How Hitler’s Charm Allowed Nazi’s Rise to Power

How Hitler’s Charm allowed Nazi’s Rise to Power

Research Paper

HUMN 410

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For many, Adolf Hitler is an icon for evil. The damage caused by his beliefs and actions is undeniable. What is overlooked by many is how charismatic a leader he truly was. Without the leadership of Adolf Hitler the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiter Partei (NSDAP), also known as the Nazi’s, may have never been recognized as a valid party. Hitler’s charisma was largely responsible for the Party’s eventual rise to power.

In September of 1919, Hitler, a Corporal of the German Army, was asked to investigate a small group in Munich known as the German Workers' Party. Dressed in civilian clothes, Hitler went into a Munich beer hall where a German Workers’ Party meeting was taking place. During the meeting a man spoke, saying that Germany should break away from the Bavarian government, and form a new German nation to the south with Austria. Hitler stood and spoke out against what the man was saying. He was quickly approached by another man who recognized what a gifted speaker Hitler was. The man, Drexler, gave him a pamphlet and begged him to come back. The pamphlet “My Political Awakening” was written by Drexler. After reading the pamphlet, Hitler was surprised to find that Drexler had many of the same beliefs he did. Such as, building a strong nationalist, pro-military, anti-Semitic party made up of working class people. A few days later, Hitler was sent a post card inviting him into the ranks for the party. "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..." a quote from Hitler’s book “Mein Kampf”.

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