Founded in 1918, its declared aim was an ideology that would combine völkisch nationalism with an appeal to the working class.
The DSP was heavily influenced by the antisemitic Thule Society, led by Rudolf von Sebottendorf, as well as publications of engineer Alfred Brunner, who aimed to create a party that would be both nationalist and attractive to the German proletariat.
[1] This led to various attempts to join forces with similar groups: In the summer of 1921, Julius Streicher, an important party official, formed an alliance with the Völkische Werkgemeinschaft.
This directly led to Hitler becoming party leader and assuming absolute control over the NSDAP.
Hans Georg Grassinger, the founding chairman of the DSP, later recalled: In the autumn of 1919, around September, Hitler appeared in the office of the publishing house to see Grassinger and offered [to] write for the paper, and to join and work for the German Socialist Party.