Deutsche Arbeiterpartei
Berchtold served in World War I and upon Germany's defeat joined the German Workers' Party (DAP), a small extremist organization at the time. He remained in the party after it became known as the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party; NSDAP) and went on to become the second commander of the "Schutzstaffel" (SS) from April 1926 to March 1927.