# Mein Kampf (Stackpole Sons)/Volume 2/Chapter 11

11. Propaganda and Organization
The year 1921 has become important for me and for the movement in more than one respect.
After joining the German Workers Party I immediately took charge of the propaganda. I regarded this field the most important one at the time. In the beginning it was less a question of breaking one’s head in respect to questions of organization, than conveying the idea to a larger number of people. Propaganda had to run far ahead of organization in order to win over the human material needed for the work of organization. I too am an enemy of over-hasty and pedantic organization, the result being usually a dead mechanism and seldom a live organization. Organization is something that owes its existence to organic life and organic development. Ideas that have taken hold of a certain number of men will always strive for a certain order, and this internal work of upbuilding is of very great value; but even in this case one must take into account the human weakness, which, at least in the beginning, causes individuals to resist the influence of a superior brain. If an organization is developed mechanically, there exists the great danger that an officer, once appointed, although he has not yet been tried out and although he is perhaps not qualified at all, will try to prevent the rise of more able elements within the movement for reasons of jealousy. In such a case the damage can assume fatal proportions, especially if the movement is still young.
For this reason it is best first to propagate an idea from a centre, and then to search and examine carefully the gradually accumulating human material for leaders. It will be frequently found that insignificant-looking men turn out to be born leaders.
​However it would be absolutely wrong to regard an abundance of theoretical knowledge as characteristic proof for the qualities and ewciency which are necessary for a leader.
The contrary is often the case.
Great theorists are seldom great organizers as the greatness of a theorist lies primarily in the understanding and the establishment of correct, abstract laws, while the organizer must primarily be a psychologist. He has to accept man as he is, and therefore he must understand him. He must neither over-rate him nor under-estimate him when confronting him in large numbers. On the contrary he must try to take weakness and bestiality equally into account, in order to create, after consideration of all factors, a structure which like a living organism is filled with live and constant power. Then it will be suited to embody an idea and to pave the way for its success.
A great theorist is even less frequently a great leader. It is much more likely that an agitator is a leader, a fact which many who study only the scientific side of a question will not like; yet it is obvious. An agitator, who is capable of conveying an idea to the masses, must necessarily be a psychologist, even if he were only a demagogue. He will be better qualified for leadership than the theorist who knows neither men nor the world. Because to be a leader means to be able to move the masses. The gift of creating ideas has nothing to do with the qualification for leadership. In this connection it is quite worthless to discuss the question as to which is of greater importance, to establish human ideals and aims or to make them a reality. As it happens so often in life, one would be meaningless without the other. The most beautiful theoretical idea remains without purpose and value, unless the leader directs the masses towards it. On the other hand all genial leadership and all the zest of a leader would be of no avail if the clever theorist had not established a goal for struggling mankind. The combination of theorist, organizer, and leader in one person is the rarest thing to be found upon this planet; this combination will create a great man.
As already stated, I have given much attention to propaganda ​in the earlier days of my activities in the Movement. It was to be the means of inoculating a small nucleus of men with the new doctrine, thus winning the material with which to form later on the first elements of an organization. The aims of propaganda far exceeded those of organization.
If a movement is intended to tear down one world in order to replace it by another, then its leaders must clearly understand the following principles: Each movement will first have to sift the human material won over by it, and to divide it into two large groups: adherents and members.
It is the task of propaganda to win adherents, that of the organization to win members.
An adherent of a movement is he who declares himself to be in harmony with its aims; a member is he who fights for it.
An adherent is won over to the movement by propaganda. A member is encouraged by the organization to cooperate personally in the winning of new adherents, some of whom may eventually become members.
Moreover adherence requires but a passive acceptance of an idea, while membership demands its active representation and defense. Therefore among ten adherents, as a rule, only two members will be found.
Adherence is based upon understanding, membership upon the courage to personally represent the newly found truth and to propagate it.
Understanding in its passive form will be found with the majority of mankind, which is indolent and faint-hearted. Membership requires an active mind, which is found only in a minority of mankind.
Therefore it must be the incessant care of propaganda to win over adherents to an idea, while the untiring effort of an organization, however, must be to convert the most valuable of the adherents into members. Propaganda therefore does not need to worry about the value of each of its followers, nor about his qualities, efficiency, intellect or character, while it is the task of organization carefully to search this mass of elements for any ​who will really be conducive to the final triumph of the movement.
