• History

How a Speech Helped Hitler Take Power

2 minute read
Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) pronouncing a
Adolf Hitler giving speech at the terrace of Royal Castle of the Lustgarten of Berlin, during his election campaign, circa 1920Albert Harlingue—Roger Viollet/Getty Images
By Lily Rothman

It was exactly 95 years ago — on Feb. 24, 1920 — that Adolf Hitler delivered the Nazi Party Platform to a large crowd in Munich, an event that is often regarded as the foundation of Naziism.

The German Workers’ Party (later the Nazi party) already existed before that date, though it was on that day that its exact goals were laid bare: the platform, set forth in 25 points, did not shy away from the central idea of strengthening German citizenship by excluding and controlling Jewish people and others deemed non-German. Still, those ideas weren’t new for the party. So what changed in 1920, and how did that help lead to Hitler’s ultimate rise to Nazi power?

His record of speech-making was what brought the audience to that hall in Munich in 1920. And, as Stefan Kanfer explained in TIME’s 1989 examination of the origins of World War II, Hitler’s power was closely linked to his abilities as an orator:

After the war, Hitler joined a new and violently anti-Semitic group, the forerunner of the National Socialist German Workers‘ Party — Nazi for short. There, for the first time since adolescence, he found a home and friends. Within a year, he became the chief Nazi propagandist. Judaism, he told his audiences, had produced the profiteers and Bolsheviks responsible for the defeat of the fatherland and the strangulation of the economy. Jews were bacilli infecting the arts, the press, the government. Pogroms would be insufficient. ”The final aim must unquestionably be the irrevocable Entfernung [removal] of the Jews.”

Early on, Hitler had a central insight: ”All epoch-making revolutionary events have been produced not by the written but by the spoken word.” He concentrated on an inflammatory speaking style flashing with dramatic gestures and catch phrases: ”Germany, awake!”

Read the full story, here in the TIME Vault: Architect of Evil

Color Photos of Hitler Among the Crowds

Adolf Hitler greets the cheering throng at a rally in 1937.
Adolf Hitler greets the cheering throng at a rally in 1937.Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg, Germany, 1937.
Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg, Germany, 1937.Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Austrians cheer Adolf Hitler during his 1938 campaign (before the Anschluss) to unite Austria and Germany.
Austrians cheer Adolf Hitler during his 1938 campaign (before the Anschluss) to unite Austria and Germany.Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Austrians cheer Adolf Hitler during his 1938 campaign (before the Anschluss) to unite Austria and Germany.
Austrians cheer Adolf Hitler during his 1938 campaign (before the Anschluss) to unite Austria and Germany.Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Crowds greet a saluting Adolf Hitler at a cornerstone ceremony at a Volkswagen factory, 1938.
Crowds greet a saluting Adolf Hitler at a cornerstone ceremony at a Volkswagen factory, 1938.Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Crowds greet a saluting Adolf Hitler at a cornerstone ceremony at a Volkswagen factory, 1938.
Crowds greet a saluting Adolf Hitler at a cornerstone ceremony at a Volkswagen factory, 1938.Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Crowds at a cornerstone ceremony at a Volkswagen factory, 1938.
Crowds at a cornerstone ceremony at a Volkswagen factory, 1938.Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Torchlight rally honoring Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday, 1939.
Torchlight rally honoring Adolf Hitler's 50th birthday, 1939.Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Hundreds of thousands gather at a harvest festival and Nazi Party rally in Germany, 1937.
Hundreds of thousands gather at a harvest festival and Nazi Party rally in Germany, 1937.Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Guests of honor at a military demonstration for Hitler's 50th birthday celebration in Berlin.
Guests of honor at a military demonstration for Hitler's 50th birthday celebration in Berlin.Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
A crowd cheers in Florence, Italy, during Hitler's state visit in 1938.
A crowd cheers in Florence, Italy, during Hitler's state visit in 1938.Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Italian fascists during Adolf Hitler's 1938 state visit.
Italian fascists during Adolf Hitler's 1938 state visit.Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
A crowd in Munich, Germany, around the time of the 1938 Munich Conference.
A crowd in Munich, Germany, around the time of the 1938 Munich Conference.Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Paying tribute to Hitler during celebrations for his 50th birthday, Berlin, 1939.
Paying tribute to Hitler during celebrations for his 50th birthday, Berlin, 1939.Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

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Write to Lily Rothman at lily.rothman@time.com