Post by peterd on Nov 5, 2012 8:26:42 GMT -8
Adolf Hitler, flanked by his cronies, attempted a revolution and tried to seize power in Munich in what came to be known as the Beer Hall Putsch. This unsuccessful coup d'état was inspired by Mussolini's March on Rome and intended to overthrow the unpopular Weimar Republic.
Various Bavarian political groups and ex-soldiers formed the Kampfbund, which numbered about 50,000 members by 1923, on the basis of holding the central government responsible for the humiliating terms of the Versailles Treaty.
On September 27 Hitler, who had already distinguished himself as one of the leaders of the group, announced that he would be holding a series of 14 mass meetings in the streets of Munich. This prompted the Bavarian Prime Minister to declare a state of emergency and Gustav von Kahr was granted exceptional powers to maintain peace.
On the evening of November 8, SA troops surrounded the Bürgerbräukeller, a beer hall where 3,000 people were gathered for a political rally. Hitler and his followers, including Göring, Rosenberg and Hess, burst into the hall and informed the crowd that the national revolution had broken out and both the Bavarian and the Berlin governments had been deposed. Much to the surprise of the Nazis, the crowd did not yield to their demands and the democratic political leaders present stood up to the insurrectionists.
As morning approached on November 9, the Nazis had to admit that the coup was going nowhere. Not knowing what else to do, a total of 2,000 men started to march towards the Bavarian Defense Ministry, only to find themselves being held up by soldiers at Odeonsplatz. Four state police officers and 16 Nazis were killed in the shooting that ensued, and Göring was badly injured with a wound that would lead to his addiction to morphine.
Although he tried to flee the scene, Hitler was captured and convicted for high treason at a public trial, being sentenced to five years in a minimum security prison in Landsberg. As an inmate he could meet with other convicts, carry on extensive correspondence with the outside world and was even able to pen the first volume of Mein Kampf.
Nazi Germany came to celebrate Die Neunte Elfte (the "Ninth of the Eleventh") as the Reich Day of Mourning. They would bring out the Nazi flag that was stained with blood during the putsch to swear in the new recruits of the party, reenact the march through the streets of Munich, and commemorate the 16 martyrs of the NSDAP. Regardless of the collapse of the Beer Hall Putsch, the fulfillment of Hitler's political career and the aims of the Nazi movement did not come to an end, but were merely delayed for some years.
Written by: Nikoletta Koves
Various Bavarian political groups and ex-soldiers formed the Kampfbund, which numbered about 50,000 members by 1923, on the basis of holding the central government responsible for the humiliating terms of the Versailles Treaty.
On September 27 Hitler, who had already distinguished himself as one of the leaders of the group, announced that he would be holding a series of 14 mass meetings in the streets of Munich. This prompted the Bavarian Prime Minister to declare a state of emergency and Gustav von Kahr was granted exceptional powers to maintain peace.
On the evening of November 8, SA troops surrounded the Bürgerbräukeller, a beer hall where 3,000 people were gathered for a political rally. Hitler and his followers, including Göring, Rosenberg and Hess, burst into the hall and informed the crowd that the national revolution had broken out and both the Bavarian and the Berlin governments had been deposed. Much to the surprise of the Nazis, the crowd did not yield to their demands and the democratic political leaders present stood up to the insurrectionists.
As morning approached on November 9, the Nazis had to admit that the coup was going nowhere. Not knowing what else to do, a total of 2,000 men started to march towards the Bavarian Defense Ministry, only to find themselves being held up by soldiers at Odeonsplatz. Four state police officers and 16 Nazis were killed in the shooting that ensued, and Göring was badly injured with a wound that would lead to his addiction to morphine.
Although he tried to flee the scene, Hitler was captured and convicted for high treason at a public trial, being sentenced to five years in a minimum security prison in Landsberg. As an inmate he could meet with other convicts, carry on extensive correspondence with the outside world and was even able to pen the first volume of Mein Kampf.
Nazi Germany came to celebrate Die Neunte Elfte (the "Ninth of the Eleventh") as the Reich Day of Mourning. They would bring out the Nazi flag that was stained with blood during the putsch to swear in the new recruits of the party, reenact the march through the streets of Munich, and commemorate the 16 martyrs of the NSDAP. Regardless of the collapse of the Beer Hall Putsch, the fulfillment of Hitler's political career and the aims of the Nazi movement did not come to an end, but were merely delayed for some years.
Written by: Nikoletta Koves