Propaganda attempts to force a doctrine on the entire people. The organization includes as members only those who are not liable for psychological reasons to become a dragchain to the further propagation of the idea.
Propaganda attempts to win over the people as a whole to an idea and to prepare it for the time of the victory of this idea while the organziation fights for this victory by constantly and organically joining together in battle formation those of the adherents who are capable and willing to fight for the victory.
The more comprehensively propaganda has worked the masses, and the more exclusively, rigidly and firmly the organization has been built up, the more likely is the final triumph of an idea.
This means that the number of adherents can never be large enough, but that the number of members can more easily be too large than too small.
After propaganda has converted a whole people to an idea, a mere handful of men is sufficient to draw the consequences. This goes to show that propaganda and organization, i.e. adherents and members, stand in a certain mutual relationship to each other. The better the propaganda has worked, the smaller the organization needs to be and the larger the number of adherents is, so the more modest the number of members needs to be and vice versa: the weaker the propaganda is the stronger the organization must be, and the smaller the number of adherents to a movement remains, so much the larger must its membership necessarily be, if it expects any success whatsoever.
The first task of propaganda is to win men for the coming organization; the first task of organization is to win men for ​carrying on the propaganda. The second task of propaganda is the disintegration of existing conditions by means of the new doctrine, while the second task of organization is the fight for power, in order to secure through it the final success of the doctrine.
A Revolution based on a world-concept will only be completely successful, if the new world philosophy is taught, if possible, to everyone, and later, if necessary, forced upon everyone. The organization however, i.e. the movement, needs to comprise only as many members as are necessary to take charge of the nerve centers of the coming state.
In other words: In every great world-revolutionizing movement the idea of this movement will first have to be disseminated by means of propaganda. It will constantly attempt to explain the new ideas to others, thus winning them over or at least making them uncertain in respect to their former convictions. Since the promulgation of such doctrine, i.e. the propaganda, needs a backbone, the doctrine must be supported by a rigid organization. The members of the organization will be drawn from the number of adherents won by propaganda. The more intensive the propaganda, the quicker the growth of the organization. The work of propaganda in turn will be better, if it is backed by a strong and forceful organization.
It is therefore the main task of the organization to see to it that no discords within lead eventually to a splitting up and thus to a weakening of the work within the movement; it must further see to it that the spirit of determined attack does not die out, instead of being constantly rejuvenated and strengthened. This does not mean that the membership has to grow indefinitely—on the contrary; since but a limited portion of mankind is energetic and bold, a movement which increases its organization indefinitely, would of necessity one day become weak. Organizations whose membership grow beyond a certain number gradually lose their fighting power. Then they are no longer capable (by resolutely taking the offensive) of supporting and making full use of the propaganda for an idea.
​The greater and more revolutionary an idea, the more active becomes its membership, for the revolutionary power of the doctrine spells danger for its ambassador, a danger which is apt to keep away small, cowardly philistines. Privately they too will consider themselves adherents, but they decline to confess it publicly by the act of becoming members. In this way the organization of a really revolutionary idea takes in as members only the most active of the adherents won over by propaganda. This activity of the membership of a movement, brought about by a natural selection guarantees its future just, active propagation and a successful fight for the realization of the idea.
The greatest danger of any movement is a membership that has grown abnormally by reason of too rapid successes. For while all cowards and egoists carefully shun a movement as long as it is engaged in a bitter struggle, they usually try to join it, if through the developments the party has either gained a big success or such a success has become likely. To it can be attributed how many movements, victorious before success or rather before the final completion of the will, that lose out suddenly because of a vague, inner weakness, suspend the fight, and finally die. Because of their first victory so many bad, unworthy but particularly rotten elements have entered into their organization that these least worthy things attain the ascendancy, finally, over the fighting strength, in order to force the movement into the service of their own interests; they reduce it to the level of their own, trifling heroism, and do nothing to complete the victory of the original idea. The fanatical goal is thus effaced, the fighting strength becomes crippled, or as the bourgeois world in such a case chooses very rightly to say: “Water also has now come into the wine.” And then indeed can the trees no longer grow into heaven.
