agitator with courage to stand up to his opponents in the tavern and defend his views boldly and frankly effects more than a thousand of such sneaking, insidious hypocrites.
Early in 1920 I urged that the first great mass meet¬ ing should be held. Herr Harrer, who was then Chairman of the Party, felt unable to agree with my views as to the moment chosen and retired in all honour from being leader of the Movement. Herr Anton Drexler was his' successor. I myself undertook to organize the propaganda of the Movement and now proceeded to carry it on without stint.
February 24th, 1920, was the date fixed upon for the first great mass meeting of the Movement, which was still unknown. I made the arrangements in person.
The colour we chose was red, as providing the best draw and being the one most likely to excite and irritate our opponents, and therefore to impress us most firmly on their minds and memories.
The meeting started ; at 7.15 I walked through the hall at Hofbrähausfestsaal in the Platzl in Munich, and my heart nearly burst with joy. That great hall—for it seemed great to me then—was close packed and over¬ flowing with an audience of nearly 2,000.
When the first speaker had finished it was my turn to speak. In a few minutes interruptions hailed on me and there were violent scenes in the body of the hall ; a handful of faithful war-comrades and a few other adherents engaged the disturbers and managed to restore quiet after a bit. I was able to proceed. Half an hour later the applause began to drown the interruptions and hooting, and finally, when J had explained the 25 points, I had before me a hall full of people united in a new conviction, a new faith, a new will. A fire had been kindled, from the glow of which the sword was to emerge, destined to restore freedom to the Germanic Siegfried and life to the German nation.