The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch,
[Dan Moorhouse, ed]
schoolshistory.org.uk, accessed 2008-05-31.[Known in ]German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
as the or was a failed
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
by
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
( or NSDAP) leader
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
,
Erich Ludendorff
Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general, politician and military theorist. He achieved fame during World War I for his central role in the German victories at Liège and Tannenberg in 1914. ...
and other leaders in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
,
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, on 8–
9 November 1923, during the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
. Approximately two thousand Nazis marched on the , in the city centre, but were confronted by a police cordon, which resulted in the deaths of 16 Nazi Party members and four police officers.
Hitler escaped immediate arrest and was spirited off to safety in the countryside. After two days, he was arrested and charged with
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
.
The putsch brought Hitler to the attention of the German nation for the first time and generated front-page headlines in newspapers around the world. His arrest was followed by a 24-day trial, which was widely publicised and gave him a platform to express his nationalist sentiments to the nation. Hitler was found guilty of treason and sentenced to five years in
Landsberg Prison
Landsberg Prison is a penal facility in the town of Landsberg am Lech in the southwest of the German state of Bavaria, about west-southwest of Munich and south of Augsburg. It is best known as the prison where Adolf Hitler was held in 1924, a ...
,
[Hitler's ('fortress-way'). Hitler's sentence was to be served in the mildest form of incarceration under German law.] where he dictated to fellow prisoners
Emil Maurice
Emil Maurice (; 19 January 1897 – 6 February 1972) was an early member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party) and a founding member of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). He was Hitler's first personal chauffeur, and was one of ...
and
Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position unt ...
. On 20 December 1924, having served only thirteen months, Hitler was released.
[Harold J. Gordon Jr., ''The Hitler Trial Before the People's Court in Munich'' (Arlington, VA: University Publications of America 1976)] Once released, Hitler redirected his focus towards obtaining power through legal means rather than by revolution or force, and accordingly changed his tactics, further developing
Nazi propaganda
The propaganda used by the German Nazi Party in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's dictatorship of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 to 1945 was a crucial instrument for acquiring and maintaining power, and for the implementation o ...
.
[Claudia Koonz, ''The Nazi Conscience'', p. 24, .]
Background
In the early 20th century, many of the larger cities of southern Germany had
beer hall
A beer hall () is a large pub that specializes in beer.
Germany
Beer halls are a traditional part of Bavarian culture, and feature prominently in Oktoberfest. Bosch notes that the beer halls of Oktoberfest, known in German as ''Festzelte'', ...
s, where hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of people would socialise in the evenings, drink beer and participate in political and social debates. Such beer halls also became the hosts of occasional political rallies. One of Munich's largest beer halls was the , which became the site where the putsch began.
After the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
, which ended
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Germany declined as a major European power. Like many Germans of the period, Hitler, who had fought in the German Army but still held Austrian citizenship at the time, believed the treaty to be a betrayal, with the country having been
"stabbed in the back" by its own government, particularly as the German Army was popularly thought to have been undefeated in the field. For the defeat, Hitler scapegoated civilian leaders, Jews and
Marxists
Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectic ...
, later called the "November Criminals".
Hitler remained in the army in Munich after the war. He participated in various "national thinking" courses, organised by the Education and Propaganda Department of the
Bavarian Army under Captain
Karl Mayr
Captain Karl Mayr (5 January 1883 – 9 February 1945) was a German General Staff officer and Adolf Hitler's immediate superior in an army Intelligence Division in the Reichswehr, 1919–1920. Mayr was particularly known as the man who intro ...
, of which Hitler became an agent. Captain Mayr ordered Hitler, then an army (not the equivalent of lance corporal, but a special class of private) and holder of the
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...
, First Class, to infiltrate the tiny ("
German Workers' Party", abbreviated DAP). Hitler joined the DAP on 12 September 1919. He soon realised that he was in agreement with many of the underlying tenets of the DAP, and rose to its top post in the ensuing chaotic political atmosphere of postwar Munich. By agreement, Hitler assumed the political leadership of a number of Bavarian
revanchist
Revanchism (french: revanchisme, from ''revanche'', "revenge") is the political manifestation of the will to reverse territorial losses incurred by a country, often following a war or social movement. As a term, revanchism originated in 1870s Fr ...
"patriotic associations", called the . This political base extended to include about 15,000 (SA, literally "Storm Detachment"), the paramilitary wing of the NSDAP.
On 26 September 1923, following a period of turmoil and political violence, Bavarian Prime Minister declared a state of emergency, and was appointed ("state commissioner"), with dictatorial powers to govern the state. In addition to , Bavarian state police chief Colonel and General formed a ruling triumvirate. Hitler announced that he would hold 14 mass meetings beginning on 27 September 1923. Afraid of the potential disruption, one of 's first actions was to ban the announced meetings, placing Hitler under pressure to act. The Nazis, with other leaders in the , felt they had to march upon
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and seize power or their followers would turn to the communists. Hitler enlisted the help of World War I general in an attempt to gain the support of and his triumvirate. However, had his own plan with and to install a nationalist dictatorship without Hitler.
The putsch
![Erich Ludendorff Time cover 1923](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Erich_Ludendorff_Time_cover_1923.jpg)
The putsch was inspired by
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
's successful
March on Rome
The March on Rome ( it, Marcia su Roma) was an organized mass demonstration and a coup d'état in October 1922 which resulted in Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party (PNF) ascending to power in the Kingdom of Italy. In late October 1922, Fa ...
. From 22 to 29 October 1922, Hitler and his associates planned to use Munich as a base for a march against Germany's
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
government. But circumstances differed from those in Italy. Hitler came to the realisation that Kahr sought to control him and was not ready to act against the government in Berlin. Hitler wanted to seize a critical moment for successful popular agitation and support. He decided to take matters into his own hands. Hitler, along with a large detachment of
SA, marched on the
Bürgerbräukeller
The Bürgerbräukeller (; "citizen brew cellar") was a large beer hall in Munich, Germany. Opened in 1885, it was one of the largest beer halls of the Bürgerliches Brauhaus. After Bürgerliches merged with Löwenbräu in 1921, the hall was tra ...
, where Kahr was making a speech in front of 3,000 people.
