NSDAP ideology.
The early years and the Munich
Putsch.
Connector
What do you associate with this symbol?
Outcomes
• To know the timeline of the early years of
the NSDAP
• To know the ideology of the NSDAP
• To know the early years of activity of the
NSDAP
Myths
• The Nazi’s were not fouded by Hitler
• The Nazi’s were not necessarily a right
wing party
• The Nazi’s ideas were not new
• The Nazi’s ideology is not always seen as
a coherent set of ideas but a melting pot
of what was suitable at the time
Time line
• 1919- German Workers Party founded (DAP) by Anton
Drexler (Deutsch Abieter Party)
• 1920- 25 point programme agreed, outlining the Nazi
ideology by Hitler and Drexler, name changed to
National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP)
• 1923 November- Munich Beer Hall Putsch in Munich
• 1924- Hitler sent to Landsberg prison
• 1925- Feb- NSDAP-reformed in Munich
• 1926-Feb- Hitler leadership established over Drexler
• 1928- Reichstag election result
Hitler’s ideas after WW1
• Enthusiastic German nationalism
• Support of an authoritarian government
and opposition to a democracy and
socialism
• A racially inspired view of society which
exhibited itself most beliefs of antiSemitism and the belief of the master Volk
race (social Darwinism)
German Workers Party
• This sounds socialist but was not
• Established by Anton Drexler in 1919
• It was committed to anti Semitism and nationalism and
anti-capitalist
• The ideas appealed to Hitler and he joined, becoming
one of its best orators and energetically organising
propaganda- the symbols, the uniform, the salute
• By 1921 he was the driving force behind the party
• By now the membership had risen to 3300 and had
organised the formation of armed squads to protect party
meetings – (Sturm Abteilung- or SA) and also to
intimidate opposition. Wore brown shirts. Not part of
army but paramilitary
25 Point Programme
• Drawn up by Drexler and Hitler in 1920
• Read it here
Hitler vs Drexler
• By now Drexler was becoming alarmed at
Hilter’s dominance of the party and tried to
limit his political influence
• Now Hitler showed his political skills and
ability to gamble, so he offered to resign
• In two meetings in July 1921 he quickly
gained support and Drexler resigned
leaving Hitler gloriously triumphant
Consolidation of power
• He was further strengthened his position by increasing
the role of the SA and Rohm
• He established the party’s first newspaper the Volkischer
Beobachter (People’s Observer)
• By 1922 he had the backing of Julius Streicher who
published an anti- semetic newspaper- Der Sturmer
• He also gained the support of the influencial Herman
Goring who joined in 1922. He born into a landowning
Bavarian family and gave Hitler influence in Munich (and
respectability)
• By 1923 the NSDAP had a membership of 1923, but was
still one of the many fringe right wing organisations
spread across German, with its influence limited to
Bavaria
Beer Hall Putsch
• Mussolini successfully overtook Italy in 1922 by
marching on Rome, so combined with the problems in
Germany Hitler believed he could do the same
• But the Nazi’s were too weak to do this on their own so
they required allies- such as Kahr in Bavaria and Lossow
in the Bavarian army
• They aimed a march on Berlin using all the armed forces
from Bavaria-police, army, SA
• However this plan was doomed
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There was little support in Weimar for a putsch
It lacked real planning
It relied on support from Ludendorff too much
Kahr and Lossow pulled out at the last minute
8th November
• Hitler was addressing a crowd in one of Munich
beer halls when he declared a national
revolution and forced Lossow and Kahr to
support it
• The next day Goring, Streicher, Rohm, Himmler
and Ludenfdorff marched into Munich with 2000
SA men but with no real military backing and
tried totake over Munich
• This was crushed by the police and 14 Nazi’s
killed and Hitler put on trial
Consequences
• He turned the trial into a propaganda success
and evoked patriotism and nationalism
• He won the respect of many other right wing
parties for having the courage to act
• He received a sentence of 5 years reduced to 10
months which seemed to endorse his acts by the
judicary
• He used his months in prison to write a book
called Mein Kampf which outlined his ideas
• He decided that if he was to seize power it would
have to be legitimatly
Task 1
• Find out what happened during the Munich
Beer Hall Putsch
– Read page 115/116 of classbook
– Add notes to your notes
Ideology
• “Was Nazism an original German
ideology?”
– Racism
– Anti-democracy
– Nationalism
Homework
• “Was Nazism an original German
ideology?”