The German Socialist Party (German: ''Deutschsozialistische Partei'', DSP) was a short-lived

German nationalist German nationalism () is an ideological notion that promotes the unity of Germans and German-speakers into one unified nation state. German nationalism also emphasizes and takes pride in the patriotism and national identity of Germans as one nat ...

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

during the early years of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

. Founded in 1918, its declared aim was an

ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pri ...

that would combine both '' völkisch'' and

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

elements. However, the party never became a

mass movement Mass movement may refer to: * Mass movement (geology), the movement of rock and soil down slopes due to gravity * Mass movement (politics) A mass movement denotes a political party or movement which is supported by large segments of a population. P ...

. After it was dissolved in 1922, many of its members joined the similar

National Socialist German Workers' Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

(NSDAP) instead. The DSP was heavily influenced by the

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

Thule Society, led by Rudolf von Sebottendorf, as well as publications of engineer Alfred Brunner, who aimed to create a party that would be both nationalist, socialist and attractive to the German

proletariat The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philo ...

. Similar to the NSDAP, the DSP aimed to win the allegiance of the German proletariat away from

Socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

, which had become highly influential following the

German Revolution of 1918–1919 The German Revolution or November Revolution (german: Novemberrevolution) was a civil conflict in the German Empire at the end of the First World War that resulted in the replacement of the German federal constitutional monarchy with a dem ...

. In 1920, the party (which had originally only existed in

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

and

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...

) attempted to become a nationwide party and compete in the Reichstag elections. However, the party only received about 7,000 votes.Wahlergebnis 1920
bei www.gonschior.de This led to various attempts to join forces with similar groups: In the summer of 1921,

Julius Streicher Julius Streicher (12 February 1885 – 16 October 1946) was a member of the Nazi Party, the ''Gauleiter'' (regional leader) of Franconia and a member of the '' Reichstag'', the national legislature. He was the founder and publisher of the virul ...

, an important party official, formed and alliance with the '' Völkische Werkgemeinschaft''. They also tried to bring the NSDAP into the fold but while NSDAP chairman Anton Drexler was open to a merger, the NSDAP's leading speaker,

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, vehemently opposed such a move and threatened to resign from the party. This directly led to Hitler becoming party leader and assuming absolute control over the party. The DSP continued to lose members and popularity and dissolved in late 1922. Streicher and other functionaries joined the NSDAP. Hitler's opposition might have been influenced by having been rejected by the DSP in 1919. Hans Georg Grassinger, the founding chairman of the DSP, later recalled:

References

External links

* Siegfried Zelnhefer.
Deutschsozialistische Partei (DSP), 1920–1922
'' ''Historische Lexikon Bayerns''. {{Authority control 1918 establishments in Germany 1922 disestablishments in Germany Anti-communist parties Antisemitism in Germany Far-right political parties in Germany German nationalist political parties Political parties established in 1918 Political parties disestablished in 1922 Proto-fascists