Party Chancellery until 1941
Staff of the Deputy FührerDeputy Führer was the title for the deputy head of the Nazi Party, which was held by Rudolf Hess until his flight to the United Kingdom in 1941. After this event, Adolf Hitler abolished the office and replaced it with the office of Party Chancellery, which was given to Martin Bormann....
(
Stab des Stellvertreters des Führers), was the name of the head office of the German Nazi Party (NSDAP).
Organization
Since 1933 the party office with its seat in
MunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
had been under
HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's deputy
Rudolf HessRudolf Walter Richard Hess was a prominent Nazi politician who was Adolf Hitler's deputy in the Nazi Party during the 1930s and early 1940s...
in the rank of a Reich Minister in Hitler's cabinet. The organisation responsible for handling party affairs rivaled for influence not only with the
Reich ChancelleryThe Reich Chancellery was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany in the period of the German Reich from 1871 to 1945...
under
Hans LammersDr.jur. Hans Heinrich Lammers was a German jurist and prominent Nazi politician. From 1933 until 1945 he served as head of the Reich Chancellery under Adolf Hitler....
but also with the
Führer's ChancelleryDie Kanzlei des Führers , also known as Privatkanzlei des Führers, was the Chancellery responsible for the Nazi Party and associated organizations and their dealings directly with Hitler...
and the Nazi
Gau-A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...
and
ReichsleiterReichsleiter , was the second highest political rank of the NSDAP next only to the office of Führer. Reichsleiter also served as a paramilitary rank, for the Nazi Party and was the highest position attainable in any Nazi-Organisation.The Reichsleiter reported directly to Adolf Hitler, in whose...
. Hess' man in charge was
Martin BormannMartin Ludwig Bormann was a prominent Nazi official. He became head of the Party Chancellery and private secretary to Adolf Hitler...
, who served as his private secretary and soon became an efficient and indispensable representative of the party's interests, disempowering the regional leaders on intermediate level and reaching the party's involvement in the enactment of laws and
FührerFührer , alternatively spelled Fuehrer in both English and German when the umlaut is not available, is a German title meaning leader or guide now most associated with Adolf Hitler, who modelled it on Benito Mussolini's title il Duce, as well as with Georg von Schönerer, whose followers also...
's decrees. Bormann was influential in establishing the
Adolf Hitler Fund of German Trade and IndustryThe Adolf Hitler Fund of German Trade and Industry was a donation from the German employers' association and the "Reichsverband" of German industry, which was established on June 1, 1933 to support the NSDAP...
and subsequently reached the position as Hitler's property administrator.
After Hess' flight to the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1941, Bormann on May 12 was appointed head of the renamed Party Chancellery in the rank of a Reich Minister after the
Führer had publicly stripped Hess of his offices. Bormann used his position to restrict access to Hitler for his own benefit and, supported by deputies like
Albert HoffmannAlbert Hoffmann was a German entrepreneur and during the Third Reich the Nazi Gauleiter of Westphalia-South.-Early life:...
,
Gerhard KlopferGerhard Klopfer was an official of the Nazi Party and assistant to Martin Bormann in the Office of the Party Chancellery....
and
Helmuth FriedrichsHelmuth Friedrichs was a German Nazi Party official. He was an important figure in the Office of the Deputy Führer and its successor the Nazi Party Chancellery.-Early years:...
, to further party influence in areas such as armaments and manpower. Armaments Minister
Albert SpeerAlbert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
complained about Bormann's interfering with his staff in this manner. In 1943 Bormann was appointed the
Führer's Private Secretary, reaching a unique trust relationship with Hitler.