Membership in the NSDAP can be interpreted as an important indicator for giving formal approval to the Nazi regime. Here we present the data set by which we analysed the importance of entrepreneurs and managers for the stabilisation of the Nazi dictatorship after 1933. For this purpose, we defined a specific group of German entrepreneurs (N=537) as the business elite and examined their membership in the NSDAP. We present two data sets on the German business elite for 1933-38 and 1951-54. This is the largest data set of its kind, representing over 500 entrepreneurs with their educational qualifications, social background and membership in the NSDAP.