German Workers' Party
The German Workers' Party (DAP) was a far-right German political party that exited for a short period of time in the Weimar Republic after World War I. They were the predecessor to the Nazi Party and promoted ultranationalism, anti-semitism, and pan-Germanism.
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History edit
The German Workers' Party was founded on January 5, 1919, by Anton Drexler and Michael Lotter at the Fürstenfelder Hof in Munich in front of 24 people (mostly railway employees). Among the founding members were Dietrich Eckart and Gottfried Feder, who was to become Adolf Hitler’s economic mentor a few months later.
Adolf Hitler joined the party in September 1919. At that time, Karl Harrer was the Reichsvorsitzender (president) and Drexler was at the head of the Munich branch. The first public meetings were organised in front of a sparse audience only after the fall of the Bavarian state council.
According to Hitler, the DAP’s greatest problem in the autumn of 1919 was its total lack of visibility. Such anonymity was mainly caused by a lack of financial freedom: when Hitler first joined the committee, their funds amounted to 7 marks and 50 pfennigs. Despite the committee’s efforts, which was committed to writing by hand/ typing and sending out invitations to its meetings, success was not immediately granted.
The second meeting in which Hitler was invited to speak took place on October 19, 1919, at the Eberlbraükeller. The theme was “Brest-Litowski and Versailles”, during which four speakers addressed 130 listeners. After the seventh public meeting, Hitler began to develop a program for the party.
On February 24, 1920, Hitler held his speech at the Hofbräuhaus brewery. The meeting originally had to take place at the Bürgerbräukeller in January 1920. However, it had to be postponed due to the general ban on public meetings. In front of nearly 2,000 people, Hitler presented his political program. Their 25-point program combined nationalist demands with social ideas imbued with pan-German, racist and anti-Semitic doctrines. Hitler won the audience’s approval and loudly stated each point of the program.
The DAP was renamed the National Socialist Party of German Workers (NSDAP) on August 8, 1920. After dismissing Drexler, Hitler took the lead on July 29, 1921. The same year, he developed the red and white flag containing a black swastika. The flag was adopted and became the emblem of the Nazi Party.