Piers Brendon
Piers Brendon (born 21 December 1940) is a British historian and writer, known for historical and biographical works. He was educated at Shrewsbury School and Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he read history. He received a Ph.D. degree for h ...
, ''The Dark Valley: A Panorama of the 1930s'', p. 36
In the evening of 8 November 1923, 603 SA surrounded the beer hall and a
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
was set up in the auditorium. Hitler, surrounded by his associates
Hermann Göring,
Alfred Rosenberg,
Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position unt ...
,
Ernst Hanfstaengl,
Ulrich Graf
Ulrich Graf (6 July 1878 – 3 March 1950) was an early member of the Nazi Party and one of Adolf Hitler's inner circle. In 1923, he served in a bodyguard unit for Hitler and was wounded in the Beer Hall Putsch. He was a long serving member of ...
, Johann Aigner,
Adolf Lenk,
Max Amann
Max Amann (24 November 1891 – 30 March 1957) was a high-ranking member of the Nazi Party, a German politician, businessman and art collector, including of looted art. He was the first business manager of the Nazi Party and later became the hea ...
,
Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richter,
Wilhelm Adam
Wilhelm Adam (28 March 1893 – 24 November 1978) was an officer in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Following the German surrender after the Battle of Stalingrad, he became a member of the National Committee for a Free German ...
,
Robert Wagner and others (some 20 in all), advanced through the crowded auditorium. Unable to be heard above the crowd, Hitler fired a shot into the ceiling and jumped on a chair, yelling: "The national revolution has broken out! The hall is surrounded by six hundred men. Nobody is allowed to leave." He went on to state that the Bavarian government was deposed and declared the formation of a new government with Ludendorff.
Hitler, accompanied by Hess, Lenk, and Graf, ordered the triumvirate of Kahr, Seisser and Lossow into an adjoining room at gunpoint and demanded they support the putsch and accept the government positions he assigned them.
Hitler had promised Lossow a few days earlier that he would not attempt a coup,
but now thought that he would get an immediate response of affirmation from them, imploring Kahr to accept the position of Regent of Bavaria. Kahr replied that he could not be expected to collaborate, especially as he had been taken out of the auditorium under heavy guard.
Heinz Pernet, Johann Aigne and
Scheubner-Richter were dispatched to pick up Ludendorff, whose personal prestige was being harnessed to give the Nazis credibility. A telephone call was made from the kitchen by
Hermann Kriebel
Hermann Kriebel (20 January 1876 in Germersheim – 16 February 1941 in Munich) was a lieutenant colonel and former Bavarian staff officer.
Life
He fought with the Freikorps during the German Revolution of 1918–19. As a member of the ...
to
Ernst Röhm
Ernst Julius Günther Röhm (; 28 November 1887 – 1 July 1934) was a German military officer and an early member of the Nazi Party. As one of the members of its predecessor, the German Workers' Party, he was a close friend and early ally ...
, who was waiting with his ''
Bund Reichskriegsflagge'' in the ''
Löwenbräukeller
Löwenbräukeller is a beer hall and event center located in Maxvorstadt, Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It has hosted concerts by artists such as Def Leppard, Ozzy Osbourne and Kiss.
It was used as a substitute site for the anniversaries of the 192 ...
'', another beer hall, and he was ordered to seize key buildings throughout the city. At the same time, co-conspirators under
Gerhard Rossbach mobilised the students of a nearby infantry officers' school to seize other objectives.
Hitler became irritated by Kahr and summoned
Ernst Pöhner
Ernst Pöhner (11 January 1870, Hof, Bavaria – 11 April 1925) was Munich's Chief of Police ('Green' Police President) from 1919 to 1922. A vigorous anti-Semitic and anti-communist (he attempted, for example, to have ''Ostjuden'' or "Eastern J ...
,
Friedrich Weber, and Hermann Kriebel to stand in for him while he returned to the auditorium flanked by
Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position unt ...
and Adolf Lenk. He followed up on Göring's speech and stated that the action was not directed at the police and Reichswehr, but against "the Berlin Jew government and the November criminals of 1918". Dr. Karl Alexander von Mueller, a professor of modern history and political science at the
University of Munich and a supporter of Kahr, was an eyewitness. He reported
I cannot remember in my entire life such a change in the attitude of a crowd in a few minutes, almost a few seconds ... Hitler had turned them inside out, as one turns a glove inside out, with a few sentences. It had almost something of hocus-pocus, or magic about it.
Hitler ended his speech with: "Outside are Kahr, Lossow and Seisser. They are struggling hard to reach a decision. May I say to them that you will stand behind them?"
![Bundesarchiv Bild 119-1426, Hitler-Putsch, München, Odeonsplatz](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Bundesarchiv_Bild_119-1426%2C_Hitler-Putsch%2C_M%C3%BCnchen%2C_Odeonsplatz.jpg)
The crowd in the hall backed Hitler with a roar of approval. He finished triumphantly:
You can see that what motivates us is neither self-conceit nor self-interest, but only a burning desire to join the battle in this grave eleventh hour for our German Fatherland ... One last thing I can tell you. Either the German revolution begins tonight or we will all be dead by dawn!
Hitler returned to the
antechamber
A vestibule (also anteroom, antechamber, or foyer) is a small room leading into a larger space such as a lobby, entrance hall or passage, for the purpose of waiting, withholding the larger space view, reducing heat loss, providing storage space ...
, where the triumvirs remained, to ear-shattering acclaim, which the triumvirs could not have failed to notice. On his way back, he ordered Göring and Hess to take Eugen von Knilling and seven other members of the Bavarian government into custody.
During Hitler's speech, Pöhner, Weber, and Kriebel had been trying in a conciliatory fashion to bring the triumvirate round to their point of view. The atmosphere in the room had become lighter, but Kahr continued to dig in his heels. Ludendorff showed up a little before 21:00 and, being shown into the antechamber, concentrated on Lossow and Seisser, appealing to their sense of duty. Eventually, the triumvirate reluctantly gave in.
Hitler, Ludendorff, ''et al.'', returned to the main hall's podium, where they gave speeches and shook hands. The crowd was then allowed to leave the hall. In a tactical mistake, Hitler decided to leave the Bürgerbräukeller shortly thereafter to deal with a crisis elsewhere. Around 22:30, Ludendorff released Kahr and his associates.
