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The Programme of the NSDAP: The National Socialist German Workers' Party and its General Conceptions

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The Program of the National Socialist German Workers' Party was one of the first important official publications of an initially very small political party - one among many - born during the early days of the Weimar Republic. Young and dynamic, the NSDAP was destined to rise to power and rebuild Germany, only to see its work destroyed by the colossal military might of its enemies in the biggest war known to man. The translation here has been slightly modified stylistically from an older one.

84 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

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About the author

Gottfried Feder

23 books49 followers
German economist and one of the key members of the German Workers Party, which later became the Nazi Party.

In 1917 he wrote an manifesto against intrest economics, which called for the nationalisation of the banks and bolishment of interest.

Feder also wrote the first 25 point programm for the NSDAP.

During the second world war he kept publishing newspapers and in 1934 he became a Reichskommissa. In 1939 he drafted a programm for German garden city building.

After the night of long knives, Feder withdrew from the government and became a professor at a technical university. Which he stayed untill his death in 1941.

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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Vagabond of Letters, DLitt.
593 reviews398 followers
December 19, 2019
A thin volume inexorably bound to its time and place (1920s Germany), it's surprising at times how the principles of NSDAP platform, when transposed, echo modern, mainstream and semi-mainstream political planks and protestor demands, once one (sadly) strips out the anti-semitism (a phrase used liberally in the translation with a strikingly positive connotation): it seems there is something eternal and recurring here of the thoughts and feelings of downtrodden, defeated people in an unstable, decaying social order - people who are backed in to a corner and at the edge of permanent defeat - compelled to struggle against the risk of irretrievable loss of their history, identity, genetic interests, and way of life.

None of the above can be said for Mao's Little Red Book, or, for that matter, the Communist Manifesto (at least it couldn't be said until the rise of Black Lies Matter, who ironically repristinate the Dead Straight White Guy for their own purposes while channeling his Jewish Frankfurt School interpreters), with which it shares some faint similarity in organization - e.g., 'the party is not a normal political party, but a transitional organization which shall cease to exist upon the implementation of its 25 points'.

The point-by-point Party Platform, unlike Mao's LRB, is coherent and systematic (and far less megalomaniac and messianic) and, if light on the details, achieves a certain unity of vision and practicality beyond platitudes. In comparison, it is obvious the LRB is a product of a thought-policing dictatorship of the worst sort. On reflection, it's not surprising, given that the NSDAP was pretty much the only organization of its type (even counting the 'Founding Fathers' - now that's a thought) to gain power through legitimate, pre-existing channels as opposed to through violent revolution.

Unlike Das Kapital (an extremely ponderous work of two thousand pages which I am far from finishing, and a poor comparison of an entirely different genre) is straightforward and easy to read - as would be expected of a political platform as opposed to the lucubrations of a philosopher-economist who thought he was the anointed Hegelian ushering in the end of history and realizing the Absolute in material terms.

One can glimpse in the Party Programme, at times, parts of the foundations for what Nazism could have become, though it is present here only in figures and shadows which are seen clearly, I think, only ex post facto, and which leave one with more questions than are answered.

(Pre-Nov 2018 review)
Profile Image for Peter Bradley.
1,027 reviews88 followers
July 24, 2016
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The Program of the Party of Hitler

This is a basic primary historical text for studying National Socialism. The author Gottfried Feder was one of the original eight members of the Nazi party prior to Hitler. He was essentially shuffled out of a position of authority in the party, although Hitler lauded Feder as a source of inspiration for some of his thinking.

This book is basically a pamphlet written in 1932 to explain the 25 points of the Nazi program. As such, it is good basic material for obtaining a view of how the Nazis understood themselves.

Interestingly, one of the ways that they understood themselves was absolutely and unqualifiedly anti-semitic:

“No man who feels that he cannot go the whole way with us in the Jewish question, in our fight against high finance, the Dawes Pact and the pauperizing policy, or in any other questions contained in our Program, or is inclined to barter the liberty of the German nation through the League of Nations, the Locarno Pact, by compromise and cowardice, need apply to us; his place is outside the NSDAP.”

Other sources indicate that many Germans felt that the Nazi emphasis on the “Jewish Question” was an eccentricity that the Nazis would move away from when in power. Obviously, as we know, and as Feder is saying, it was not an eccentricity.

Feder also underscores the “social” nature of National Socialism. National Socialism was “socialist” but not Marxist. Even though it was not Marxist, National Socialism hated capitalism in a way that would make an Occupy Wall Street protester happy. Thus, Feder could write:

“Break down the thralldom of interest is our war-cry.

And:

“for one of our Party slogans is "Fight capital and the stock exchange."”

“Usury and profiteering and personal enrichment at the expense and to the injury of the nation shall be punished with death.”

The Nazis were quite serious about usury, it seems.

My interest is in Nazi-Catholic conflict. There is not a lot here on that, but there are a few indications, such as:

“Hitler attacked the black-red system with ever increasing energy and stood forth without a rival as the most powerful leader against all that was meant by “democracy.”

And:

“Adolf Hitler declared then publicly that we were rushing headlong in the direction of inflation, which he had foreseen as the result of the policy of the black-red coalition.”

And:

“The kind of officials, who are at the beck and call of the Reds and the Blacks, will disappear in the coming State; such Party wire-pullers have no use for honor and duty.”

