Anton Drexler
Anton Drexler (June 13, 1884 – February 24, 1942) was a German politician and one of the co-founders of the German Workers' Party (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or DAP), the predecessor of the Nazi Party (NSDAP).
Before his political career he was a railway toolmaker and locksmith in Berlin. During World War I he formed a branch of the "Free Workers' Committee for a Good Peace" (Der Freie Arbeiterausschuss für einen guten Frieden) league.[1] In 1918, Drexler met with journalist Karl Harrer (a member of the occultist socialist-racist Thule Society) and they formed the "Political Workers' Circle" (Politischer Arbeiterzirkel).[1] This group in January 1919 became the basis of the German Workers' Party; it was one of many parties that formed in Germany after the war. These parties were small groups of like-minded men engaging in anti-Jewish bigotry, particularly the propagation of Judeo-Bolshevik conspiracy theories.
In September 1919 Adolf Hitler joined the German Workers' Party, which in 1920 was renamed the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP or Nazi Party). Hitler officially took over the leadership of the Party from Drexler on July 29, 1921.[1]
References
External links
- Anton Drexler at the Jewish Virtual Library
