The Munich Putsch, 1923 (Edexcel IGCSE History: Paper 1: Depth Studies): Revision Note

Summary

• In November 1923, Hitler led an armed uprising in Munich known as the Munich Putsch

  • It is also referred to as the Beer Hall Putsch

• Hitler hoped that he would be successful due to:

  • Bavaria's sympathetic state government

  • His alliance with the war hero General Ludendorff

• Hitler planned to seize power in Munich and then march on Berlin

• The putsch collapsed within two days

  • Hitler's Bavarian allies abandoned him overnight

  • On 9 November, armed police stopped the Nazi march into the city centre

    • They killed 16 of Hitler's supporters

• Hitler was arrested, tried and given a light five-year sentence

  • He used both his trial and his time in prison to turn the failed putsch into a propaganda success and to rethink his strategy for gaining power

  • He only served nine months of the sentence

The causes of the Munich Putsch

Anger at the Weimar Republic

• Between 1918 and 1923, many Germans had developed deep anger towards the Weimar Republic, over issues such as:

  • the "stab in the back"

  • reparations

  • the loss of Germany's colonies

• As a result, support for nationalist parties, including the NSDAP, had grown significantly in Bavaria

A sympathetic Bavaria

• The leaders of the Bavarian state government, including Gustav von Kahr, were hostile to the national Weimar government

  • They agreed with much of what the NSDAP stood for

  • They sometimes chose to ignore SA violence

• Hitler knew that he could count on a degree of support in Munich that he could not expect anywhere else in Germany

Crisis conditions in 1923

• Germany's economic position worsened sharply during 1923, after French troops occupied the Ruhr

• The Weimar Republic seemed unable to resolve the situation, and many Germans saw the government as weak and powerless

  • In September 1923, the new Chancellor, Gustav Stresemann, called off passive resistance in the Ruhr

  • Nationalists and the Bavarian leaders saw this as a humiliating surrender to France

• As hyperinflation reached its peak in November 1923, Hitler judged that the moment to act had arrived

The Mussolini example

• Between 1921 and 1922, Hitler and the Nazis were influenced by the Italian Fascists, an extreme right-wing party led by Benito Mussolini

  • They copied the Fascists' salute and use of flags

• In 1922, Mussolini led his paramilitary supporters in a "march on Rome"

  • He used the threat of violence to force Italy's democratic government to accept him as leader

• Hitler decided to attempt a similar approach in Germany

Hitler's confidence

• Hitler believed the Nazi Party was ready to seize power

  • It had around 20,000 supporters and its own private army, the SA

• Hitler had also built a close relationship with General Ludendorff

  • He believed Ludendorff could persuade the wider German army to support the Nazis against the Weimar government

    • This would make a national takeover possible

The events of the Munich Putsch, 1923

• Numerous people were important in the events of the Munich Putsch

• Hitler aimed to get the support of Kahr, Seisser and Lossow for the NSDAP’s putsch

• Hitler knew that, if he established control of Bavaria, it would be easier for him to take over Berlin

What happened in the Munich Putsch?

Results of the Munich Putsch

• Hitler's trial (February–April 1924) gave him national publicity and a platform for his ideas

  • The judges were sympathetic and gave him the minimum five-year sentence

• In Landsberg prison, he wrote Mein Kampf and decided to win power through elections

• The Nazi Party was banned, but the ban was weakly enforced and lifted in February 1925

Why did the Munich Putsch fail?

Poor planning and leadership

• Some historians argue that Hitler's own leadership was a central weakness

  • He had not planned the details of the putsch properly

  • He hesitated over the risks on the night of 8 November

  • He left Ludendorff in charge at the beer hall

    • Ludendorff let Kahr, Seisser and Lossow go

Lack of support beyond Bavaria

• The putsch relied entirely on support within Bavaria

  • There was no coordinated national uprising

  • The wider German army did not rise up in support, as Ludendorff had hoped

The response of the authorities

• Kahr and Lossow's betrayal removed the local backing Hitler had been relying on

  • Once they turned against him, the putsch had no official support in Bavaria

  • Armed police and soldiers confronted the marchers directly

  • Their willingness to use force was decisive in ending the rising

Conclusions

• The putsch failed through a combination of poor Nazi planning, the collapse of Bavarian support, and the willingness of the police to use force

• No single factor alone would necessarily have doomed it, but together they made failure very likely