Beer putsch
9 November 1923, Adolf Hitler and his supporters attempted a coup in Munich. The events began in the premises of a huge beer hall - the Munich-based Burgerbraukeller, where Gustav von Kara, a member of the Bavarian government, held a speech and local high-ranking officials gathered. Therefore, this uprising entered into history "Beer putsch". The speech was crushed, but it glorified Hitler and became his ticket to big-time politics. All German newspapers wrote about the leader of the German nationalists, his portraits were placed by the weeklies. The popularity of the Nazi Party has seriously grown. The term of Hitler for the attempted coup d'état received a minimum - 5 years, but in fact he was in prison only eight months, writing his work “My Struggle” in prison. Already in 1933, Hitler came to power in a completely legal way, his party won a majority in the Reichstag elections, which allowed him to head the government.
By the fall of 1923, Germany was in permanent crisis. During this period, he was aggravated by the occupation of the French-Belgian troops of the Ruhr region. The Versailles Treaty of 1919, Germany, was obligated to pay reparations to the victorious powers. Paris insisted on the unconditional implementation of the provisions of the treaty and did not make compromises, upholding the principle - "the Germans must pay for everything." In case of arrears of reparations, French troops entered the unoccupied German territories several times. In the 1922 year, due to the worsening economic situation in Germany, the Allies refused to make cash payments, replacing them with goods (steel, coal, wood, etc.). In January, 1923, accusing Berlin of deliberately delaying supplies, Paris sent troops into the Ruhr region. And Paris began to achieve the assignment of Rhineland and Ruru status, similar to the status of the Saar region, where the membership of the Weimar Republic was only of a formal nature, and the real power was in the hands of the French. This caused a wave of anger in Germany. The government has called on the population to "passive resistance." The payment of reparations was finally curtailed, the bureaucratic apparatus, industry and transport were swept by a general strike. There were also attacks on invaders, the French responded with punitive raids. Dozens of people died.
The Ruhr crisis and the humiliation of Germany, economic difficulties, hyperinflation caused an increase in left-wing and right-wing sentiment. At the same time separatist sentiments intensified. The separatists hoped that the separation from the lands of the Weimar Republic would help ease the burden of reparation payments or refuse them altogether, to overcome the economic crisis. Thus, the rightist separatist conservatives who were in power in Bavaria wanted to separate their land from the republic and restore the pre-revolutionary Bavarian monarchy of the Wittelsbachs. This genus ruled Bavaria from the end of the 12th century to the end of the First World War. The leader of the right and the head of the government of Bavaria, Gustav von Kar, introduced a state of emergency in Bavaria and refused to comply with a number of regulations of the Social Democratic government in Berlin.
The Nazis went into a tactical alliance with the Bavarian separatists. They planned to use the separatist sentiments in Bavaria to express themselves on a German-wide scale. Hitler was inspired by the example of a march on Rome to Mussolini 27-30 in October 1922, when the National Fascist party became the ruling party, and Benito Mussolini was able to lead and form a government. The Nazis wanted to use Bavaria as a springboard for the march on Berlin. Back in early September, 1923 in Nuremberg, with the participation of one of the heroes of the First World War, General Erich Ludendorff, established the German Wrestling Union, which was led by Hitler. This organization united around the NSDAP a number of nationalist and paramilitary groups, and aimed at creating a strong centralized state. In the autumn of 1923, the National Socialist German Workers Party consisted of more than 50 thousand people, most of whom lived in Bavaria. Therefore, in Bavaria, the NSDAP was a serious force. The Nazi party also had its own military force assault detachments (German: Sturmabteilung, abbreviated as SA), which at that time consisted of 13 infantry, as well as a guard, motorcycle and bicycle mouth.
Meanwhile, the conflict between Berlin and Munich gained momentum. The Bavarian authorities refused to comply with the order to detain three popular leaders of the armed formations and to close the “Public Observer” (NSDAP body). On October 18, the commander of the Bavarian Military District, General Otto von Lossow, refused to obey orders of the Reich Minister of Defense, General Otto Gessler. He was removed from office. After that, the Bavarian government reassigned itself to the Reichswehr division stationed in Bavaria. In fact, it was a rebellion. However, the leaders of Bavaria, bumping into the firm position of the Berlin General Staff and the head of the land forces of the Reichswehr Hans von Sect, slowed down. Hitler was informed that for the time being it was impossible to speak openly against Berlin.
