The Changing Fortunes of the Nazi Party, 1924 - 33

Hitler was released from Prison in December 1924. When he returned to the party, it was in disarray. Officially, it had been banned. Unofficially, it continued to run under the temporary leadership of Alfred Rosenburg. Therefore, Hitler's first priority was to persuade the government to lift the ban on the NSDAP, which he achieved in February 1925.

HITLER CONSOLIDATES HIS POWER, 1925 - 27

During his time spent in prison, Hitler realised that the Nazi party was not going to win power by force, but instead manipulating the political system. To put his plan into action, he focused on reorganising three areas during this period.

1. Removing people who had become a liability to the movement.

2. Building up a strong core of loyalists in Munich and the South.

3. Neutralising opposition within the party.

1. Removing rivals - Henry encouraged General Ludendorff to stand in the Presidental elections of 1925, in which he received a mere 1.1% of the vote. This revealed to Hitler that Ludendorff was no longer of use in politics. In 1925, Hitler also forced Ernst Rohm to resign due to differing views on how the SA should be used. Rohm believed that they should be used as a parliamentary force, whilst Hitler was adamant that they continued their original role of protecting the party and training activists.

2. Building up a strong core of loyalists - it was during this period that Hitler truly established his Fuhrerprinzip within the party. 

3. Neutralising opposition within the party - Hitler did not just remove rivals, but converted some, such as Joseph Goebbels, into loyal supporters, whilst others, such as Gregor Strasse, were forced to follow his lead. He also neutralised opposition between the Nazis of the South and the North by sending Strasser to reorganise the NSDAP of the North. 

GREGOR STRASSER

During the course of 1925, Strasser, alongside other NSDAP members of the North, notably Goebbels…