German Workers' Party

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The German: Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or German Workers' Party (DAP), was a political party in Germany just after World War I. It did not last for very long, and became the Nazi Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, acronym NSDAP).

Origins[change | change source]




Adolf Hitler joins the DAP[change | change source]

German Workers' Party
Deutsche Arbeiterpartei
Leader Karl Harrer (1919-1920)
Anton Drexler
Founded January 5, 1919
Dissolved February 24, 1920
Preceded by None (de jure)
German Fatherland Party (de facto)
Succeeded by National Socialist German Workers' Party
Headquarters Munich, Germany
Ideology German nationalism
Political position Far-right politics
Hitler's DAP party card with the forged membership number 7

When Adolf Hitler was still a corporal in the German army, he was ordered to spy on the DAP during one of its meetings at the Sterneckerbräu on 12 September 1919.

Hitler was very good at making speeches, so Anton Drexler asked him to join the party. Hitler thought about this, and then joined near the end of September 1919. There were no membership numbers or cards when Hitler joined the party. In January 1920 the DAP began to give membership cards and numbers. They started at number 500 to make the party look bigger. Hitler got number 555, but he was also committee member number 7. Later Hitler said he was party member number 7, to make it look like he was a founder member of the DAP).

From DAP to NSDAP[change | change source]

The small number of party members were quick to believe in Hitler's ideas.

To try to make the party more popular the DAP changed its name on 24 February 1920 to the National Socialist German Workers' Party. The name was borrowed from a different Austrian party active at the time (Deutsche Nationalsozialistische Arbeiterpartei). At first Hitler wanted the new name to be the "Social Revolutionary Party"; but Rudolf Jung persuaded Hitler to use NSDAP.[2]

Membership[change | change source]

Hitler was the 55th member of the party. Other well-known early members were:

References[change | change source]

  1. Hitler: a study in Tyranny by Alan Bullock
  2. Konrad Heiden, "Les débuts du national-socialisme", Revue d'Allemagne, VII, No. 71 (Sept. 15, 1933), p. 821