The night was marked by confusion and unrest among government officials, armed forces, police units, and individuals deciding where their loyalties lay. Units of the ''Kampfbund'' were scurrying around to arm themselves from secret caches, and seizing buildings. At around 03:00, the first casualties of the putsch occurred when the local garrison of the ''
Reichswehr
''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...
'' spotted Röhm's men coming out of the beer hall. They were ambushed while trying to reach the ''Reichswehr'' barracks by soldiers and state police; shots were fired, but there were no fatalities on either side. Encountering heavy resistance, Röhm and his men were forced to fall back. In the meantime, the ''Reichswehr'' officers put the whole garrison on alert and called for reinforcements. Foreign attachés were seized in their hotel rooms and put under house arrest.
In the morning, Hitler ordered the seizure of the as
hostages. He further sent the communications officer of the ''Kampfbund'', , to enlist the aid of
Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria to mediate between Kahr and the putschists. Neunzert failed in the mission.
By mid-morning on 9 November, Hitler realised that the putsch was going nowhere. The putschists did not know what to do and were about to give up. At this moment, Ludendorff cried out, "Wir marschieren!" ('We will march!'). Röhm's force together with Hitler's (a total of approximately 2000 men) marched out – but with no specific destination. On the spur of the moment, Ludendorff led them to the Bavarian Defence Ministry. However, at the ''
Odeonsplatz
The Odeonsplatz is a large square in central Munich which was developed in the early 19th century by Leo von Klenze and is at the southern end of the Ludwigstraße, developed at the same time. The square is named for the former concert hall, t ...
'' in front of the ''
Feldherrnhalle
The Feldherrnhalle (Field Marshals' Hall) is a monumental loggia on the Odeonsplatz in Munich, Germany. Modelled after the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, it was commissioned in 1841 by King Ludwig I of Bavaria to honour the tradition of the ...
'', they met a force of 130 soldiers blocking the way under the command of State Police Senior Lieutenant . The two groups exchanged fire which eventually resulted in the deaths of four state police officers and 16 Nazis.
Although their defeat by the government forces forced Hitler and Ludendorff to flee Munich, it was the origin of the ''
Blutfahne
The ''Blutfahne'' (), or Blood Flag, is or was a Nazi Party swastika flag that was carried during the attempted coup d’etat Beer Hall Putsch in Munich, Germany on 9 November 1923, during which it became soaked in the blood of one of the SA m ...
'' ('blood flag'), which was stained with the blood of two SA members who were shot: the flag bearer Heinrich Trambauer, who was badly wounded, and Andreas Bauriedl, who fell dead onto the fallen flag. A bullet killed Scheubner-Richter. Göring was shot in the leg, but escaped. The rest of the Nazis scattered or were arrested. Hitler was arrested two days later.
In a description of Ludendorff's funeral at the ''Feldherrnhalle'' in 1937 (which Hitler attended but without speaking)
William L. Shirer wrote: "The World War
nehero
udendorffhad refused to have anything to do with him
itlerever since he had fled from in front of the Feldherrnhalle after the volley of bullets during the Beer Hall Putsch." However, when a consignment of papers relating to Landsberg prison (including the visitor book) were later sold at auction, it was noted that Ludendorff had visited Hitler a number of times. The case of the resurfacing papers was reported in ''
Der Spiegel
''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'' on 23 June 2006; the new information (which came out more than 30 years after Shirer wrote his book, and which Shirer did not have access to) nullifies Shirer's statement.
Counterattack
Police units were first notified of trouble by three police detectives stationed at the ''Löwenbräukeller''. These reports reached Major
Sigmund von Imhoff
Sigmund von Imhoff (30 June 1881 – 7 July 1967) was a Generalmajor in the Luftwaffe during World War II.
Biography
Wilhelm Maria Sigmund Heinrich, Freiherr von Imhoff, was born a member of the Imhoff family in Metz, Lorraine, on 30 June 1881 ...
of the state police. He immediately called all his green police units and had them seize the central telegraph office and the telephone exchange, although his most important act was to notify
Major-General Jakob von Danner, the ''
Reichswehr
''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...
'' city commandant of Munich. As a proud war hero, Danner loathed the "little corporal" and those "''
Freikorps
(, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, regar ...
'' bands of rowdies". He also did not much like his commanding officer, Generalleutnant
Otto von Lossow
Otto Hermann von Lossow (15 January 1868 – 25 November 1938) was a Bavarian Army and then German Army officer who played a prominent role in the events surrounding the attempted Beer Hall Putsch by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in November 19 ...
, "a sorry figure of a man". He was determined to put down the putsch with or without Lossow. Danner set up a command post at the 19th Infantry Regiment barracks and alerted all military units.
Meanwhile, Captain Karl Wild, learning of the putsch from marchers, mobilised his command to guard Kahr's government building, the ''Commissariat'', with orders to shoot.
Around 23:00, Major-General von Danner, along with fellow generals and
Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein, compelled Lossow to repudiate the putsch.
There was one member of the
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
who was not at the Bürgerbräukeller:
Franz Matt, the vice-premier and minister of education and culture. A staunchly conservative
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, he was having dinner with the
Archbishop of Munich
The following people were bishops, prince-bishops or archbishops of Freising or Munich and Freising in Bavaria:
Bishops of Freising
* St. Corbinian (724–730); founded the Benedictine abbey in Freising, although the diocese was not organ ...
, Cardinal
Michael von Faulhaber and with the
Nuncio to Bavaria, Archbishop Eugenio Pacelli (who would later become
Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
), when he learned of the putsch. He immediately telephoned Kahr. When he found the man vacillating and unsure, Matt made plans to set up a rump government-in-exile in
Regensburg
Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...
and composed a proclamation calling upon all police officers, members of the armed forces, and civil servants to remain loyal to the government. The action of these few men spelled doom for those attempting the putsch. The next day the archbishop and Rupprecht visited Kahr and persuaded him to repudiate Hitler.
Three thousand students from the University of Munich rioted and marched to the ''
Feldherrnhalle
The Feldherrnhalle (Field Marshals' Hall) is a monumental loggia on the Odeonsplatz in Munich, Germany. Modelled after the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence, it was commissioned in 1841 by King Ludwig I of Bavaria to honour the tradition of the ...
