The early Nazi Party

Adolf Hitler was born in Austria in 1889. He served in the German army in the First World War, and was awarded the Iron Cross for bravery. He was bitter about Germany's defeat.

In 1919, while working for the army in Munich, he was sent to watch a small party, the German Workers' Party (DAP). He joined it, and soon became its best speaker.

In 1920, it was renamed the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP), or Nazi Party. In 1921, Hitler became its leader.

In 1920, the party published its Twenty-Five Point Programme. Its main ideas included:

• abolishing the Treaty of Versailles
• uniting all German-speaking people in one country
• citizenship based on race, which excluded Jewish people
• a strong central government.

In 1921, the party set up the SA (Sturmabteilung, storm troopers), also called the Brownshirts. They protected Nazi meetings and attacked opponents, especially communists.

Significance: the SA gave the Nazis a reputation for violence, but also attracted unemployed ex-soldiers looking for purpose.

Causes: in 1923, Germans were angry about hyperinflation, the occupation of the Ruhr, and the end of passive resistance. Hitler was inspired by Mussolini, who had seized power in Italy in 1922.

Events: on 8 November 1923, Hitler and the SA burst into a beer hall in Munich, where Bavarian leaders were meeting, and announced a revolution. The next day, Hitler and the war hero General Ludendorff marched through Munich, but the police opened fire. Sixteen Nazis were killed, and Hitler was arrested.

Consequences: the putsch had failed completely. But it made Hitler famous.

At his trial in 1924, Hitler used the courtroom to make speeches attacking the government, which were reported in newspapers across Germany. The judges were sympathetic, and he was sentenced to five years in prison, but released after nine months.

In prison, he wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle). It set out his ideas: hatred of Jewish people and communists, the belief that Germans were a superior race, and that Germany needed Lebensraum, 'living space', in Eastern Europe.

Change: Hitler decided that the Nazis must win power legally, through elections, rather than by force.

During the Golden Years, few Germans voted for extreme parties. In 1928, the Nazis won only 12 seats in the Reichstag.

But Hitler used these years to reorganise the party:

• At the Bamberg Conference in 1926, he defeated members who wanted the party to follow more socialist policies, and made himself its unchallenged leader.
• The party set up branches across Germany.
• It created new organisations, such as the SS, Hitler's personal bodyguard, and the Hitler Youth.
• Joseph Goebbels became a skilled organiser of Nazi propaganda.

Significance: when the economy collapsed in 1929, the Nazis were ready.