Monday, March 13, 2023

What Was The Original Nazi Party Platform in Feb 1920?

 You can go and dig around to find the early account.  I'll paraphrase or explain the twenty-five points originally driving the party:

1.  They demanded to restore 'Greater Germany', along with individual rights....as to what existed prior to the war.

It was the 'good old days' promise....more or less.

2.  A demand to restore Germany to equal standing of other nations.....basically dumping thee peace treaties of Versailles and St. Germain. (If you remember, France, UK and US wanted to be paid costs for the war, and this burden....already in 1920....was going to burden the nation for decades.)

3.  There was a demand for continued colonization (expansion) for the nation.

4.  Demand that migrants could not get citizenship.  There is text in this demand to bluntly say that Jews weren't 'really' German citizens....which should have been a hint of things to come.

5.  A demand that if you weren't a citizen of Germany....you existed in Germany only as a 'guest'....meaning you could be sent out pretty easily.

6.  A demand that only citizens would have state/federal voting rights.

7.  A demand that basically said.....jobs should only be offered to German citizens, and the state/nation should work to ensure this.

8.  A demand that if you entered Germany as a non-citizen after WW I started.....you had to leave now.

9.  A demand that all citizens were 'equal'.  

10.  A demand that the state itself....was in charge of providing opportunity and livelihood for the citizens. 

11.  A demand that if you did work.....you were paid an income.  The idea of zero-wage work would dissolve (mostly geared to the farm labor market).  

12.  The war profits demand.  If you made money off WW I as some industry.....you were supposed to turn over the profit to the state.

13.  A demand that all commerce/industry....revert into some nationally owned situation.

14.  A demand to limit profits on all services/products.  

15.  A demand for national pension/age-welfare to exist.

16. A demand to develop a 'healthy' middle-class....coupled to warehouse construction and low-cost rental to the small businessman.

17.   A demand to control speculation of real estate....dumping of property taxes, and expropriation of land if state needs are to be met.

It is an odd thing to bring up this 1920s topic of expropriation today....because in 2023....it's still a hot topic.

18.  A demand that various parties that identify as national criminals, usurers, profiteers....should meet in a court and possibly be punished with death.

19.  A demand that Roman law be set aside, and German common law to be implemented.

20.  A demand that the state lead educational requirements.  I should leave a quote there: "The plans of instruction of all educational institutions are to conform with the experiences of practical life."

21.  A demand that the state ensure national healthcare exists....with dissolving and outlawing child-labor (which was still a big deal in 1920s Germany).

Oddly, there is a text written for a national physical fitness program, and a sport obligation for each kid in school. 

22.  A demand to ensure a national army to exist.....dissolving any mercenary army that might exist in this time frame (remember....civil conflict in Munich was going on in early 1920).

23.  A demand that propaganda/fake news in newspapers was to end.  This wasn't really explained in detail.  Oddly, there was additional text to say only German citizens could be journalists/reporters. There was also text to say you needed to be licensed by the state....to print news.  

24.   A demand for freedom of religion....unless it endangered or hurt the moral sense of the German people.  

25.  This final demand went into an odd direction....basically suggesting that the Nazi Party members were ready and willing to lay down their lives....in support of the previous 24 items of the platform.  Just an odd way to square away your 'political promises'.  

I would make three observations here.  First, you really have to see clearly that veterans of the war had a lot of frustrations existing....that they'd been cheated in some way.  Second, a lot of inner feelings were leading back to life before 1914.  Finally, a few of these things/problems....still exist in general topics of the day in Germany today.  

This was the path of the party in early 1920.  

Final note, I spend a fair amount of time reading over German history (the good and bad).  In each effort, you tend to notice consequences that were unresolved, and simply leading to a bigger problem later.  

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