'' to lay wreaths. They continued to riot until 9 November, when they learned of Hitler's arrest. Kahr and Lossow were called
Judases and traitors.
Trial and prison
Two days after the putsch, Hitler was arrested and charged with
high treason in the special
People's Court.
Some of his fellow conspirators, including Rudolf Hess, were also arrested, while others, including Hermann Göring and Ernst Hanfstaengl, escaped to
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. The Nazi Party's headquarters was raided, and its newspaper, the ''
Völkischer Beobachter
The ''Völkischer Beobachter'' (; "'' Völkisch'' Observer") was the newspaper of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) from 25 December 1920. It first appeared weekly, then daily from 8 February 1923. For twenty-four years it formed part of the official pub ...
'' (''The People's Observer''), was banned. In January 1924, the
Emminger Reform The Emminger Decree or Emminger Reform (german: Emminger Verordnung, ''Lex Emminger'', or '; formally the ') was an emergency decree in the democratic Weimar Republic by Justice Minister Erich Emminger ( BVP) on 4 January 1924 that among other thing ...
, an emergency decree, abolished the
jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...
as
trier of fact and replaced it with a mixed system of
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
s and
lay judges in
Germany's judiciary.
This was not the first time Hitler had been in trouble with the law. In an incident in September 1921, he and some men of the SA had disrupted a meeting of the ''
Bayernbund'' ('Bavaria Union') which
Otto Ballerstedt
Otto Ballerstedt (1 April 1887 – ) was a German engineer, writer and politician. Ballerstedt was mainly known as leader of the secessionist Bayernbund and as a political rival of Adolf Hitler in the early days of his political career who caused ...
, a Bavarian federalist, was to have addressed, and the Nazi troublemakers were arrested as a result. Hitler ended up serving a little over a month of a three-month jail sentence. Judge
Georg Neithardt Georg Neithardt (31 January 1871 — 1 November 1941) was the district court director of the Munich People's Court in Germany's Weimar Republic. In February and March 1924, Neithardt presided over the trial of Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff, and eig ...
was the presiding judge at both of Hitler's trials.
Hitler's trial began on 26 February 1924 and lasted until 1 April 1924.
Lossow acted as chief witness for the prosecution. Hitler moderated his tone for the trial, centering his defence on his selfless devotion to the good of the people and the need for bold action to save them, dropping his usual anti-Semitism. He claimed the putsch had been his sole responsibility, inspiring the title ''
Führer
( ; , spelled or ''Fuhrer'' when the Umlaut (diacritic), umlaut is not available) is a German word meaning "leader" or "guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with the Nazi Germany, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
Nazi Germany ...
'' or 'leader'. The
lay judges were fanatically pro-Nazi and had to be dissuaded by the presiding Judge,
Georg Neithardt Georg Neithardt (31 January 1871 — 1 November 1941) was the district court director of the Munich People's Court in Germany's Weimar Republic. In February and March 1924, Neithardt presided over the trial of Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff, and eig ...
, from acquitting Hitler. Hitler and Hess were both sentenced to five years in ' ('fortress confinement') for treason. ''Festungshaft'' was the mildest of the three types of jail sentence available in German law at the time; it excluded forced labour, provided reasonably comfortable cells, and allowed the prisoner to receive visitors almost daily for many hours. This was the customary sentence for those whom the judge believed to have had honourable but misguided motives, and it did not carry the stigma of a sentence of ''Gefängnis'' (common prison) or ''Zuchthaus'' (disciplinary prison). In the end, Hitler served only a little over eight months of this sentence before his early release for good behaviour. Prison officials allegedly wanted to give Hitler deaf guards, to prevent him from persuading them to free him.
Although the trial was the first time that Hitler's oratory was insufficient, he used the trial as an opportunity to spread his ideas by giving speeches to the court room. The event was extensively covered in the newspapers the next day. The judges were impressed (Presiding Judge Neithardt was inclined to favouritism towards the defendants prior to the trial), and as a result, Hitler served a little over eight months and was fined .
Due to his story that he was present by accident, an explanation he had also used in the
Kapp Putsch
The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an attempted coup against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to undo the ...
, along with his war service and connections, Ludendorff was
acquitted. Both Röhm and
Wilhelm Frick, though found guilty, were released. Göring, meanwhile, had fled after suffering a bullet wound to his leg, which led him to become increasingly dependent on
morphine
Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...
and other painkilling drugs. This addiction continued throughout his life.
One of Hitler's greatest worries at the trial was that he was at risk of being deported back to his native Austria by the Bavarian government. The trial judge, Neithardt, was sympathetic toward Hitler and held that the relevant laws of the Weimar Republic could not be applied to a man "who thinks and feels like a German, as Hitler does." The result was that the Nazi leader remained in Germany.
Though Hitler failed to achieve his immediate goal, the putsch did give the Nazis their first national attention and
propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...
victory.
While serving their "fortress confinement" sentences at
Landsberg am Lech
Landsberg am Lech (Landsberg at the Lech) is a town in southwest Bavaria, Germany, about 65 kilometers west of Munich and 35 kilometers south of Augsburg. It is the capital of the district of Landsberg am Lech.
Overview
Landsberg is situated o ...
, Hitler,
Emil Maurice
Emil Maurice (; 19 January 1897 – 6 February 1972) was an early member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party) and a founding member of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). He was Hitler's first personal chauffeur, and was one of ...
and
Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position unt ...
wrote ''
Mein Kampf
(; ''My Struggle'' or ''My Battle'') is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germ ...
''. The putsch had changed Hitler's outlook on violent revolution to effect change. From then his ''
modus operandi
A ''modus operandi'' (often shortened to M.O.) is someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigations, but also more generally. It is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode (or manner) of op ...
'' was to do everything "strictly legal".
The process of "combination", wherein the conservative-nationalist-monarchist group thought that its members could piggyback on, and control, the National Socialist movement to garner the seats of power, was to repeat itself ten years later in 1933 when
Franz von Papen
Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, Erbsälzer zu Werl und Neuwerk (; 29 October 18792 May 1969) was a German conservative politician, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and General Staff officer. He served as the chancellor of Germany i ...
asked Hitler to form a legal coalition government.
