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The Rise of Adolf Hitler
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He spent two days thinking it over then decided.
Corporal Adolf Hitler was ordered in September 1919 to investigate a small
"I finally came to the conviction that I had to take this step...It was the most
group in Munich known as the German Workers' Party.
decisive resolve of my life. From here there was and could be no turning back."
The use of the term 'workers' attracted the attention of the German Army which
Adolf Hitler joined the committee of the German Workers' Party and thus entered
was now involved in crushing communist uprisings
politics.
On September 12th, dressed in civilian clothes, Hitler went to a meeting of the
A year later, the party will adopt a new name and will in the future be known as
German Workers' Party in the back room of a Munich beer hall, with about twenty
the National Socialist German Workers Party.
five people. He listened to a speech on economics by Gottfried Feder entitled, "How
and by What Means is Capitalism to be Eliminated?”
1) Why did Hitler attend a meeting of the German Workers’ Party?
After the speech, Hitler began to leave when a man rose up and spoke in favor of
the German state of Bavaria breaking away from Germany and forming a new South
German nation with Austria.
This enraged Hitler and he spoke out forcefully against the man for the next
fifteen minutes uninterrupted, to the astonishment of everyone. One of the
2) Using your vocabulary chart, describe capitalism and communism.
founders of the German Workers' Party, Anton Drexler, reportedly whispered: "He's
got the gift of the gab. We could use him.
After Hitler's outburst ended, Drexler hurried over to Hitler and gave him a fortypage pamphlet entitled: "My Political Awakening." He urged Hitler to read it and
also invited Hitler to come back again.
Early the next morning, sitting in his cot in the barracks of the 2nd Infantry
3) What did Hitler like about the German Worker’s Party?
Regiment watching the mice eat bread crumbs he left for them on the floor, Hitler
remembered the pamphlet and read it. He was delighted to find the pamphlet,
written by Drexler, reflected political thinking much like his own – building a strong,
nationalist, pro-military, anti-Semitic party made up of working class people.
A few days later, Hitler received an unexpected postcard saying he had been
4) What were some issues Hitler had with the political party?
accepted as a member into the party. He was asked to attend an executive
committee meeting, which he did. At that meeting he was joyfully welcomed as a
new member although he was actually very undecided on whether to join.
In Mein Kampf, Hitler describes the condition of the party: "aside from a few
directives, there was nothing, no program, no leaflet, no printed matter at all, no
membership cards, not even a miserable rubber stamp...”
5) How do you think history would be different if Hitler was not persuaded to
Although unimpressed by the present condition of the German Workers'
join by the leaders of the German Workers’ Party?
Party, Hitler was drawn to the opinion expressed by Drexler that this would
somehow become a movement not just a political party. And in this disorganized
party, Hitler saw opportunity.
"This absurd little organization with its few members seemed to me to possess
the one advantage that it had not frozen into an 'organization,' but left the
individual opportunity for real personal activity. Here it was still possible to work,
and the smaller the movement, the more readily it could be put into the proper
form. Here, the content, the goal, and the road could still be determined..."