Hitler decided it was time to take the initiative. He wanted to seize power in Bavaria into his own hands, taking advantage of the discontent of the Reichswehr soldiers with the separatism of Munich, the general weakness of the Bavarian and all-German power. Hitler was counting on the mass support of the adherents of the “national idea,” especially given that General Erich Ludendorff would be on his side. The general was the hero of capture Liege, the occupation of this strong fortress allowed the German army to develop the offensive. Ludendorff and Hindenburg conducted a successful operation to defeat the Russian troops in East Prussia. In the postwar years, the general became one of the founders of the theory of "stab in the back." According to this theory, the German army emerged undefeated out of the war, but received a "stab in the back" from the Social Democratic opposition and Jewry. Ludendorff accused the politicians of the Weimar Republic in the absence of a national spirit and eventually began to support the NSDAP. Hitler was one of those few politicians whom the general respected during this period.
In the evening of November 8, 1923, a large number of people gathered around the Burgerbraukeller, about 3 thousand people, and a meeting of Bavarian conservatives with Kara took place here. The leaders of the local military forces were also present - the commander of the armed forces of Bavaria von Loss, the head of the Bavarian police, Colonel Hans von Zeiser. By order of Hitler, several hundred attack aircraft surrounded the building, installed machine guns on the street, aiming them at the entrance doors. Hitler in 20: 45 at the head of the detachment broke into the building, drove Kara off the stage, shot the gun from the ceiling and shouted in the ensuing silence: “The national revolution has begun!” Then he gave a brief speech, actually blackmailing those present. The Fuhrer said that the building is surrounded and promised to install a machine gun in the hall if they do not listen to it. Hitler said that the Bavarian government and the government of the republic were deposed, a provisional Reich government was established, the Reichswehr barracks and the land police had been seized, the Reichswehr and the land police had gone over to their side. Von Kar, von Lossow and von Seisser were isolated, and Hitler with a pistol urged them to enter the new government. However, they doubted. Only the appearance in the Ludendorff beer hall, which joined the coup, forced Lossow and Saisser to agree to join the march on Berlin. Von Kar was proclaimed regent of Bavaria. Ludendorff was appointed head of the German armed forces, Hitler was to become Chancellor.
The first stage of the coup was very successful. But then Hitler and Ludendorff made a big mistake. They believed that Kar, Lossow and Zeisser are now their people and they are in the same boat. The main fault was Ludendorff, who was more versed in military affairs than in politics. Kar, Lossow and Saisser and other members of the Bavarian government asked to go home, giving Ludendorff an "honest officer's word" that they would support the march on Berlin. In the general victorious euphoria, they were believed and released. This led to defeat, even before the march on Berlin. And Hitler was more far-sighted and immediately realized that Ludendorff made a grave mistake.
Kar immediately transferred the government to Regensburg and issued a proclamation, where he refused all promises made "at the barrel of pistols" and announced the dissolution of the National Socialist Party and the assault detachments. The commander-in-chief of the Reichswehr, General Hans von Sect, promised that if the Bavarians could not cope with the insurgency themselves, he promised to transfer troops from other lands. The Bavarian leaders arrived at the Reichswehr barracks and the troops occupied all the strategic points of Munich. At night, attack aircraft under the command of Ernst Röhm occupied the headquarters of the ground forces, but were blocked by regular troops.
The rebels issued an "Appeal to the German people", which announced the overthrow of the regime of the November criminals (in November 1918, Germany signed the Compiegne truce, which led to the defeat of the empire in the First World War) and the creation of a national government. But this could not change the situation. The strategic initiative has been lost. Ludendorff, trying to regain the initiative, offered to take the center of the city, hoping that his authority would help to win over the representatives of the army and the police to the side of the Nazis.