Fatalities
Bavarian police
* Friedrich Fink
* Nikolaus Hollweg
* Max Schobert
* Rudolf Schraut
Putschists
![Reichsparteitagnov1935](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Reichsparteitagnov1935.jpg)
The 16 deceased are listed in Hitler's dedication to ''Mein Kampf''.
* Felix Allfarth, merchant, born 5 July 1901 in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
. Alfarth had studied merchandising at the
Siemens-Schuckert Works and moved to Munich in 1923 to begin his career.
* Andreas Bauriedl, hatter, born 4 May 1879 in
Aschaffenburg. Bauriedl was hit in the abdomen, killing him and causing him to fall on the Nazi flag, which had fallen to the ground when its flagbearer, Heinrich Trambauer, was severely wounded. Bauriedl's blood-soaked flag later became the Nazi relic known as the ''
Blutfahne
The ''Blutfahne'' (), or Blood Flag, is or was a Nazi Party swastika flag that was carried during the attempted coup d’etat Beer Hall Putsch in Munich, Germany on 9 November 1923, during which it became soaked in the blood of one of the SA m ...
''.
* Theodor Casella, bank clerk, born 8 August 1900.
* Wilhelm Ehrlich, bank clerk, born 8 August 1894.
* Martin Faust, bank clerk, born 4 January 1901.
* Anton Hechenberger, locksmith, born 28 September 1902.
* Oskar Körner, businessman, born 4 January 1875 in
Ober-Peilau.
* Karl Kuhn, head waiter in a restaurant, born 7 July 1875.
* Karl Laforce, engineering student, born 28 October 1904; the youngest to die in the putsch.
* Kurt Neubauer, valet, born 27 March 1899 in Hopfengarten, Kreis Bernberg.
* Klaus von Pape, businessman, born 16 August 1904 in
Oschatz
Oschatz () is a town in the district Nordsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is located 60 km east of Leipzig and 60 km west of Dresden.
Geography
Site and climate
Oschatz lies in the Saxon Lowland and is located on the river Döllni ...
.
* Theodor von der Pfordten, county court counsel, who had fought in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
; born 14 May 1873 in
Bayreuth
Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...
; the eldest to die in the putsch.
* Johann Rickmers, retired cavalry captain who had fought in World War I; born 7 May 1881 in
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
.
*
Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richter, Nazi leader, born 21 January 1884 in
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
.
* Lorenz Ritter von Stransky-Griffenfeld, engineer, born 14 March 1889.
* Wilhelm Wolf, businessman, born 19 October 1898.
Scheubner-Richter was walking arm-in-arm with Hitler during the putsch; he was shot in the lungs and died instantly. He brought Hitler down and dislocated Hitler's shoulder when he fell. He was the only significant Nazi leader to die during the putsch. Of all the party members who died in the putsch, Hitler claimed Scheubner-Richter to be the only "irreplaceable loss".
According to
Ernst Röhm
Ernst Julius Günther Röhm (; 28 November 1887 – 1 July 1934) was a German military officer and an early member of the Nazi Party. As one of the members of its predecessor, the German Workers' Party, he was a close friend and early ally ...
, Martin Faust and Theodor Casella, both members of the armed militia organisation ''Reichskriegsflagge'', were shot down accidentally in a burst of machine gun fire during the occupation of the War Ministry as the result of a misunderstanding with II/Infantry Regiment 19.
Legacy
![Bundesarchiv Bild 183-S22310, München, Königsplatz, Ehrentempel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-S22310%2C_M%C3%BCnchen%2C_K%C3%B6nigsplatz%2C_Ehrentempel.jpg)
The 16 fallen insurgents were regarded as the first "blood martyrs" of the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
and were remembered by Hitler in the foreword of ''
Mein Kampf
(; ''My Struggle'' or ''My Battle'') is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germ ...
''. The Nazi flag they carried, which in the course of events had been stained with blood, came to be known as the ''
Blutfahne
The ''Blutfahne'' (), or Blood Flag, is or was a Nazi Party swastika flag that was carried during the attempted coup d’etat Beer Hall Putsch in Munich, Germany on 9 November 1923, during which it became soaked in the blood of one of the SA m ...
'' ('blood flag') and was brought out for the swearing-in of new recruits in front of the ''Feldherrnhalle'' when Hitler was in power.
Shortly after he came to power, a memorial was placed at the south side of the ''Feldherrnhalle'' crowned with a
swastika
The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...
. The back of the memorial read ''Und ihr habt doch gesiegt!'' ('And you triumphed nevertheless!'). Behind it flowers were laid, and either policemen or the SS stood guard between a lower plaque. Passers-by were required to give the
Nazi salute. The putsch was also commemorated on three sets of stamps. ''Mein Kampf'' was dedicated to the fallen and, in the book ''Ich Kämpfe'' (given to those joining the party c. 1943), they are listed first even though the book lists hundreds of other dead. The header text in the book read "Though they are dead for their acts they will live on forever." The army had a division named the Feldherrnhalle Regiment, and there was also an SA Feldherrnhalle Division.
''Der neunte Elfte'' (9 November, literally 'the ninth of the eleventh') became one of the most important dates on the Nazi calendar, especially following the seizure of power in 1933. Annually until the fall of Nazi Germany, the putsch would be commemorated nationwide, with the major events taking place in Munich. On the night of 8 November, Hitler would address the ''
Alte Kämpfer
Alte is a village and civil parish in the municipality of Loulé, in the Algarve region in the south of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 1,997, in an area of 94.33 km².
Situated away from the coast, Alte is known as one of the most typi ...
'' ('Old Fighters') in the
Bürgerbräukeller
The Bürgerbräukeller (; "citizen brew cellar") was a large beer hall in Munich, Germany. Opened in 1885, it was one of the largest beer halls of the Bürgerliches Brauhaus. After Bürgerliches merged with Löwenbräu in 1921, the hall was tra ...
(after 1939, the
Löwenbräu, in 1944 in the
Circus Krone Building
Circus Krone Building refers to three circus buildings that have, and currently exist at the same location on the Marsstraße in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, Germany. These buildings consist of the original Circus Krone Building, its tempor ...
), followed the next day by a re-enactment of the march through the streets of Munich. The event would climax with a ceremony recalling the 16 dead marchers on the
Königsplatz.
