Hitler’s role in the early Nazi Party

Hitler was first introduced to the Nazi Party when he was employed by the Army to spy on the German Workers Party (the old name of the Nazi Party).

He attended several of their meetings and realised he agreed with many of their ideas. 

After speaking at one of their meetings, Leader Anton Drexler was impressed with his public speaking skills and invited Hitler to join the party. He was put in charge of Recruitment and Propaganda as he was a very talented speaker.

In 1920, Hitler wrote a new 25-point programme that listed their beliefs.

In 1921, Hitler set up the Sturmabteilung (or SA) to protect Nazi Party meetings and beat up Political Opponents.

In 1922, Hitler became the leader of the Nazi Party after it had grown to 6,000 political members.

In 1923, Hitler plotted to overthrow the Weimar Government. The Government in Bavaria was made up of right-wing nationalists who opposed the Weimar Government, so he believed they would support him. 

On the evening of the 8th of November, Hitler and the Nazis burst into a meeting at the beer hall in Munich and threatened the Bavarian Leader and he was forced to support their putsch.

Hitler made the mistake of letting Von Kahr leave during the putsch as he went and called the police. As a result, Hitler was later arrested, put on trial, and sent to prison. Meanwhile, the Nazi Party was banned for 2 years.