Early Nazi Party Rallies

THE EARLY "REICHSPARTEITAGS - GERMAN PARTY DAYS

What was the Reichsparteitags & what was its purpose? In this article. and preposed future articles; we hope to answer this question.

Little has been written about the mammoth celebrations held each year from 1933 to 1938. We believe these rallys played an important role in gaining and retaining support for the Nazis. This article will deal with the rallys before 1933.

The 1st party congress, or Reichs-Party-Day was held on Jan. 27 & 28 1923 in Munich. Hitler called together 5000 SA men to demonstrate the strength of the party to win popular support and to attract other groups of similar political inclinations. Little was done at this 1st congress and nothing indicated that it would be the 1st of a long series of rallys, There were however several traditions started at this 1st rally.
The Fahnenweihe ceremony (consecration of the flags) became a lasting ritual of the party. The ceremony always began with an address by Hitler. The flags were consecrated by Hitler" who touched each new flag, or standard to the original flag of the party. The SA vowed at this time, never to abandon their banners under any circumstances.

Next came the traditional "march past" by all the Storm Troopers. The next day there were various meetings, and Hitler presented all the extremist ideas of the party, and told what they planned to do.

Because the Nat. Socialists thought the Jan. 1923 rally a complete success, a second rally was held in Sept. 1923, at Nurnberg the city that had once been host to the pageantries of the Old Roman Empire. This 2nd rally was an even larger success, which won many supporters & new members. A memorial service for the dead of WWI was introduced and held each year. In this, and all other rallys, the many speakers denounced the Jews andd blamed the Versailles treaty for the Nations problems .

As we known Hitler was soon sent to prison after the Nov. 9th Munich Putsh, and the party was banned. Hitler was released in Dec. 1924 and reassembled his followers. In Jan. of 1925 the ban on the party was partially lifted.

In 1926 the party once again felt strong enough to hold a rally. The city of Weimar was chosen, because Thuringia was one of the few states in which Hitler was permitted to speak at that time. At this time, Hitler spoke of the purpose of the rally as a mass demonstration, a show of unity and strength to the movement.

To subsidize the rally, each participant was obliged to purchase a party day medal, which cost 50 pfennigs. I do not know of a pin for the 1926 rally.

Party membership jumped from 17,000 in 1926 to 40,000 in 1927, therefore, the 3 day rally of 1927, at Nurmburg was the largest show of strength thus far. Approx. 160,000 people attended. Highlights include the SA's torchlight parade, consecration of 12 new standards and the 2 hour parade of 30,000 SA men & the SS.

No rally was held in 1928 due to a decline of popularity. But in 1929, Hitler found. supporters in Germany's big industry, and won over such political groups as the Stahlelm. Soon the party once again felt strong enough for another party congress. The 1929 rally began on Aug. 2nd, in Nurmberg. The highlight of Aug. 3rd was the fireworks displplay at night. Its finale consisted of a swastika in the evening sky, surrounded by a green wreath, and crowned by a huge eagle. Five bands accompanied the 150,000 strong crowd, as it sang the national anthum. The 1st event of Aug. 4th was the National Celebration of the dead of WWI. Twentyfive new standards and eleven new storm flags were carried by the SA in the Munich putsch, which was stained with the blood of the men wounded in the street fighting. The rally concluded on Aug. 5th.

The next rally was not held until 1933. The party concentrated on gaining power during these years. When Hitler came to power in 1933, the rallys grew into national events of great significance.

Unattributed: "THE EARLY "REICHSPARTEITAGS - GERMAN PARTY DAYS", Das Hakenkreuz", 1968