The anniversary
The Anniversary is an American band formed in Lawrence, Kansas, in 1997 by Josh Berwanger, James David, Christian Jankowski, Adrianne Verhoeven and Justin Roelofs. The Anniversary was the solidification of a line-up that had been in flux for a ...
could be a time of tension in Nazi Germany. The ceremony was cancelled in 1934, coming as it did after the so-called
Night of the Long Knives. In 1938, it coincided with the ''
Kristallnacht'', and in 1939 with the attempted assassination of Hitler by
Johann Georg Elser
Johann Georg Elser (; 4 January 1903 – 9 April 1945) was a German worker who planned and carried out an elaborate assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler and other high-ranking Nazi leaders on 8 November 1939 at the Bürgerbräukeller in ...
. With the outbreak of war in 1939, security concerns caused the re-enactment of the march to be suspended, never to be resumed. However, Hitler continued to deliver his 8 November speech through 1943. In 1944, Hitler skipped the event and
Heinrich Himmler spoke in his place. As the war went on, residents of Munich came increasingly to dread the approach of the anniversary, concerned that the presence of the top Nazi leaders in their city would act as a magnet for Allied bombers.
Every
Gau (administrative region of Germany) was also expected to hold a small remembrance ceremony. As material given to propagandists said, the 16 fallen were the first losses and the ceremony was an occasion to commemorate everyone who had died for the movement.
On 9 November 1935, the dead were taken from their graves and to the ''Feldherrnhalle''. The SA and SS carried them down to the ''Königsplatz'', where two ''
Ehrentempel'' ('honour temples') had been constructed. In each of the structures eight of the dead Nazis were interred in a sarcophagus bearing their name.
In June 1945 the
Allied Commission
Following the termination of hostilities in World War II, the Allies were in control of the defeated Axis countries. Anticipating the defeat of Germany and Japan, they had already set up the European Advisory Commission and a proposed Far Easter ...
removed the bodies from the Ehrentempels and contacted their families. They were given the option of having their loved ones buried in Munich cemeteries in unmarked graves or having them
cremated
Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...
, common practice in Germany for unclaimed bodies. On 9 January 1947, the upper parts of the structures were blown up.
Since 1994, a commemorative plaque embedded in the pavement in front of the ''Feldherrnhalle'' contains the names of the four Bavarian policemen who died in the fight against the Nazis. The plaque reads:
In popular culture
A paraphrased part of Hitler's speech to the court (narrated by actor
Chris Barrie
Chris Barrie (born Christopher Jonathan Brown, 28 March 1960) is a British actor, comedian, and impressionist. He worked as a vocal impressionist on the ITV sketch show ''Spitting Image'' (1984–1996) and as Lara Croft's butler Hillary in the ...
) was featured in the extended version of the 1984
anti-war song
Some anti-war movement, anti-war songs lament aspects of wars, while others satirize war. Most promote peace in some form, while others sing out against specific armed conflicts. Still others depict the physical and psychological destruction that ...
"
Two Tribes" by the British band
Frankie Goes to Hollywood: ''"You may pronounce us guilty a thousand times over, but the Goddess of the Eternal Court of History will smile and tear to tatters the brief of the State Prosecutor and the sentence of this court, for She acquits us."''
Supporters of the Putsch
Key supporters
*
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
*
Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position unt ...
*
Hermann Göring
*
Alfred Rosenberg
*
Erich Ludendorff
Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general, politician and military theorist. He achieved fame during World War I for his central role in the German victories at Liège and Tannenberg in 1914. ...
*
Ernst Röhm
Ernst Julius Günther Röhm (; 28 November 1887 – 1 July 1934) was a German military officer and an early member of the Nazi Party. As one of the members of its predecessor, the German Workers' Party, he was a close friend and early ally ...
*
Julius Streicher
Julius Streicher (12 February 1885 – 16 October 1946) was a member of the Nazi Party, the ''Gauleiter'' (regional leader) of Franconia and a member of the '' Reichstag'', the national legislature. He was the founder and publisher of the virul ...
*
Hermann Kriebel
Hermann Kriebel (20 January 1876 in Germersheim – 16 February 1941 in Munich) was a lieutenant colonel and former Bavarian staff officer.
Life
He fought with the Freikorps during the German Revolution of 1918–19. As a member of the ...
*
Friedrich Weber
*
Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richter
*
Ulrich Graf
Ulrich Graf (6 July 1878 – 3 March 1950) was an early member of the Nazi Party and one of Adolf Hitler's inner circle. In 1923, he served in a bodyguard unit for Hitler and was wounded in the Beer Hall Putsch. He was a long serving member of ...
*
Hermann Esser
Hermann Esser (29 July 1900 – 7 February 1981) was an early member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP). A journalist, Esser was the editor of the Nazi paper, ''Völkischer Beobachter'', a Propaganda Leader, and a Vice President of the Reichstag. In the ...
*
Ernst Hanfstaengl
*
Gottfried Feder
*
Joseph Berchtold
*
Ernst Pöhner
Ernst Pöhner (11 January 1870, Hof, Bavaria – 11 April 1925) was Munich's Chief of Police ('Green' Police President) from 1919 to 1922. A vigorous anti-Semitic and anti-communist (he attempted, for example, to have ''Ostjuden'' or "Eastern J ...
*
Emil Maurice
Emil Maurice (; 19 January 1897 – 6 February 1972) was an early member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party) and a founding member of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). He was Hitler's first personal chauffeur, and was one of ...
*
Max Amann
Max Amann (24 November 1891 – 30 March 1957) was a high-ranking member of the Nazi Party, a German politician, businessman and art collector, including of looted art. He was the first business manager of the Nazi Party and later became the hea ...
*
Heinz Pernet
*
Wilhelm Brückner
Wilhelm Brückner (Wilhelm Van Marchena Brücknerhttps://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/182324026/person/222434993877/facts 11 December 1884 – 18 August 1954) was Adolf Hitler's chief adjutant until October 1940. Thereafter, Brück ...
*
Lt. Robert Wagner
Other notable supporters
*
Heinrich Himmler
*
Edmund Heines
*
Gerhard Roßbach
*
Hans Frank
Hans Michael Frank (23 May 1900 – 16 October 1946) was a German politician and lawyer who served as head of the General Government in Nazi-occupied Poland during the Second World War.
Frank was an early member of the German Workers' Party ...