It is therefore essential that a movement for the very purpose of self-preservation stop adding to its membership, as soon as it has become successful. From that time on it should exercise the greatest caution and should thoroughly examine the situation before enlarging its organization. ​Only by such means will it be able to keep the nucleus of the movement pure, fresh and sound. It must further take care that this nucleus exclusively leads on the movement, decides upon the propaganda which is to bring about its general recognition, and, being in possession of all power, shall perform all actions necessary for the practical realization of its ideals.
From the main body of the old movement it has not only to fill all important positions of the conquered formation, but it must also form the entire leadership. This has to be done until such a time when the old principles and doctrines of the Party shall have become the basis and purpose of the new State. Not until such a time can the reins be gradually given over to the particular constitution of this State, born out of that spirit. That, moreover, usually takes place only after a mutual struggle, since it is less a question of a human insight than the play and working of powers which from the very start may well be recognized, but cannot be guided forever.
All large movements, be they of a religious or of a political nature, can ascribe their tremendous successes only to the realization and application of these principles, but all lasting successes are especially unthinkable if these laws are not taken into consideration.
As the leader of the party propaganda I not only took special pains to prepare the way for the future greatness of the movement, but by means of a very radical conception of this work I have endeavored to secure only the best material for the organization. For the more radical and exciting my propaganda was the more it frightened away the weaklings and timid natures, and prevented their penetration into the main nucleus of our organization. They may have remained adherents, but certainly without proclaiming it publicly, and with an anxious uneasy concealment of the fact. How many thousands assured me at that time that while they were wholly in accord with everything, they could nevertheless under no circumstances be members! The ​movement, they said, was so radical that a membership in it would subject them individually to severe criticism, yes, even dangers, so that the honorable, peaceful citizen could not be blamed if, for the moment at least, he stood aside, even though at heart he was in full harmony with the idea.
And this was all right.
If these people who at heart were not in accord with the Revolution, had all joined our Party at that time as members, then we could consider ourselves today only a pious brotherhood but no longer as a young movement full of fight.
The live and daring form which I gave to our propaganda at that time established and guaranteed the radical tendency of our movement since, from then on, only radical people—with a few exceptions—were ready for membership.
Nevertheless, our propaganda had such an effect that after a short time hundred of thousands at heart not only agreed with us but wished for our victory even though personally they were too cowardly to make any sacrifices for it, or even to defend it.
Up to the middle of 1921 this mere soliciting activity sufficed and was useful to the movement. Special events during the midsummer of this year made it seem advisable that after the success of the propaganda became gradually visible, the organization now be conformed and adapted to it.
The attempt of a group of populist visionaries to obtain control of it with the help of the president of the Party, led to the collapse of this little intrigue, and during a general meeting of all members the total leadership of the movement was unanimously placed in my hands. At the same time a new statute was accepted which delegated the complete responsibility of the movement to the leader, did away with decisions of committees as a matter of principle, and instituted instead a system of division of work which has proved since to be the greatest blessing.
Since the first of August 1921 I have taken over the inner reorganization of the movement, and I found a large number of excellent helpers to aid me. I consider it necessary to mention them later in a special appendix.
​In trying to use the results of the propaganda for organization purposes and to thus establish them, I had to do away with a number of former customs and I had to introduce principles which no existing party possessed or would even have acknowledged.
In the years 1919 to 1920 the movement had for its leadership a committee, elected by the members in special assemblies which in turn were prescribed by our laws. The committee consisted of a first and second treasurer, a first and second secretary, the heads being a first and second chairman. In addition to that there was a membership secretary, the chief of propaganda, and several committee members.
This committee, comically enough, embodied in reality that which the movement itself intended to combat most vigorously, namely parliamentarism. For it goes without saying that in this a principle was involved, which, from the smallest local group, over the future districts, provinces and states up to the Reich’s leadership embodied a system under which we all suffered, and are still suffering today.
It was an urgent necessity some day to change this situation, if the movement, because of the poor basis for its organization, was not to be permanently spoiled, thereby becoming incapable, of fulfilling its high mission when the time arrived.
