--- description: The Nazi Party platform was announced on Feb. 24, 1920 title: Hitler and Nazi History: How He Came to Power in 1920 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba80dc122bd2683a/69877fb9428a9e5e1bcc7302/hitler.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How a Speech Helped Hitler Take Power  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Feb 24, 2015 12:00 PM CUT  Adolf Hitler giving speech at the terrace of Royal Castle of the Lustgarten of Berlin, during his election campaign, circa 1920 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](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Feb 24, 2015 12:00 PM CUT It was exactly 95 years ago — on Feb. 24, 1920 — that Adolf Hitler delivered the [Nazi Party Platform](http://www.ushmm.org/learn/timeline-of-events/before-1933/nazi-party-platform "undefined") 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: --- > “” --- **_Read the full story, here in the TIME Vault:_** [Architect of Evil](http://time.com/vault/issue/1989-08-28/spread/54/ "undefined") ### Color Photos of Hitler Among the Crowds  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. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  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. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  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. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  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. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  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. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  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. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  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. Hugo Jaeger—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3712734/1920-nazi-party-history/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3712734/1920-nazi-party-history/"},"headline":"How a Speech Helped Hitler Take Power","datePublished":"2015-02-24T12:00:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:35.096Z","description":"The Nazi Party platform was announced on Feb. 24, 1920","url":"https://time.com/3712734/1920-nazi-party-history/","keywords":["conflict","World War II","Nazi","Hitler","People","WWII"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba80dc122bd2683a/69877fb9428a9e5e1bcc7302/hitler.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba80dc122bd2683a/69877fb9428a9e5e1bcc7302/hitler.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)","caption":"Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) pronouncing a","creditText":"Albert Harlingue—Roger Viollet/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3712734/1920-nazi-party-history/","name":"How a Speech Helped Hitler Take Power"}}]}] ```