The party as ideological force

The young National Socialist (Nazi) party was already notorious in the 1920s for its antisemitic ideology and radical ethnic nationalism. It was initially unpopular, but its newspaper, the Völkischer Beobachter (literally ‘People’s Observer’), broadcast its beliefs and aims, and its members held public meetings and marches that kept it in the public eye. A prime characteristic was its focus on the person of Adolf Hitler, who from an early stage used the party to develop a Führer (leader) cult. At the latest with his nomination as Reichskanzler (prime minister) this became a cornerstone of party doctrine and organisation. The National Socialist party took over existing structures and developed new ones through which – along with unremitting propaganda – they sought to influence and control every aspect of people’s lives.