The committee meetings, a record of which was kept in the minutes, and during which decisions were made according to the vote of the majority, represented in reality a miniature parliament. There, too, every personal accountability and responsibility was lacking. There, too, the same nonsense and the same folly reigned as in our large representative bodies of the State. Men were elected to serve on this committee as secretaries, others as treasurers, other men for the membership of the organization, and men for the propaganda, and God knows for what else. Yet later they all had to take a stand for or against each particular question, deciding it by vote. For instance, the man who had to look after the propaganda voted upon a matter that concerned the man who looked after the finances, and the latter again had to ​vote on matters which concerned the man who looked after organization, who in turn voted upon a matter that was purely a business of the secretaries, etc.
Why a special man should be appointed for propaganda, if treasurers, secretaries, membership-secretaries, etc., bad to vote on matters belonging to its domain, appears just as unreasonable to a normal brain as it would seem unreasonable if in a big factory the heads or technical leaders of other departments and other branches would have to decide questions that were not at all related to their work.
I refused to submit to such folly, but after only a very short time had passed I stayed away from the sessions. I made my propaganda, and that was that; moreover, I declined to permit any good-for-nothing to attempt to interfere with my work, just as I did not concern myself with the business of the others.
As soon as the acceptance of the new by-laws and my appointment to the office of first chairman had given me the necessary authority and the corresponding rights, this folly was immediately stopped. The principle of absolute responsibility was introduced to replace the committee resolutions.
The first chairman is responsible for the entire leadership of the movement. He assigns the work that is to be done to the members of the committee under him and to the other needed co-workers. Each one of these men is thereby absolutely responsible for the tasks assigned to him. He is accountable to the first chairman, who must see to it that all cooperate, or who must himself bring this cooperation about by his choice of men and by establishing general guiding principles.
This law of responsibility by principle has gradually become a matter of course within the movement, at least as far as the leadership of the Party is concerned. In the little local groups, and maybe even in the provinces and districts it will take years before these principles are fully established, since cowards and good-for-nothings will of course always struggle against it. They will always feel uneasy if they carry the sole responsibility for an undertaking. They feel freer and better if for every ​far-reaching decision they have the support of the majority of a so-called committee. However, I deem it necessary to oppose such sentiment with utmost vigor, not to make concessions to cowardice in the question of responsibility, and thus to attain, even if it should take a long time, a conception of the duty and the efficiency of leadership which will allow only those to become leaders who are really called and selected.
At any rate, a movement that intends to fight against the folly of parliamentarism, must keep itself free from it. Only on such a basis can it gain the strength for its struggle.
A movement which, in a time when the majority rules in all and everything, adapts itself to the principle of the leader-idea and to the responsibility going with it, will some day with mathematical certainty overcome the situation hitherto existing and will emerge victorious.
This thought led to a complete reorganization within the movement. Its logical effect also led to a very strict separation of the business departments of the movement from the general political leadership. As a matter of principle the idea of responsibility was extended to the entire business management of the party; thus putting it, as a matter of course, upon a sound basis since it was liberated from political influences and now concentrated upon purely economic interests.
When I came to the old Six-man Party in the autumn of 1919 it had neither a business office nor an employee, yes, not even letterheads or rubber stamps, indeed nothing printed existed. The committee room was at first an inn in the Herrengasse and later a café on the Gasteig. This was an impossible situation. Therefore, soon afterward I got busy and looked over quite a number of Munich restaurants and inns, with the intention of renting a separate room or another enclosed space for the Party. In the former Sterneckerbrau inn Tal there existed a small vault-like room, which formerly had served the Imperial Councillors of Bavaria as a place for their drinking bouts. It was dark and gloomy, and thereby served its former purpose extremely well, but it hardly answered its new purpose. Its only window faced ​an alley which was so narrow that even on the brightest summer day the room remained dark and gloomy. This became our first business office. Since the monthly rent amounted to only fifty marks (a large sum for us in those days) we were in no position to demand much, and we could not even complain, when before we moved in the wooden paneling of the walls was quickly torn off, since it had been put there for the sake of the Imperial councillors. Now the room really seemed more like a vault than an office.
