hitlers rise to power 1919-33

• Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau, Austria - not in Germany - on 20 April 1889
• Hitler's early life gave no indication of what was to come. His father was a middle-class Austrian customs official. His mother, to whom he was devoted, died of cancer when he was 18
• Hitler did not excel at school. Though talented at art, he failed to get a place at art academy. Early in his life, he had jobs as a labourer, house painter and even a road sweeper
• In 1913, Hitler moved to Munich, a city in Bavaria in the south of Germany
• Soon after, his life was changed by the First World War. He became a solider, and according to his commander, was brave, effective and conscientious. He was wounded twice and awarded the Iron Cross (First Class) for bravery
• The defeat of Germany and the Treaty of Versailles were double blows for Hitler. He later wrote, 'And so, it had all been in vain... and in vain the two million who died... In these nights, hatred grew in me, hatred for those responsible... I, for my part, decided to go into politics
• Within 15 years, he was Chancellor of Germany
• German Workers' Party (DAP)

  Founded in Munich in February 1919, by Anton Drexler, a railway mechanic
• At the first meeting attended by Hitler, on 12 September 1919, there were only 23 people. At the third meeting, the treasurer announced the total party funds as seven marks and 50 pfennigs - enough to buy a few groceries
• Even so, Hitler was attracted by the party's ideas and, on 19 September 1919, he joined the DAP
• Hitler's takeover of the DAP

  1. Party policy

  2. Hitler's personal appeal

  3. Party organisation

  4. Party leadership

  5. Sturmabteilung (SA) or 'Brownshirts'
• Twenty-Five Point Programme


  A document explaining the policies of the DAP, written by Hitler and Drexler in February 1920
• Policies in the Twenty-Five Point Programme

  • Nationalist policies (race, expansion, army, power, relations with other countries)
  • Socialist policies (state controls over living conditions and economy)
• Hitler's personal appeal

  Orator (public speaker) - rehearsed speeches that built up tension towards an impassioned, almost frenzied, rant; Gestures - leaning forward, fixing eyes on audience, waving hands vigorously
• At the 46 party gatherings held between November 1919 and November 1920, Hitler appeared on 31 occasions as the star speaker
• As Hitler's appeal spread, membership of the DAP grew to 1,000 by June 1920 and 3,000 by the end of 1920
• Changes made by Hitler to the DAP

  1. Permanent office in Munich

  2. More organised and better advertised meetings

  3. Renamed to National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP)

  4. Adopted swastika logo and straight-armed party salute

  5. Bought newspaper Völkischer Beobachter
• In July 1921, Hitler forced a leadership contest in the party. Drexler was defeated and Hitler became leader of the NSDAP
• Hitler's supporters who helped him lead the party

  • Rudolf Hess (deputy)
  • Hermann Goering (fighter pilot)
  • Julius Streicher (publisher)
  • Ernst Röhm (ex-army officer)
• Sturmabteilung (SA) or 'Brownshirts'

  Paramilitary force - recruited from the unemployed, ex-soldiers, and students; used to control crowds, subdue opposition, and disrupt opposition meetings
• By the party conference of January 1922, Hitler's control of the NSDAP was complete. He persuaded the members to give up their right to elect their leader
• The NSDAP membership grew from 3,000 in 1920 to over 50,000 by November 1923
• NSDAP


  National Socialist German Workers' Party
• Hitler's control of the NSDAP was complete

  January 1922
• Hitler persuaded the members to give up their right to elect their leader
• There was no discussion of policy at the conference: Hitler dictated policy
• The NSDAP was Hitler's party
• NSDAP membership figures


  • 50,000 in 1921
  • 40,000 in 1922
  • 30,000 in November 1923
• Historians' perspectives are shaped by their interests, questions and concepts
• Historians use different methods of investigating and make sense of sources in different ways
• Historian A believes ideas shape history, while Historian B thinks people control events
• Historian A looks at the bigger picture, while Historian B uses local sources
• The accounts of Historian A and Historian B would differ in response to the question of how far the growth of the NSDAP was caused by popular support for its policies and how far it was caused by popular support for Hitler
• Historian A would use factual detail about the Versailles peace treaty, economic problems in Germany, and examples of political unrest across the country, while Historian B would use factual detail from local sources about what happened to the NSDAP in Munich, the minutes of its meetings, and the articles in its newspapers
• These different approaches do not mean that one account is wrong and the other right, they just reflect the different perspectives and methods of the historians
• This activity shows that interpretations in history differ because historians have different interests, questions, concepts, and methods
• Röhm and Streicher were all arrested. Goering was spirited away by supporters and went into hiding abroad
• Hitler fled the scene in a car, then hid at the house of a friend, Ernst Hanfstaengl, ten miles south of Munich. He was later found, hiding in a wardrobe, and arrested on 11 November
• The state police rounded up hundreds [of rebels], disarming them on the street. The rebels left behind at the beer hall to hold the command post were so unstrung [unsettled] by the catastrophe that they surrendered without resistance to police. They stacked up their arms and went home to brood. The Putsch was over
• Victorious state police marching away from the beer hall were abused by indignant citizens, with cries of "Betrayers of the Fatherland! Jew defenders! Bloodhounds! Heil Hitler - Down with Kahr!"