“Black” refers to the Catholic Center Party and “red” refers to the Social Democrat Party. This is a useful reminder that the Catholic Center Party was as much a bete noire of the Nazis as the leftist parties. The alliance of these parties in support of German democracy is the background of this passage:

“It is the corrupting policy of the Center and the Bavarian People's Party which we attack; these lose no opportunity of crying "Church in Danger" except when they are making common cause with the atheistic, God-denying Social Democracy.”

The interest of this book is purely for background. It is not a casual or inspirational read or otherwise interesting.
Profile Image for Mark Maguire.
190 reviews4 followers
February 29, 2016
Essential reading for those looking to further their understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of National Socialism.

As a reprint of an original 1932 document; the narrative is free from third party interpretation and critique. The text therefore provides an unfettered insight into the evolution of the key policies promulgated by the party, whilst also articulating how the NSDAP viewed the accompanying socio-economic context that it was operating within.


1 review
November 12, 2017
Fundamental reading for those learning about German National Socialism. Gottfried Feder is a German economist who captured Adolf Hitler's attention in 1919 just as he was getting involved in the German Worker's Party (later renamed the National Socialist German Worker's Party). Feder published this work in 1932 formally outlining the Party's policies, ideology, and weltanschauung (worldview). Feder outlines how National Socialism is diametrically opposed to Marxism as well as against aspects of Capitalism that were viewed as damaging to the German folk. Feder gives special attention to the abolishment of Germany's central bank in favor of a State-run bank creating interest-free, debt-free money.

Although the German National Socialists were unable to enact all of Feder's policies, many were enacted, leading to one of the greatest economic miracles the world has ever seen from 1933-1939 before the onset of WWII. My English translation is from Third Reich Books. It has minor misspellings that may not be in other editions of this work. Overall, I highly recommend "The Programme of the NSDAP" for those curious to find out more about National Socialism from one of its architects, and how it offers an alternative or Third Way from the dialectic of Capitalism and Communism.
Profile Image for Dylan Rock.
4 reviews5 followers
November 12, 2018
Gottfried Feder's layout of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Workers Party) or NSDAP and the National Socialist worldview as a whole could not be any better for enlightening laymen as to what National Socialism really is rather than some third party bias.
Profile Image for 선도.
26 reviews
February 15, 2023
This pamphlet offers just a brief overview of the policies of the NSDAP. The pamphlet covers the economics of the NSDAP as well as their social, political, and religious beliefs. This pamphlet offers the briefest look into the politics of the NSDAP and is a good read if you do not have much time.
Profile Image for Крюкокрест.
132 reviews2 followers
October 2, 2022
Я бы проголосовал

Почему все криптотрейдеры должны быть казнены, как должны относиться труъ НС к римскому праву, что выбирать нордическому человеку между движимым и недвижимым имуществом и почему универсамы - это раковая язва мирового зла?
Все это вы узнаете в этой коротенькой книжке
3 reviews3 followers
March 30, 2021
Same as the Communist manifesto this book shows how national socialism works in theory and practice. It gives us a glimpse out of the typical Hollywood's almost comical description of Nazis. Its short and easily readable for the masses as any manifesto should be.
2 reviews5 followers
May 16, 2019
I have great interest in National Socialism and Fascism. This book is a fascinating read and important for a better understanding of the NSDAP. This edition is great.
Profile Image for Eduardo.
59 reviews2 followers
December 10, 2024
Programme of the N. S. D. A. P. de Gottfried Feder es una obra crucial que presenta los principios económicos y políticos que fundamentan el programa del Partido Nacionalsocialista Alemán. En este texto, Feder expone las bases ideológicas que guiarían la transformación económica y social del Tercer Reich, enfocándose en la construcción de una economía autosuficiente, la eliminación de la usura y la reestructuración de la propiedad para favorecer al pueblo alemán.

Feder rechaza el capitalismo financiero y la especulación como motores de la opresión, proponiendo un sistema en el que el control del Estado sobre los sectores clave de la economía garantice el bienestar nacional. Se aboga por la nacionalización de los bancos, la reforma del sistema monetario, la creación de una infraestructura económica dirigida por el Estado y la promoción de la agricultura y la industria nacional. Además, se destaca la importancia de un trabajo colectivo y organizado que garantice la prosperidad del pueblo alemán y la unidad de la nación.

El programa de Feder tiene una fuerte carga nacionalista y anticapitalista, alineándose con los objetivos del nacional socialismo de crear una comunidad homogénea y autosuficiente que defienda sus intereses frente a los poderes económicos internacionales. En este sentido, es una obra que propone un sistema económico autoritario y centralizado, donde el Estado juega un papel fundamental en la dirección de la economía, con el objetivo de asegurar la soberanía y el bienestar del pueblo alemán por encima de los intereses financieros globales. Es un manifiesto claro para aquellos que buscan una economía dirigida, basada en la justicia social y el nacionalismo económico.
Profile Image for Tvrtko Balić.
270 reviews73 followers
December 19, 2016
This work has a few flaws like not being completely accurate when describing marxism or advocating the policies that led to WW2 and proved to not be so good for Germany, but Feder accomplishes the main purpose which is to describe to describe and advocate the ideology of the Party and he does it really well. I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn about the National Socialist German Workers' Party and what it stood for, it is definitely better than anything Hitler wrote.
13 reviews3 followers
April 22, 2020
Once one removes the mentions of anti-semitism one can read in this thin edition a suprising amount of modern and logical reasoning. Highly recommended reading to understand the era so as to not repeat it.
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