And neverthless this represented great progress. By and by electric light was installed, but it took even more time to get a telephone; a table with a few rented chairs was added, finally a shelf, and still later a cabinet; two sideboards that belonged to the inn keeper were to serve as a storage place for pamphlets, posters, etc.
The former management, i.e., directing the movement through one weekly committee meeting could not possibly be kept up in the long run. Only a salaried official paid by the movement was able to safeguard a steady business management.
At that time this was rather difficult. The movement had as yet so few members that it became a trick to find a suitable man among them who would satisfy the many demands of the movement, while demanding but very little for himself.
Finally, after an extended search, the first business manager of the party was found in the person of Schüssler, a former comrade of mine. At first he worked daily between 6 and 8 P. M. in our new office, later between 5 and 8 P. M. and finally every afternoon, and a short time later he was given full time work, doing his duty from morning till late at night. He was just as diligent as he was straight and honest, a man who personally did all he could and who was a faithful adherent to the movement. Schüssler brought a little Adler typewriter along that he possessed. It was the first instrument of that kind in the service of our movement. Later it was bought by the Party on the installment plan. It appeared necessary to have a little safe in order to protect the files and the membership lists against thieves. It was, therefore, ​bought not in order to deposit any big funds which supposedly we might have had at that time. To the contrary, everything was extremely poor, and I personally have often helped out with my own scant savings.
One and a half years later the business office became too small and we moved into the new locality on Cornelius Street. Again it was an inn into which we moved, but this time we did not possess just one room but three rooms, and in addition a large hall. In those days we thought this was a great achievement. We remained there until November 1923.
In December 1920 the Völkische Beobachter was bought. This paper, which by its name alone, advocated racial ideas, was to be transformed into an organ of the N. S. D. A. P. In the beginning the paper was published twice weekly; early in 1923 it became a daily, and at the end of August 1923 it had its later well-known large format.
In those days, being an absolute novice in the newspaper business I frequently had to pay dearly for bought experience.
It should, indeed, give one food for thought to think of the fact that in contrast to the enormous Jewish press there existed scarcely one single really important racial-Nationalist newspaper. Later I had often the opportunity to convince myself by practical experience that this was mostly due to the fact that the so-called populist enterprises were not managed in a business-like way. They were conducted too much from the viewpoint that conviction is more essential than efficiency. This is an entirely false viewpoint, since conviction which, in itself is not externally perceptible, finds its best expression in efficient accomplishment. He who creates something of actual value to his people, thereby reveals just as valuable a conviction, while another one, who only pretends to have the conviction yet does not actually render his people any service, is harmful to all real conviction and a liability to those of the same conviction.
As the name indicates, the Völkische Beobachter too was a so-called “racial-Nationalist” organ with all the merits, and also with all the mistakes and weaknesses connected with such institutions. ​Its contents were noble, but the management of the enterprise was impossible from a business standpoint. It too was based upon the opinion that populist newspapers had to be maintained by populist donations, instead of realizing that they must succeed in spite of the competition of others, and that it is an indecency to cover up the negligence or mistakes of the business management by donations of well-minded patriots.
I for one have endeavored to change the condition which I soon recognized as a dangerous one. Luck was with me inasmuch as it let me make the acquaintance of the man who since that time has rendered the movement extremely valuable services not only as business manager of the paper, but also as business manager of the Party. In the year 1914, at the front, I made the acquaintance of the present general manager of the Party, Max Aman, (at that time my superior). During the four years of the war I had every opportunity of observing the very great capability, the diligence, and the painstaking conscientiousness of my later co-worker.
In mid-summer of 1921, when the movement passed through a grave crisis, and I could no longer be satisfied with a number of the employees, after having had a most bitter experience with one of them, I addressed myself to my former comrade in the same regiment, whom I met accidentally one day, and requested him to become the business manager of the Party. After considerable hesitance—Aman held a position with a future—he finally consented, however, with the definite reservation that he would never become the beadle for any incompetent committee, but would recognize only one master.
It was the everlasting merit of this first business manager of the movement, thoroughly trained commercially as he was, which brought order and honesty into the departments of the Party. From then on, they remained a pattern which could not be equalled, and certainly not be improved upon, by any of the subdivisions of the movement. As always happens in life, efficiency is often the cause of envy and self-will. The same had to be expected in this case and had to be borne with patience.
