Ulrich Graf
Shortly after the First World War, Graf became a member of the German Workers' Party (DAP). Later, the DAP was renamed the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP; Nazi Party) and taken over by Adolf Hitler. Founded in 1920, the "Sturmabteilung" (SA) was the first of many paramilitary protection squads that worked to protect Nazi officials. These storm troopers, outfitted in brown uniforms, were initially charged with the duty of keeping order at Nazi Party meetings. They soon expanded their role to include disruption of rival political party's functions. Graf was an early member of the SA. In 1921, he became member number 2882 of the Nazi Party.
German Party (1947)
In 1945 the Lower Saxony National Party ("Niedersächsische Landespartei", acronym: NLP) was founded as a re-creation of the regionalist German-Hanoverian Party (or German Party) that had been active in the period between the creation of the German Empire in 1871 and the Nazi Party's seizure of power in 1933. Two groups of people initiated the process: one around Ludwig Alpers and Heinrich Hellwege in Stade, the other around Georg Ludewig, Karl Biester, Wolfgang Kwiecinski, and Arthur Menge in Hanover. On May 23, 1946 Heinrich Hellwege, "Landrat" in Stade, was formally elected to serve as chairman of the NLP. The NLP aimed principally at the establishment of a Lower Saxon state within a federal Germany as well as representing Christian conservatism.