Ben Wilson

So people aren't interested in far-right politicians.

So in 1928, the NSDAP won only 2.6% of the vote.

All right.

This is a very marginal party.

They have 12 deputies in the Reichstag, and that's somewhat helpful to them because those men get salaries and they get train tickets to and from Berlin.

But I mean, over 97% of the German electorate did not want Adolf Hitler, was not interested.

Now, in 1928, things do start to turn around.

On the one hand, because you start to get some economic turmoil.

And on the other, because the National Socialists start to get smarter about how they are deploying propaganda.

One of the things they do is instead of trying to canvas the entire country, which is what most parties did and which is what they kind of have been doing in the past, they pioneer a technique of saturating one area at a time

with flyers, speeches, meetings, everything.

So that, you know, instead of, oh, I hear about the National Socialists every now and then, if you're living in Essen, city in Western Germany,

Instead, there's going to be a period of two weeks where you can't help but hear about the national socialists, right?

They've got flyers everywhere.

People are talking about it.

They got speeches.

They're doing demonstrations.

They're doing marches through the streets.

Like, you can't help it.

And so by doing this, going from city to city, region to region, they get on more people's radar.