​As early as the year 1922 we had, generally speaking, fixed methods of procedure for the upbuilding of the movement along business lines. We already had a central card index comprising all the members belonging to the Party. The movement had also been put upon a sound financial basis. Current expenses had to be covered by the current income; the special income was used for special expenses. In spite of the hard times the movement thus remained almost free of debt, except for a few small current bills; yes, it even succeeded in constantly increasing its assets. The work was done in the same way as in a private business; the employed personnel had to distinguish itself by efficiency and could not just appeal to the famous “conviction.” The convictions of every National-Socialist is demonstrated first by his willingness, by his diligence and ability to do the work that has been assigned to him by the community of the people. Anyone who does not do his duty in this respect must not boast of his conviction, against which he is actually sinning. The new business manager of the Party defended most energetically his standpoint, against all kinds of influences, that Party offices are not a sinecure for lazy adherents or members.
A movement that so strongly fights the party corruption of our present administrative apparatus must keep its own apparatus clean of such vices. It happened that the management of the newspaper hired employees who, according to their former conviction belonged to the Bavarian People’s Party, but whose work alone proved them to be extremely qualified. The result of this experiment was generally excellent. The very fact that the movement honestly and frankly acknowledged real individual efficiency did more to win the hearts of the employees quickly and fully than would ever have been the case otherwise. Later on they became good National-Socialists, and they remained faithful, not only by word of mouth, but they proved it by doing conscientious, good and honest work in the service of the new movement. It goes without saying that the well qualified members of the Party were preferred to just as well qualified nonmembers of the Party. But nobody was hired on the basis of his ​membership in the Party. The resolute way in which the new business manager stood for these principles, and gradually carried them out in spite of all resistance was later of the greatest advantage to the movement. During the difficult time of the inflation when tens of thousands of enterprises collapsed, and thousands of newspapers ceased to exist, it was thus possible for the management of the movement not only to continue and to accomplish its task, but to build up the Völkische Boebachter more and more. At that time it took its place among the large newspapers.
The year 1921 was significant in another respect: In my position as head of the Party I succeeded in gradually liberating the departments of the Party from the criticism and the lectures of so many of the committee members. This was important because it was impossible to secure a really competent man for a task if men of no ability whatsoever constantly interfered, always knowing better about everything yet in reality only creating a terrible confusion. Usually these wiseacres retired very modestly in order to seek a new field for their controlling and inspiring activities. These were men who were beset by the malady of seeing some ulterior motive behind everything and all things. They were permanently pregnant with excellent plans, ideas, projects and methods. Their most ideal and highest aim then usually consisted of appointing a committee which, as controlling agency, would have to poke its nose expertly into the work of the others. It never seemed to occur to most of these committee-hounds that it is offensive and non-National-Socialistic for an ignoramus continuously to lecture the real experts. Anyhow, I for one considered it to be my duty during these years, to protect all assistants who worked well and carried heavy responsibilities in the movement against such elements, thus giving them the necessary backing and a free hand to go forward.
The best way to render powerless these committees which did nothing, or only hatched up resolutions that could not in fact be carried out, was to assign a real task to them. It made me laugh, to see how the members of such a group would sneak away and suddenly were nowhere to be found. It made me think of our ​greatest similar institution, the Reichstag. How quickly they would all vanish into thin air, if, in the place of mere idle talk, they were assigned a real task, a task for which each of these chatterers would be held personally responsible.
Even in those days I always demanded that, just as it is done in private business, so in the movement we should search until the obviously capable and honest official, administrator or leader was found. He would then have to have absolute authority and freedom of action with his subordinates, while on the other hand he would have to be completely responsible to his superiors. At the same time, no one should be given any authority over subordinates who is not himself an expert in the respective work. In the course of two years I have succeeded in putting over my idea, and today it is generally accepted in the movement, at least by those in highest authority.
The visible success of this attitude became apparent in 1923. When I had come to the movement four years previously not even a rubber stamp could be found. On November 9, 1923, the party was dissolved and its property was confiscated. Already, the assets, including all valuables and the paper, then amounted to over one hundred and seventy thousand gold marks.