Editing Robert Ley (section)

==Rise in the Nazi Party==
Ley rejoined the re-founded Nazi Party in March 1925, shortly after the party's ban was lifted (membership number 18,441). He was named Deputy ''[[Gauleiter]]'' of the Southern Rhineland (later, [[Rhine Province|Rhineland]]) that month, and was promoted to ''Gauleiter'' on 17 July.{{sfn|Miller|Schulz|2017|pp=190-192}} In September 1925, he became a member of the [[National Socialist Working Association]], a short-lived group of northern and western German ''Gauleiters'', organized and led by [[Gregor Strasser]], which advocated a more working-class focus for the Party and unsuccessfully sought to amend the [[National Socialist Program|Party program]].{{sfn|Miller|Schulz|2017|p=193}} At a meeting on 24 January 1926, however, Ley joined with others in raising objections to Strasser's proposed new draft program and it was shelved.{{sfn|Noakes|1966|pp=26-27}} Shortly thereafter, the Working Association was dissolved following the [[Bamberg Conference]].

In March 1928, Ley became the editor and publisher of a virulently [[anti-Semitic]] Nazi newspaper, the ''Westdeutscher Beobachter'' (West German Observer) in [[Cologne]]. On 20 May 1928, he was elected to the [[Prussian Landtag]], and also was appointed to the Rhenish provincial legislature. He was first elected to the ''[[Reichstag (Weimar Republic)|Reichstag]]'' in September 1930 from electoral constituency 20, Cologne-Aachen. He remained as the ''Gauleiter'' of Rhineland until 1 June 1931 when his ''Gau'' was divided into two and new leaders named.{{sfn|Miller|Schulz|2017|pp=192-194}}

On 21 October 1931, Ley was brought to Munich party headquarters as the Deputy to Strasser, then the head of party organization. Ley was styled ''Reichsorganisationsinspekteur'' and conducted inspection visits to the various ''Gaue''. On 10 June 1932, following a further organizational restructuring by Strasser, Ley was named one of two ''[[Inspekteur (NSDAP)|Reichsinspecteurs]]'' with oversight of approximately half the ''[[Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany|Gaue]]''. Furthermore, he was made the Acting [[Inspekteur (NSDAP)|Landesinspekteur]] for Bavaria with direct responsibility for the six Bavarian ''Gaue''.{{sfn|Miller|Schulz|2017|p=194}} This was a short-lived initiative by Strasser to centralize control over the ''Gaue''. However, it was unpopular with the ''Gauleiters'' and was repealed on Strasser's fall from power. Strasser resigned on 8 December 1932 in a break with Hitler over the future direction of the Party. Hitler himself took over as ''Reichsorganisationsleiter'' and installed Ley as his ''Stabschef'' (Chief of Staff). The positions of ''Reichsinspecteur'' and ''Landesinspekteur'' were abolished.{{sfn|Orlow|1969|pp=293-295}} When Hitler became [[Reich Chancellor]] in January 1933, Ley accompanied him to Berlin. On 2 June 1933, Ley was among those raised to ''[[Reichsleiter]]'', the second highest political rank in the Nazi Party.{{sfn|Orlow|1973|p=74}} This was followed on 14 September 1933 by his appointment to the reconstituted [[Prussian State Council (Nazi Germany)|Prussian State Council]] by Prussian [[Minister-President]] [[Hermann Göring]]. On 3 October 1933, Ley was named to [[Hans Frank]]'s [[Academy for German Law]] and, on 10 November 1934, Hitler finally formally promoted Ley to the position of ''Reichsorganisationsleiter''. Ley would retain these positions until the fall of the Nazi regime.{{sfn|Miller|Schulz|2017|pp=197–198}}