Origins of the Nazi PartyThe Nazi Party was created in January 1919 by Anton Drexler. It was originally called the German Workers' Party (DAP). Hitler joined the party in the fall of 1919. He quickly became the party leader. The party was transformed by Hitler and became a political party rather than the discussion group it was when he joined. The SA (Brownshirts) were created to protect Hitler and other party leaders at meetings. It also disrupted meetings of political opponents of the Nazis. Appeal of the Nazi PartyThe military uniform of the SA appealed to many former soldiers. Aggressive reprimands to Weimar leaders for signing the Treaty of Versailles appealed to malcontents and former soldiers. The party's use of force and strict discipline appealed to those who yearned for a return to the old militarist regime that had preceded the First World War. Munich Putsch The party attempted to take control of the government by force. This failed because the Nazis did not have widespread support at the time. The government was able to control the armed forces and the police. Hitler was imprisoned following the putsch (uprising). In prison, Hitler reflected on the methods he had used to try to gain control. He realized that the Nazis would have to use legitimate electoral means to gain power and that his party's appeal would have to be widespread to achieve this. This is how he wrote “Meine Kampf”. This book describes Hitler's beliefs. After his release from prison, Hitler began to reorganize the party. The SS (Blackshirts) were presented as his personal bodyguards: they later became a much larger organization with many functions. People were employed within the party to work on strategy and run an aggressive advertising (propaganda) campaign. Goebbels was one of them. Campaign and rise to chancellorship The rise of the Nazis may be linked to the economic problems facing Germany. They proposed radical solutions to the economic crisis. Ignoring the Treaty of Versailles and protecting the country from communism appealed to a wide range of people. Other policies included, but were not limited to: public works, anti-Semitism, reorganization of the labor body (workers), wealth redistribution (welfare policies, how they help those in need) . Economic policy focused on large businesses and the manufacturing sector. The majority of policies were populist (appealing to many people). These policies were announced on the radio, at rallies, through the distribution of leaflets and through a show of force..