The National Socialist German Workers Party

The National Socialist German Workers Party

In April, 1920, Hitler advocated that The German Workers Party should

change its name to the National Socialist German Workers Party

(NSDAP). Hitler had always been hostile to socialist ideas, especially

those that involved racial or sexual equality. However, socialism was

a popular political philosophy in Germany after the First World War.

This was reflected in the growth in the German Social Democrat Party

(SDP), the largest political party in Germany. This made Hitler

realise that if he was to succeed, he had to win over the people of

Germany. As a result he had to be diplomatic and include some

socialist ideas. Hitler therefore redefined socialism by placing the

word 'National' before it. He claimed he was only in favour of

equality for those who had "German blood". Jews and other "aliens"

would lose their rights of citizenship, and immigration of non-Germans

should be brought to an end. For these reasons, Hitler was only

socialist to a certain extent, mainly to win support from German

people.

To show to the people of Germany that he and his party were half

socialist, Hitler drew up the 'twenty five points'. These were the

actions Hitler and his party would take if they were allowed to come

to power. The twenty five points contained some nationalist elements

and some socialist elements.

One socialist element was the nationalisation of trusts. This meant

that the frozen money that was left by the dead would be taken by the

government and used to rebuild the poor industry of Germany. Hitler

realised that he had to appeal to all areas of society, and by

nationalising trusts he immediately appealed to the lower class,

seeing as they would never be able to set up a trust of their own.

Hitler also realised that after The Treaty of Versailles, the majority

of people in Germany were living in poverty. Therefore it was

imperative that he appealed to the lower classes which made up the

bulk of Germany. To win a vast amount of people over, he decided that