At 11 on the morning of November 9, the Nazis began their march to the city center on Marienplatz. At the head of the column are Hitler, Ludendorff, Hermann Goering, and the chief editor of the Sturmovik newspaper, Julius Streicher. At the Odeon Square, near the “Feldkhernhalle” (“Hall of Heroes”) a procession was met by a police squad. Hitler called on the police to go to their sides, but was refused. The first shots rang out, and then a friendly salvo. Who started shooting first is unknown. Several policemen died and were injured. Xnumx coup were killed on the spot, dozens were injured. Goering was seriously wounded by two bullets in the upper part of the right thigh. He almost died from this wound, dirt got into it, which caused infection. Hitler and Ludendorff saved the front-line experience, they rushed to the ground. Ludendorff’s guard and many of Hitler’s comrades in this group were killed or wounded. The comrades immediately brought Hitler out of the crowd and took him away. The Nazis did not expect such fierce repulse, and the demonstration was scattered. Soon capitulated and surrounded by Rom.
It was a defeat. Goering and several other activists were able to take to Austria, and Hitler and Hess were arrested. Ludendorff was detained immediately, he did not try to hide. So inglorious was the result of the “beer putsch”. The Nazi leaders clearly overestimated their influence on the people, and the value of the hero, General Ludendorff, hoping that one name of the popular general would attract rebel soldiers and policemen to the side. In addition, Hitler and Ludendorff underestimated the abilities of the Bavarian leadership - Cara, Lossova and others who did not want to give power. However, the coup led to a strategic win. The uprising was a grand PR-action of the NSDAP, which the whole country talked about. Some hated the Nazis, others admired. Lucky for Hitler, he did not get a bullet and in one day became one of the politicians of the national level.
From February 26 to April 1 1924, the trial was underway in Munich. On it, Hitler also had the opportunity to promote national socialist ideas. As Adolf Hitler said later, “our ideas were scattered throughout Germany like an explosion.” The popularity of the NSDA has greatly increased. In the elections to the Bavarian Landtag, the party received every sixth mandate. In the elections to the German Reichstag in December 1924, 40 deputies passed to parliament.
The sentence was surprisingly mild: four, including Hitler, received 5 years of imprisonment “for treason”, another five got off with 15-months sentences. Apparently, the fact of the ambiguous behavior of the Bavarian leadership during the coup, when they actually supported him at the beginning, played a role. The Bavarian judges and the prosecutor tried not to draw attention to Kar, Lossov and other separatists, who before the coup contributed to the Nazi movement. Hitler even stated directly during the court session: “One thing is certain: if our speech was really treason, then all this time Lossov, Kar and Zeisser were committing treason with us.” In addition, the court could not send to prison the national hero of Germany - Ludendorff, he was acquitted, and other leaders of the uprising got off with a mild punishment. Ludendorff himself noted these double standards, condemning his acquittal, as it was a gross violation of the law, because his comrades were found guilty.
In Landsberg prison, where the Nazis were serving their sentences, he created greenhouse conditions. The prisoners were even allowed to gather around the table and discuss the current political situation. Hitler could spend a lot of time reading books and wrote most of his work “My Struggle”. Already in December, 1924, Hitler was released, and he was able to return to the political struggle.
The "beer putsch" was the first "heroic act" and part of the "civil religion" of the Nazis. The 16 dead on the Odeonplatz were called martyrs. The flag under which they walked became sacred. They were lit by party banners at congresses in Nuremberg. After the Nazi Party came to power, the sarcophagi with the ashes of the “martyrs” were transferred to the Munich area of Königsplatz, where two Churches of Honor were built (north and south). In 1933-1939 The National Socialist German Workers' Party annually celebrated the anniversary of the coup with the obligatory participation in the Burgerbraukeller hall. When the building was damaged by a terrorist, the anniversary was celebrated in the beer hall Leuvenbraukeller.
The administrative building of the NSDAP and the southern Temple of Honor
Sources of
Ginsberg L.I. Early history of Nazism. Power struggle M., 2004.
Sokolov, U. Adolf Hitler. Life under the swastika. M., 2005.
Shearer U. The rise and fall of the Third Reich. M., 2007.
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