The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch,Dan Moorhouse, ed. The Munich Putsch. , schoolshistory.org.uk, accessed 2008-05-31.Meaning "beer hall coup" or "Munich coup"; also known in German as the or was a failed coup d'état led by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, General Erich Ludendorff, and other leaders in Munich, Bavaria, on , during the Weimar Republic. Inspired by Benito Mussolini's March on Rome, Hitler's goal was to use Munich as a base for a march against Germany's national government in Berlin.
The putsch began on the evening of 8 November, when Hitler and a contingent of approximately 600 (SA) members marched on the beer hall Bürgerbräukeller, where Gustav Ritter von Kahr — the Minister-President of Bavaria who had banned some of Hitler's previous planned gatherings — was delivering a speech. As the SA surrounded the hall, Hitler entered, fired a shot into the ceiling, and claimed that the Bavarian government had been overthrown and that the national revolution had begun. The following day, approximately two thousand Nazis marched on the , in the city centre, but were confronted by a police cordon, which resulted in the deaths of fifteen Nazis, four police officers, and one bystander. Hitler escaped immediate arrest and was spirited off to safety in the countryside. After two days, he was arrested and charged with treason.
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. Hitler was found guilty of treason and sentenced to five years in Landsberg Prison,Hitler's ("fortress confinement"). Hitler's sentence was to be served in the mildest form of incarceration under German law. where he dictated to fellow prisoners Emil Maurice and Rudolf Hess. On 20 December 1924, having served only nine 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 toward obtaining power through legal means rather than revolution or force, and accordingly changed his tactics, further developing Nazi propaganda.Claudia Koonz, The Nazi Conscience, p. 24, .
Background In the early 20th century, many of the larger cities of southern Germany had beer halls, 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, which ended World War I, 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, 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, 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, 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.Sayers, Michael and Kahnn, Albert E. (1945), The Plot Against the Peace. Dial Press. By agreement, Hitler assumed the political leadership of a number of Bavarian revanchist "patriotic associations", called the . This political base extended to include about 15,000 members of the (SA, literally "Storm Detachment"), the paramilitary wing of the NSDAP.
On 26 September 1923, following a period of terror and political violence, Bavarian Prime Minister declared a state of emergency, and Gustav Ritter von Kahr was appointed ("state commissioner"), with dictatorial powers to govern the state. Along with , 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 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
The putsch was inspired by Benito Mussolini's successful March on Rome. 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 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, where Kahr was making a speech in front of 3,000 people.Piers Brendon, The Dark Valley: A Panorama of the 1930s, p. 36,
On the evening of 8 November 1923, 603 SA surrounded the beer hall and a machine gun was set up in the auditorium. Hitler, surrounded by his associates Hermann Göring, Alfred Rosenberg, Rudolf Hess, Ernst Hanfstaengl, Ulrich Graf, Johann Aigner, Adolf Lenk, Max Amann, Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richter, Wilhelm Adam, 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 putschPiers Brendon, The Dark Valley: A Panorama of the 1930s, pp. 36–37 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 Aigner 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 to Ernst Röhm, who was waiting with his Bund Reichskriegsflagge in the Löwenbräukeller, 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, Friedrich Weber, and Hermann Kriebel to stand in for him while he returned to the auditorium flanked by Rudolf Hess 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 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München 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?"
The crowd in the hall backed Hitler with a roar of approval. He finished: 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, Ludendorff, et al., returned to the main hall's podium, where they gave speeches and shook hands. Kahr spoke first, announcing to applause that he had agreed to serve Bavaria as regent for the monarchy. Hitler declared that he would direct the policy of the new Reich government, and clasped Kahr's hand. 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 Bund Oberland, under the command of Max Ritter von Müller, was sent to seize weapons from the Army Engineer Barracks under the pretence of performing training manoeuvres. Oskar Cantzler, captain of the 1st company of the 7th Engineer Battalion, did not believe them but allowed them to perform the manoeuvres inside the building. He locked the building with the 400 men inside and positioned two machine guns at the entrance. Hitler attempted to have the men released, but Cantzler refused. Hitler considered using artillery to destroy the building, but chose not to.
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. Around 03:00, the first casualties of the putsch occurred when the local garrison of the Reichswehr 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.
In the morning, Hitler ordered the seizure of the as hostages.
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 in front of the Feldherrnhalle, they met a force of 130 soldiers blocking the way under the command of State Police Senior Lieutenant . The two groups exchanged fire, which resulted in the deaths of 16 Nazis, four police officers, and one bystander.