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German Workers Party
In 1919 Hitler, still in the army, spied on the German Workers Party to find out if it was dangerous. It had only a few members, and it was obvious that it wasn't dangerous in the slightest. However, Hitler liked it's ideas and joined in 1919, using his remarkable speaking skills to quickly become the leader, on July 28th 1921. He renamed it the "Nationalist Socialist German Workers Party" or "Nazi Party" for short, and changed the symbol to the swaztika. -
Putsch
in case of opposition, Hitler created "storm troopers" to eliminate any who disagreed with him. In 1923, he and his storm troopers attempted a putsch, an attempt to overthrow the government. They failed, however, and Hitler was put in jail for high treason. -
Release
In 1924, Hitler was released from jail. He used his time in prison to write a book about his life and ideas, "Mein Kampf" or "My Struggle." He then returned to leading the Nazi Party. -
Economic Depression
For 4 years, Hitler had little success in running the Nazi party. However, something happened to change things. There was an economic depression in Germany, and unemployment rose to six million. Jobless people began to listen to Hitler's ideas about strong leadership, and many blamed Jews and communists for their unemployment, as Hitler did. The Nazis got more and more votes in elections until they became Germany's biggest political party. -
Influence and Chancellor
After many huge victories in elections from 1931 to 1932, it's no surprise that Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, in January 1933. With this new position, HItler had great influence and power in Germany. -
Fuhrer
On the 2nd of August, 1934, President Hindenburg died. Hitler then issued a decree that gave him all the power of president, including supreme military command, and the power of chancellor, creating a new title of "Fuhrer." Hitler assumed this title for himself, and the next day the army swore loyalty to him, giving him supreme power in Germany.
