Hitler's reputation as an
orator grew andit soon became clear that he was the main reason why
people were joining theparty. This gave Hitler tremendous power within the organization as they knewthey could not afford to lose him. One change suggested by Hitler concernedadding Socialist to the name of the party. Hitler had always beenhostile to socialist ideas, especially those that involved racial or sexualequality. However, socialism was a popular political philosophy in Germany afterthe First World War. This was reflected in the growth in the German SocialDemocrat
party the largest political party in Germany.Hitler, therefore redefined socialism byplacing the word National before it. He claimed he was only in favor ofequality for those who had German blood.Jews and other aliens would lose their
rights of citizenship, and immigration ofnon-Germans should be brought to an end.In February 1920, the National SocialistGerman Workers Party (NSDAP) published its first
programme which became knownas the 25 Points. In the programme the party refused to accept theterms of the Versailles Treaty and called for the reunification of all Germanpeople. To reinforce their ideas on nationalism, equal rights were only to begiven to German citizens. Foreigners and aliens wouldbe denied these rights. To appeal to the working class andsocialists, the programme included several measures that would redistributeincome and war profits, profit-sharing in large industries, nationalization oftrusts, increases in old-age pensions and free education.On 24th February, 1920, the NSDAP (laternicknamed the Nazi Party) held a mass rally where it announced its newprogramme. The rally was attended by over 2,000 people, a great improvement onthe 25 people who were at Hitler's first party meeting.Hitler knew that the growth in the partywas mainly due to his skills as an orator and in the autumn of 1921 hechallenged Anton Drexler for the leadership of the party. After briefresistance Drexler accepted the inevitable, and Hitler became the new leader ofthe Nazi Party.
More summaries about the Hitler-The Orator and the rise of the Nazi Party