nicosia|2000|p=45}}{{sfn|Goldhagen|1996|p=290}}