[2] The party was initially led by Cay Lembcke, although they attracted no more than a few hundred members under his leadership and failed to gain even minor support in the elections of 1932.

Lembcke was replaced in 1933 by Frits Clausen, who concentrated the activities in his home territory of North Schleswig, where the bulk of support for the DNSAP was to come from.

[citation needed] The rally was confronted by a huge and hostile crowd, outnumbering the participants several times, and the party members had to be protected by the Danish police.

[citation needed] A rare victory for the DNSAP was its role in organizing the recruitment for Waffen-SS and Frikorps Danmark (Free Corps Denmark).

The DNSAP was not included in the wartime coalition government (1940–1943) and at the 1943 elections it barely improved on its pre-war performance, winning only 2.1% of the votes cast and three seats in the Folketing.

The day after the election, the disappointed Clausen renounced German financial support, intending to take a more purely Danish national line.