*
Julius Schaub
Julius Schaub (20 August 1898 – 27 December 1967) was the chief aide and adjutant to German dictator Adolf Hitler until the dictator's suicide on 30 April 1945.
Born in 1898 in Munich, Bavaria, Schaub served as a field medic during World W ...
*
Walther Hewel
Walther Hewel (25 March 1904 – 2 May 1945) was a German diplomat before and during World War II, an early and active member of the Nazi Party, and one of German dictator Adolf Hitler's personal friends.
Early life
Hewel was born in 1904 t ...
*
Dietrich Eckart
*
Wilhelm Frick
*
Julius Schreck
*
Josef 'Sepp' Dietrich
*
Philipp Bouhler
Philipp Bouhler (11 September 1899 – 19 May 1945) was a German senior Nazi Party functionary who was both a (National Leader) and Chief of the Chancellery of the Führer of the NSDAP. He was also the SS official responsible for the euthanas ...
*
Franz Pfeffer von Salomon
Franz Pfeffer von Salomon (19 February 1888 – 12 April 1968) during the Nazi regime known as Franz von Pfeffer, was the first Supreme Leader of the '' Sturmabteilung'' (SA) after its re-establishment in 1925. Pfeffer resigned from his SA comman ...
*
Gustav Adolf Lenk
Gustav Adolf Lenk (October 15, 1903 – 1987) was a German political activist. Lenk was the founder of the Youth League of the Nazi Party, the predecessor of the Hitler Youth.
Early life
Lenk was a trained piano polisher. On September 12, 1920, Le ...
*
Gregor Strasser
* Hans Kallenbach
*
Ernst Rüdiger Starhemberg
Prince Ernst Rüdiger Camillo von Starhemberg, often known simply as Prince Starhemberg, (Eferding, 10 May 1899 – Schruns, 15 March 1956) was an Austrian nationalist and politician who helped introduce austrofascism and install a clerical fas ...
*
Adolf Wagner
*
Jakob Grimminger
Jakob Grimminger (25 April 1892 – 28 January 1969) was a German Nazi Party and Schutzstaffel (SS) member. As the official standard-bearer of the ''Blutfahne'', an iconic flag of the Nazi movement that had become bloodstained during the Munich P ...
* Heinrich Trambauer
* Karl Beggel
*
Rudolf Jung
*
Rudolf Buttmann
*
Albrecht von Graefe
*
Hans Ulrich Klintzsch
Johann "Hans" Ulrich Klintzsch (4 November 1898 in Lübbenau – 17 August 1959 in Hamburg) was a naval lieutenant from the Erhardt Brigade who later served as '' Oberster SA-Führer'', the supreme commander of the '' Sturmabteilung'' (SA), from ...
*
Heinrich Hoffmann Heinrich Hoffmann or Hoffman may refer to:
Hoffmann
* Heinrich Hoffmann (photographer) (1885–1957), German photographer
*Heinrich Hoffmann (author) (1809–1894), German psychiatrist and author
* Heinrich Hoffmann (sport shooter) (1869–?), Germ ...
* Josef Gerum
*
Capt. Eduard Dietl
* Hans Georg Hofmann
* Matthaeus Hofmann
* Helmut Klotz
*
Adolf Hühnlein
Adolf Hühnlein (12 September 1881 – 18 June 1942) was a German soldier and Nazi Party (NSDAP) official. He was the ''Korpsführer'' (Corps Leader) of the National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK) from 1933 until his death in 1942.
Early years
Hü ...
* Max Neunzert
* Michael Ried
*
Karl Fischer von Treuenfeld
Karl Freiherr von Fischer-Treuenfeld (31 March 1885 – 7 June 1946) was a German Waffen-SS commander. A brigade commander during the Nazi era, during the invasion of the Soviet Union, he commanded the 2 SS Infantry Brigade and the 1 SS Infant ...
*
Theodor Oberländer
Theodor Oberländer (1 May 1905 – 4 May 1998) was an Ostforschung scientist and German Nazi official and politician, who after the Second World War served as Federal Minister for Displaced Persons, Refugees and Victims of War in West Germany ...
*
Eleonore Baur
Eleonore Baur (7 September 1885 – 18 May 1981), also known as Sister Pia, was a senior Nazi Party figure and the only woman known to have participated in the Munich Beer Hall Putsch.''The Adelaide Advertiser'', "Pioneer Nazi", 2 September ...
At the front of the march
In the vanguard were four flag bearers followed by Adolf Lenk and
Kurt Neubauer
The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch,Dan Moorhouse, ed schoolshistory.org.uk, accessed 2008-05-31.Known in German as the or was a failed coup d'état by Nazi Party ( or NSDAP) leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and othe ...
, Ludendorff's servant. Behind those two came more flag bearers, then the leadership in two rows.
Hitler was in the centre,
slouch hat in hand, the collar of his
trenchcoat
A trench coat or trenchcoat is a variety of coat made of waterproof heavy-duty fabric, originally developed for British Army officers before the First World War, and becoming popular while used in the trenches.
Originally made from gabardine, ...
turned up against the cold. To his left, in civilian clothes, a green felt hat, and a loose
loden coat, was Ludendorff. To Hitler's right was
Scheubner-Richter. To his right came Alfred Rosenberg. On either side of these men were Ulrich Graf,
Hermann Kriebel
Hermann Kriebel (20 January 1876 in Germersheim – 16 February 1941 in Munich) was a lieutenant colonel and former Bavarian staff officer.
Life
He fought with the Freikorps during the German Revolution of 1918–19. As a member of the ...
,
Friedrich Weber,
Julius Streicher
Julius Streicher (12 February 1885 – 16 October 1946) was a member of the Nazi Party, the ''Gauleiter'' (regional leader) of Franconia and a member of the '' Reichstag'', the national legislature. He was the founder and publisher of the virul ...
,
Hermann Göring, and
Wilhelm Brückner
Wilhelm Brückner (Wilhelm Van Marchena Brücknerhttps://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/182324026/person/222434993877/facts 11 December 1884 – 18 August 1954) was Adolf Hitler's chief adjutant until October 1940. Thereafter, Brück ...
.
