The Munich Putsch (1923) Flashcards
Background to Hitler and the NSDAP
1) Hitler became leader of Anton Drexler’s NSDAP German workers party in 1921. Back then it was a very small right wing militant party based in Munich, Bavaria.
2) They only had about 3,000 members in 1923.
3) The party had a paramilitary wing know as the Sturmabteilung (SA) under the command of an ex-member of the Freikorps, Ernst Rohm.
4) Other key members included Hermann Goering, General Ludendorff, Rudolf Hess, and Gregor Strasser
Causes of the Munich Putsch
1) Hitler was greatly angered by Stresemann’s ending of ‘passive resistance’ in the Ruhr and the continued payment of reparation installments as he despised the Treaty of Versailles (1919) and all its terms.
2) Hitler hated the Weimar government and believed it should be overthrown
3) He was also under a lot of pressure from the Bavarian government and other right wing parties in the south
What was the final event that pushed Hitler over the line?
1) Gustav Kahr, President of the Bavarian government was in the midst of betraying Hitler by forming a new government of Berlin with other parties excluding the Nazis.
2) On the night of the 8th November, when Kahr gathered all the other right-wing parties in a beer hall and delivered a speech to remove the NSDAP from his new united front, Hitler made his decision.
Course of the Putsch
1) Hitler led a contingent of his SA to the beer hall with rifles and machine guns. Hitler took the leaders to the back room and tried to convince them to join the Putsch. Kahr did not cooperate and proceeded to argue with Hitler.
2) Finally General Ludendorff arrived and convinced them to join the Nazis
3) After the agreement was made and the crowds were released, Kahr and his comrades called the Reichswehr army for support.
Failure of the Putsch
1) By the next morning Hitler saw that the Putsch had failed
2) He therefore marched to the center of Munich with 3,000 men where he was confronted by the army
3) One Nazi shot and killed a policeman and in the following gun fight 16 Nazis were killed
4) Hitler escaped with a dislocated shoulder and was arrested the next day
Consequences of the Putsch
1) Hitler was tried in court for inciting violence and the judge let him off with a 1/3 sentence of 9 months in Landsberg prison, a complete joke.
2) By having his public trial Hitler was brought to the attention of all of Germany. His speeches defending himself in court about patriotism gave the NSDAP a lot of attention that they wouldn’t normally have had
3) The support of General Ludendorff gave Hitler legitimacy
4) His time in prison, where he was treated like a celebrity, was arguably an ironic success.
