Hitler and DAP

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The German Workers' Union was conceived by Anton Drexler on the seventh of March, 1918. Drexler's union consisted of about forty members, most of whom were railwaymen, that

were banded together by shared sentiments of fierce nationalism, anti-Semitism, and support for the war effort. Previous to the end of World War I, this small union carried the rather

verbose title of the 'Free Labor Committee for a Good Peace.' At this time the organization adhered to a rather straightforward program--'Strikers, Bolsheviks, Jews, malingerers, and

war profiteers were the enemy, and it was the duty of the workers to unite behind the war effort.' (Payne, 135) However, after the disastrous conclusion to the war, Drexler's union,

having changed its name to the 'German Worker's Party,' lacked any coherent program and was on the brink of collapse when Hitler inadvertently stepped into the picture.

When this happened the party ceased to be Drexler's partly; it became Hitler's.

The German Workers' Party (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei) became the foundation of the

Nationalsozialistiche Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, commonly abbreviated as the NAZI party. Hitler's ability to transform this forty-member union into the dominant political force that it

became gives us clear indication that he was an inherent leader and a master of propaganda. In fact, I believe, that without his introduction to the DAP, the Nazi party would probably

never have been formed.

Hitler was assigned to attend his first DAP meeting on the twelfth of September, 1919 in order to investigate the party and its activities for the military. In the course of the meeting, Hitler

became actively involved in one of the arguments. He refuted one person with such force that the man left 'like a wet noodle' before Hitler was even finished speaking. However,

Hitler's only purpose for that meeting was to attend...