At the time when Hitler joined the party there were no membership numbers or cards. It was on January 1920 when a numeration was issued for the first time: listed in alphabetical order, Hitler received the number 555. In reality he had been the 55th member, but the counting started at the number 501 in order to make the party appear larger. Hitler's later claim that he was party member number 7, which would make him one of the founding members, is refuted. However, in his work Mein Kampf, Hitler claims that he received a membership card with the number 7; he was in fact the seventh executive member of the Party's central committee.[10] After giving his first speech for the DAP on October 16 at the Hofbräukeller, Hitler quickly became the party's most active orator, and he appeared in public as a speaker thirty-one times within the first year. Hitler's considerable oratory and propaganda skills were appreciated by the party leadership. With the support of Anton Drexler, Hitler became chief of propaganda for the party in early 1920.