Behind these came the second string of
Heinz Pernet, Johann Aigner (Scheubner-Richter's servant),
Gottfried Feder,
Theodor von der Pfordten,
Wilhelm Kolb
Wilhelm may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm"
* Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname
Other uses
* Mount ...
,
Rolf Reiner Rolf is a male given name and a surname. It originates in the Germanic name ''Hrolf'', itself a contraction of ''Hrodwulf'' ( Rudolf), a conjunction of the stem words ''hrod'' ("renown") + ''wulf'' ("wolf"). The Old Norse cognate is ''Hrólfr''. A ...
,
Hans Streck
Hans may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People
* Hans (name), a masculine given name
* Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician
** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans
** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi a ...
, and
Heinrich Bennecke Heinrich may refer to:
People
* Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
*Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...
, Brückner's adjutant.
Behind this row marched the ''
Stoßtrupp-Hitler
Stoßtrupp-Hitler or Stosstrupp-Hitler ("Shock Troop-Hitler") was a small, short-lived bodyguard unit set up specifically for Adolf Hitler in 1923. Notable members included Rudolf Hess, Julius Schreck, Joseph Berchtold, Emil Maurice, Erhard Heid ...
'', the SA, the Infantry School, and the ''
Oberländer Oberlander or Oberländer is a German surname, and may refer to:
People
*Adolf Oberländer (1845-1923), German caricaturist
*Andy Oberlander (1905-1968), American football player
*Cornelia Oberlander (1921–2021), Canadian landscape architect
*Do ...
''.
Chief defendants in the "Ludendorff–Hitler" trial
*
Wilhelm Brückner
Wilhelm Brückner (Wilhelm Van Marchena Brücknerhttps://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/182324026/person/222434993877/facts 11 December 1884 – 18 August 1954) was Adolf Hitler's chief adjutant until October 1940. Thereafter, Brück ...
*
Wilhelm Frick
*
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
*
Hermann Kriebel
Hermann Kriebel (20 January 1876 in Germersheim – 16 February 1941 in Munich) was a lieutenant colonel and former Bavarian staff officer.
Life
He fought with the Freikorps during the German Revolution of 1918–19. As a member of the ...
*
Erich Ludendorff
Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general, politician and military theorist. He achieved fame during World War I for his central role in the German victories at Liège and Tannenberg in 1914. ...
*
Heinz Pernet
*
Ernst Röhm
Ernst Julius Günther Röhm (; 28 November 1887 – 1 July 1934) was a German military officer and an early member of the Nazi Party. As one of the members of its predecessor, the German Workers' Party, he was a close friend and early ally ...
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Lt. Robert Wagner
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Friedrich Weber
See also
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2022 German coup d'état plot
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On 7 December 2022, 25 members of a suspected far-right terrorist group were arrested for allegedly planning a coup d'état in Germany. The group, called (german: link=no, Patriotische Union), which was led by a Council (german: link=no, Rat ...
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Bavarian Soviet Republic
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Blood Order
The Blood Order (german: Blutorden), officially known as the "Decoration in Memory (of the Munich putsch) of 9 November 1923" (), was one of the most prestigious decorations in the Nazi Party (NSDAP). During March 1934, Hitler authorized the Bl ...
– A commemorative award given to participants
* ''
Blutfahne
The ''Blutfahne'' (), or Blood Flag, is or was a Nazi Party swastika flag that was carried during the attempted coup d’etat Beer Hall Putsch in Munich, Germany on 9 November 1923, during which it became soaked in the blood of one of the SA m ...
''
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German October
The term German October describes the plan of the Executive Committee of the Communist International (ECCI), to exploit the state crisis of the Weimar Republic which reached its apex in 1923 and attempt a communist revolution in Germany. Following ...
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German Revolution
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
*
Hamburg Uprising
The Hamburg Uprising (german: Hamburger Aufstand) was an insurrection during the Weimar Republic in Germany as part of the so-called German October communist revolution attempt. It was started on 23 October 1923 by one of the most militant sect ...
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Kapp Putsch
The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an attempted coup against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to undo the ...
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March Action
The March Action (German "März Aktion" or "Märzkämpfe in Mitteldeutschland," i.e. "The March battles in Central Germany") was a 1921 failed Communist uprising, led by the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), the Communist Workers' Party of Germa ...
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Early Nazism timeline
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Spartacist Uprising
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Weimar Republic timeline
This Weimar Timeline charts the chronology of the Weimar Republic, dating the pre-history before the adoption of the actual Weimar constitution. This timeline stops when Hitler establishes the Third Reich.
The timeline is color-coded:
*Black: Norm ...
* People given posthumous fame by the Nazis:
**
Wilhelm Gustloff
Wilhelm Gustloff (30 January 1895 – 4 February 1936) was the founder of the Swiss NSDAP/AO (the Nazi Party organisation for German citizens living outside Germany) at Davos. He remained its leader from 1932 until he was assassinated in 193 ...
**
Horst Wessel
**
Herbert Norkus
Herbert Norkus (26 July 1916 – 24 January 1932) was a Hitler Youth member who was killed by German Communists. He became a role model and martyr for the Hitler Youth and was widely used in Nazi propaganda, most prominently as the subject of ...
References
Informational notes
Citations
Bibliography
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* Dornberg, John (1982). ''Munich 1923: The Story of Hitler's First Grab for Power''. New York: Harper & Row.
*
* Gordon, Harold J., Jr. (1972). ''Hitler and the Beer Hall Putsch''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
* Gordon, Harold J., Jr. (1976). ''The Hitler Trial Before the People's Court in Munich''. University Publications of America.
*
*
* Large, David Clay (1997). ''Where Ghosts Walked, Munich's Road to the Third Reich''. New York: W.W. Norton.
*
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Snyder, Louis Leo (1961). ''Hitler and Nazism''. New York: Franklin Watts.
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External links
Map of Europe at time of Beer Hall Putschat omniatlas.com
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ttp://www.thirdreichruins.com/munich3.htm "Munich: Part 3 – Nazi Party Buildings on the Königsplatz''Third Reich in Ruins''
{{Authority control
Rebellions in Germany
Adolf Hitler
Attempted coups in Germany
1920s coups d'état and coup attempts
Conflicts in 1923
1923 in Germany
1924 in Germany
Military operations involving Germany
November 1923 events in Europe
1920s in Munich
Fascist revolts