What can I glean from the fact that my grandfather joined NSDAP in 1933

[josie]

Hi

I've been trying to read up on it but thought I would just come and ask the experts. I hope that this is in the correct section.

I have recently received some paperwork which indicates that my grandfather joined the NSDAP on 29.3.1933. He died in 1944/5 and my grandmother remarried and moved to England and I have no other real information about him. The papers state that he was a baker if I'm reading them correctly. He was from Berlin. In the document (from 1939) his address is listed as SA Heim, Kulmbacherstraße 11, Berlin. I guess that was some sort of hostel for the SA.

Family stories say that he was either an engineer or worked for the police worked. I am wondering if this job change came after he joined. My gran always said that he had to join the party to keep working but, if he is listed as a baker as his profession, I'm guessing that wasn't the reason he joined (and she never mentioned him being a baker).

Thanks for any thoughts or advice.

[GregSingh]

Address books for Berlin are available for searches. So there is a good chance you will find him and his profession.

I had a look at Kulmbacherstraße 11 and SA Heim is not listed there.
You did not provide a suburb, so I picked up W50 Wilmersdorf, not sure if this is correct.

Also there is a way of obtaining his service record if he was in the army. Lot's of stuff is now digitized, so its only up to you what you want to do.

As for the reason why he joined NSDAP, he only himself could answer this.

[josie]

Thanks for the reply Greg. I am quite good at UK family research but a novice at German genealogy so any pointers will be gratefully received.

I have had another look at the paperwork. It was sent by the Deutsches Rotes Kreutz as my cousin requested information a few years ago. I have 2 documents, both from the Bundesarchiv R2, 12175 Berlin. The first is entitled "BA (ehem BDC) NSDAP-Gaukartel" and the second is "Parteistatistische Erhebung 1939". How would I go about getting his service record? My end target is to find out more about his family, as my family tree on his side currently ends at him.

I have looked at Address Books in the past and I can never find him - or anyone else I search for! Is there some trick that I am missing? I know from the 1939 paperwork that his address then was Bayreuther Strasse 20 in what I think is W30. It's near the KaDaWe which is close to where my grandmother was living (they married later in 1939 I think), so that makes sense.

Are there any better forums to ask about these forms? I would like to scan and post them somewhere to see if there are any pointers that I am missing, but I am aware that many people find them contentious because of the subject matter. I am also aware that this isn't a genealogy forum!

Once again, thanks for your advice.

[GregSingh]

Hi, I sent you PM.
Greg

[josie]

Thanks again Greg.

[Wordsworth]

It's also possible your grandfather jumped on the bandwagon after the Reichstag Fire and the new parliamentary elections Hitler had called for.

There were many people who joined the party after seeing where the prevailing winds were blowing.

[josie]

Wordsworth, I did wonder whether that was possible. Everyone I have mentioned it to (none of them scholars of the period) have all assumed that it meant that he was obviously a "raving Nazi".

[Br. James]

If your grandfather's political documents show his NSDAP membership date as 29.3.1933 then he must have applied for Party membership earlier in that year, since it took some time for the paperwork to be completed and each new membership approved. It may have been possible for him to have applied shortly after Hitler was appointed chancellor on 30.1.1933, but given the great influx of new applications at that very time, he couldn't have applied any earlier than the end of January 1933. That said, if your grandfather had been a "raving Nazi," as those who apparently knew him personally have told you, then it seems unlikely that he would have waited until Hitler was appointed Reichschancellor to have begun his association with National Socialism.

Two matters appertain. NSDAP Membership required a person to be at least 18 years of age to apply, and you haven't told us his birthdate. Assuming that he was at least 18 in early 1933, there is also the matter that Party membership was not required of those who joined one or more of the NSDAP's political organizations, such as the SA, NSKK or the SS. Men who were unemployed or were from lower middle-class or working-class families often joined the SA in the later 1920s, but since each organization as well as the Party itself required regular monthly dues-payment to remain in a current status, many young men who were unemployed because of the financial failure of the earlier 1920s and the worldwide Depression of 1929 could not afford to pay dues to the SA and also to the NSDAP and, as they wanted to actively participate in the camaraderie of the uniformed Nazi 'street organization,' they chose not to also join the NSDAP at that time. This was actually acceptable in the organizational structure, though as soon as Hitler was appointed chancellor, the pressure became much higher to join the 'parent organization' as well as the active 'street organization,' and Party membership began to soar in 1933. Your grandfather may have been an active member of the SA, NSKK or even the Allgemeine SS from the 1920s but didn't feel the need...or have the money to pay the dues of two organizations...prior to Hitler's political ascension.

Br. James

[josie]

Thanks Br. James. That's all very interesting to know.

He was born in 1904 and, I think, his father was a master baker. He was listed as a baker in his 1933 registration papers. By 1939 he had moved to office work. I think he was working for the police. I only have one photo of him in uniform and it's not very clear. I have posted on the ‹Axis Uniforms, Headgear & Insignia forum about it and there is a suggestion that he could have been either in the Sicherheitsdienst, or possibly in Allgemeine-SS. Would you know if any documents survive to prove/disprove this and where I would find them?

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=230684

Just to clarify, no-one still alive knew him. Those saying he must have been a "raving Nazi" were my school friends, or current friends, who are assuming that an early registration to the party means he must have shared those views. I'm guessing "those views" in 1933 weren't agreeing to the worst parts of what the Nazi party was going to represent...

[Sid Guttridge]

I would agree with Wordsworth. Simple opportunism looks most likely. Had he been a convinced Nazi ideologue, it seems likely he would probably have joined up before Hitler came to power. The Party nearly tripled in size over 1933-1939 to 5.3 miillion, so he was far from alone.

Cheers,

Sid.