The political leaders were organized according to the leadership principle. I quote from the fourth paragraph of Page 2 of Document 1893-PS, at the bottom of the page, and top of Page 3:
“The basis of the Party organization is the Führer idea. The public is unable to rule itself either directly or indirectly . . . . All political leaders stand as appointed by the Führer and are responsible to him. They possess full authority toward the lower echelons. . . . Only a man who has gone through the school of subordinate functions within the Party has a claim to the higher Führer offices. We can only use ‘Führer’ who have served from the ground up. Any political leader who does not conform to these principles is to be dismissed or to be sent back to the lower offices, as Blockleiter, Zellenleiter, for further training. The political leader is not an office worker but the political deputy of the Führer . . . . With the political leader we are building the political leadership of the State . . . . The type of the political leader is not characterized by the office which he represents. There is no such thing as a political leader of the NSBO, et cetera, but there is only the political leader of the NSDAP.”
Each political leader was sworn in yearly. According to the Party manual the wording of the oath was as follows; and I quote from the second paragraph on Page 3, Document 1893-PS:
“I pledge eternal allegiance to Adolf Hitler; I pledge unconditional obedience to him and the Führer appointed by him.”
The Organization Book of the NSDAP also provides, and I quote from Page 3, Paragraph 4, of the same document:
“The political leader is inseparably tied to the ideology and the organization of the NSDAP. His oath only ends with his death or with his expulsion from the National Socialist community.”
Appointment of political leaders:
With respect to the appointment of the political leaders constituting the Leadership Corps of the Party, I quote from Page 4 of the Organization Book, which is Document 1893-PS:
“1. The Führer appoints the following political leaders: