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

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 featur ...

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 ...

. Founded in 1918, its declared aim was an ideology 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 ...

elements. However, the party never became a mass movement. After it was dissolved in 1922, many of its members joined the similar National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) instead. The DSP was heavily influenced by the antisemitic

Thule Society The Thule Society (; german: Thule-Gesellschaft), originally the ''Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum'' ("Study Group for Germanic Antiquity"), was a German occultist and '' Völkisch'' group founded in Munich shortly after World War I, n ...

, led by

Rudolf von Sebottendorf Adam Alfred Rudolf Glauer (9 November 1875 – 8 May 1945), also known as Rudolf Freiherr von Sebottendorff (or von Sebottendorf) was a German occultist, writer, intelligence agent and political activist. He was the founder of the Thule Socie ...

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

Socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...

, which had become highly influential following the German Revolution of 1918–1919. 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 languages, Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three Regierungsbezirk, administrative ...

) 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, 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 Anton Drexler (13 June 1884 – 24 February 1942) was a German far-right political agitator for the Völkisch movement in the 1920s. He founded the pan-German and anti-Semitic German Workers' Party (DAP), the antecedent of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) ...

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