Statistics and the historian; the occupational profile of the SA of the NSDAP

In the past few years historiography has become increasingly aware of, and has even analysed, popular sentiment and aspirations. The study of German National Socialism illustrates this trend. Hitler's key position as charismatic leader of the Nazi movement has led, understandably, to a proliferation of biographical studies of the Nazi leader. However, from the outset it has been recognized that consideration of Nazi institutions and of their mass following is essential, and it is in these fields that much recent work has concentrated. The resulting methodological problems have also been discussed within the context of the membership of the Nazi storm-trooper formations (SA). The understanding of the place of such an institution in history is, by its very nature, at least partially dependent on an awareness of its membership's social profile. In general this may be established without undue difficulty by reference to membership records, with historical interpretation following. However, analysis of the SA's membership, particularly the mass of anonymous rank and file members, poses especially delicate problems because of the nature of the source material available. Partly because of the SA's own records system,' and more especially because of the massive accidental and deliberate loss and destruction of records at the close of the war, only remnants of the SA's membership records remain.2 Disagreement has arisen recently over how best to reconstruct a picture of the SA's social profile from these remnants, and how best to use the information gained. One recent article (Fischer) has concluded from two heterogeneous samples (i January I929 to 30 January 1933 and 31 January I933 to 30 June I934) that

Political science · European history and politics · History · Italian Fascism and Post-war Society

• Fascists

  Open Access•Michael Mann•Fascists•2004

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• Statistical principles in experimental design.

  B J Winer•1962

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• Some Methods for Strengthening the Common χ 2 Tests

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• The authoritarian personality

  Theodor W Adorno•The authoritarian personality•1969

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• Nazis, workers and the uses of quantitative evidence

  Richard Bessel, Mathilde Jamin•Social History•1979

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