Describe Hitler’s Political Career Between 1918-1922

        Hitler was sent to spy on a meeting of the DAP (German workers party) to make sure that they weren’t communists. (“Left Wing”) As a result of this meeting Hitler was impressed. The party was led by Anton Drexler. Anton Drexler was so impressed with Hitler’s abilities as an orator so he invited him to join the party. At first Hitler was Reluctant to join the party, but as he was urged by his commanding officer, he eventually agreed to join. Hitler was only the fifty-fourth person to join the DAP. Hitler was immediately asked to join the executive committee and later on he was appointed the party’s propaganda manager. Hitler then brought several members of his army into the party, which included one of his commanding officers, Captain Ernst Roehm. Roehm’s arrival was a very important development as he had access to the army political fund and was able to transfer some of the money to the DAP. Hitler used some of this money to advertise their meetings. This helped to attract more people. During the meetings Hitler was often the main speaker and it was this, that helped him develop the techniques that made him into such a persuasive orator.

        Hitler would always arrive late to the meetings. This helped develop tension and expectation. This is what got people hooked to Hitler. For the first few meetings Hitler would appear nervous and spoke haltingly. After the first few meetings Hitler started to relax when speaking and his style of delivery changed: He would use his hands while speaking, his voice would get louder and become more passionate, sweat would pour from him, his face would turn white and his voice would crack with emotion. This was good because by the end of the meeting the audience would be in a state of near hysteria and were willing to do whatever Hitler suggested. Hitler made a number of changes to the party. He changed the party name to the NSDAP. In 1920 Hitler published the “25 point” programme. In this programme the party refused to accept the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Equal rights were only given to German citizens. “Aliens and “Foreigners” were denied these rights. To be able to appeal the working class, the programme included free education, increases in old-age pension and profit sharing in large industries. 2,000 people attended this meeting, which was a big improvement to the 25 people who attended the previous one. Hitler’s powerful and impressive speeches also helped build up the membership of the party.

        In autumn 1921, Hitler successfully challenged for leadership of the party. Violence often erupted during Hitler’s speeches. This was due to his supporter’s emotions of anger and his passionate speeches. In September 1921, Hitler was sent to prison for being part of a mob who beat up a rival politician. This showed that Hitler was willing to do anything to get into power, even if it meant breaking the law. When Hitler was released from prison, he set up his own private army called the S.A. ( Sturm Abterilung) The S.A were also known as the brown shirts. They wore brown shirts, grey jackets, swastika armbands and combat boots. The S.A’s job was to disrupt political meetings of political opponents and to protect Hitler. The S.A would parade through the streets of Munich carrying swastika Flags. At the end of the meeting, Hitler would make one of his powerful speeches that would encourage his supporter’s to carry out violence against Jews.