Nazi Party

The Nazi Party was a political party that was led to power in Germany by Adolf Hitler in 1933. The German name of the party is Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Workers' Party) which is abbreviated as NSDAP. The term "Nazi" is a mocking abbreviation for members of the party or adherents of its political philosophy which they themselves called National Socialism.

The party was the main political force in Nazi Germany from the fall of the Weimar Republic in 1933 until the end of World War II in 1945, when it was declared illegal and its leaders were arrested and convicted of crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg trials.

The NSDAP was founded in 1919 by a Munich locksmith, Anton Drexler, as one of many völkisch movements that existed in Germany as a result of its defeat in World War I. In order to investigate this party, German army intelligence sent Hitler as a young corporal to monitor party activities. Impressed by what he saw, he joined as member number 7.

By 1932 it was widely supported throughout Germany, reaching a total of 13.75 million votes and becoming the largest voting bloc in the Reichstag — the parliament of the Weimar Republic. After the banning or cancellation of all other parties (until July 5, 1933) and the ban on new parties (July 14, 1933), it was the only remaining political party. This was part of the Gleichschaltung.

election results:

date	votes in millions	share
May 20, 1928	0.81	2.6%
September 14, 1930	6.41	18.3%
July 31, 1932	13.75	37.3%
November 6, 1932	11.74	33.1%
March 5, 1933	17.28	43.9%

NSDAP leaders and officials