The Beer Hall Putsch*

Following the harsh punishments their country suffered from the Treaty of Versailles, the German people swelled with bitter resentment and unrest. By the fall of 1923, having already endured international humiliation and territorial losses, Germany entered into a period of hyperinflation. The nation was on the brink of chaos, and several extremist political groups began to emerge.

The Nazi Party, with 55,000 followers, was the most well organized of these radical political groups. The Nazis were based in Bavaria, the largest German state, and were led by the fiery Adolf Hitler. With Nazi members demanding change in Germany, Adolf Hitler believed he had to act quickly or risk losing control of his party.

Hitler and the Nazis hatched a plot in which they would kidnap the leaders of the Bavarian government and force them at gunpoint to accept Hitler as their leader. Then, according to their plan, with the aid of a famous German World War I General, Erich Ludendorff, they would win over the German army, proclaim a nationwide revolt, and bring down the German democratic government.

Hitler and his followers put this plan into action when they learned there would be a large gathering of businessmen at a beer hall in Munich, the capital city of Bavaria. At this event, the guests of honor were to be the Bavarian leaders they wanted to kidnap.

On November 8, 1923, members of Hitler’s private army, known as “storm troopers” or “brown shirts,” under the direction of Hermann Göring surrounded the beer hall. At 8:30 p.m. Hitler and his storm troopers burst into the beer hall causing instant panic.

Hitler fired a pistol shot into the ceiling. “Silence!” he yelled at the stunned crowd. “The National Revolution has begun!”

Hitler then ordered the three highest officials of the Bavarian government into a back room. Hitler held the men at gunpoint and forced them to come out to the crowd and announce their support of the Nazi party. He threatened them, by declaring “I have four shots in my pistol! Three for you, gentlemen; the last bullet for myself!”

In the beer hall, the crowd cheered Hitler as he exclaimed, “A new national government will be named this very day in Munich. A new German National Army will be formed immediately …. Tomorrow will find either a National Government in Germany or us dead!”

Hitler continued “I am going to fulfill the vow I made to myself five years ago when I was a blind cripple in the military hospital—to know neither rest nor peace until … on the ruins of the wretched Germany of today there should have arisen once more a Germany of power and greatness, of freedom and splendor.” The crowd in the beer hall roared their approval and sang “Deutschland über Alles” [“Germany above all”]. Hitler was euphoric. This was turning into a night of triumph for him. Tomorrow he might actually be dictator of Germany.

But then word came that attempts to take over several military barracks had failed and that German soldiers in the barracks were holding out against Hitler's storm troopers. Hitler decided to leave the beer hall and go to the scene to resolve the problem personally.

Leaving the beer hall was a critical error. In his absence, the Nazi revolution quickly began to unravel. The three Bavarian government leaders, who had been forced to swear allegiance to Hitler, secretly slipped out of the beer hall after falsely promising they would remain loyal to the Nazis.

Meanwhile, Hitler had no luck in persuading the German soldiers who were holding out in the barracks to surrender. Having failed at that, he went back to the beer hall. When he arrived back at the beer hall, he was aghast to find the revolution fading. There were no plans to topple the current government. Nothing was happening.

Early the next morning, the Bavarian leaders who had escaped issued a strong anti-Hitler statement. Still, Hitler, accompanied by Göring, Ludendorff, and roughly 3,000 Nazi supporters proceeded with a march on Munich in an attempt to overthrow the government.

Armed police forces blockaded the march, violence erupted, and both sides fired shots. Sixteen Nazis and three police officers were killed. At one point, Hitler’s bodyguard, Ulrich Graf, jumped onto Hitler to shield him and took several bullets, probably saving Hitler's life.

Several days later, Hitler was arrested. He stood trial for treason and was found guilty. He was sentenced to five years in prison, although he would only serve one.

The collapse of the beer hall putsch seemed to be the end of both Hitler's political career and the Nazi movement. However, while the Beer Hall Putsch was a major setback for Hitler, it did not stop his eventual rise to power in Germany. In fact, Hitler used the publicity he received during his trial to further spread the Nazi message. He turned the Beer Hall Putsch into a propaganda legend that promoted his glory. Furthermore, while in prison, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf [My Struggle], which outlined his political philosophy and his extreme anti-Semitism.

Glossary: *coup d'état coup a sudden, illegal attempt to overthrow a government