After the War - 1918-1923

Hitler was recruited to be a "V" man while in the post-war army. "V" men were to spy upon German citizens for the army and government. At the end of the war, a tremendous amount of political discontent existed. Many people became members of one of hundreds of new political parties wanting control of Germany.

Hitler was assigned to spy on several of these new parties and report on what they were doing or if they were dangerous. One of the parties he spied upon was called the German Worker's Party. It was a small party with little money, but he liked the ideas they discussed at meetings. They proposed to create a German national state without Jews, communists and democrats. Democrats were people who believed in electing the leader of a nation.

Hitler left the army to work full time for the party, and by 1921 he had gained control of it. Over time, he reorganized the party to improve its appeal and fit his ideas. Furthermore, he renamed the party the National Socialist German Workers Party, or Nazi for short. A new party symbol called the swastika was also introduced. The swastika was an ancient religious symbol of North American natives, but Hitler liked the design.

He reorganized the men of his party along military organization and ranks. These men became known as "sturmabteilung" which translates roughly to "strong arm." The men were issued distinctive brown uniforms to stand out in public, and their role was to protect Hitler and other party members.

Included with the uniforms were special badges and a victory salute, where the right arm was raised straight ahead of the body. Large parades and rallies were held so Hitler's "brown shirts" could show themselves in public, and gain support for the Nazis.