Introduction

The National Socialist German Workers Party existed in German politics between 1919 and 1945. Led by Adolph Hitler, the party presided over among the darkest period of German and world history; characterized by the worst mass murder and world war.  key to the party’s success was the ascension of Hitler to the chancellor of Germany after being appointed by the then president Paul von Hindenburg in 1933; from this point, Hitler went ahead to rule the country as a dictator till his death at the close of the second world war, after setting up a totalitarian regime known as the Third Reich.

The party and its leader came to power partly through their own efforts, by setting up a formidable and well organized political machine; however, the outcome was also greatly aided by social, political and economic issues that the German society was dealing with at the time; thus making it a fertile ground to sow the seeds of Nazism.

Origins of the Party

The roots of the Nazi party can be traced to smaller parties which had nationalist ideals that rose at the end of the First World War. One such party is the Freier Ausschuss für einen deutschen Arbeiterfrieden roughly translated as the Free Committee for a German Workers’ Peace; this party was formed in 1918 in the German town of Bremen. Soon, branches of this party stated popping up across the country.

Proponents of nationalism shared some political and social views that generally united them in their cause. Such include the opposition of the armistice that saw the end of the first world war and the subsequent signing of the treaty of Versailles; the hatred of Jews and the belief that they were responsible for Germany’s economic woes through capitalist practices; opposition of Marxism and communism; opposition to monarchism; belief in racial purity of Germans as they formed part of the “master race” or the Aryans (Lacoue-Labarthe, 1990, p293; Eatwell, 1996, p.304).

These parties eventually organized themselves into the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (DAP) or the German Workers’ Party. The party had strong socialist and anti-Semitic ideologies; and believed that the government should play the role of supporting the Aryan German race that at the time formed the bulk of the middle class (Lacoue-Labarthe, 1990, 295). At first, the party was very small, comprising of only 60 members; however, its ideological stand attracted the attention of the government which sent an army corporal known as Adolph Hitler to infiltrate and investigate the movement.

Adolph Hitler

In 1916, Hitler joined the DAP after being invited due to his ability to engage in political arguments. As the party continued to grow, the status of Hitler also grew as he found a niche in recruiting new members through his superior oratory skills. Finally, on July 18, 1921, he was appointed the chairman of the party. With this, Führer as he came to be titled transformed the party into a revolutionary movement complete with a militant wing known as the Storm-troopers (SA); and which main aim was to overthrow the Weimar Republic through violent means and to liberate the country from Jews, socialists and parties which betrayed the Germans in the First World War (Eatwell, 1996, p.306).

The ascent of Adolph Hitler saw the shift of the Nazi maxim from a socialist agenda to those of nationalist expansionism and anti-Semitism. As such, the Nazi did not seek to champion the welfare of the low-class masses. From this perch, Hitler saw himself and Germany as a country surrounded by enemies in form of countries controlled by Jews and communists; in form of Britain, the Soviet Union and France. This, together with expansionism and nationalism set the stage for the outbreak of the Second World War.