Section B: the Munich Putsch and lean years of the Nazi Party, 1923-29 

Reasons for the Munich Putsch 

1. Many Germans were angry at the circumstances at the end of WW1, the ‘stab in the back’ myth, reparations and the loss of colonies. 

2. Nationalist sentiment against the Weimar Republic was particularly strong in Bavaria, where the NSDAP. Bavarian nationalist state leaders like Gustav von Kahr sympathised with the NSDAP’s right-wing politics. 

3. Hitler was influenced by the example of Mussolini’s Fascist party in Italy. Mussolini had a ‘march on Rome’ to overthrow democracy in Italy in 1922. 

4. Hyperinflation peaked in November 1923, the time set for the overthrow of the government to be attempted. The putsch hoped to build on people’s anger. 

5. There was a perception by some Germans that the Weimar Republic was weak in the face of provocation, such as the French occupation of the Ruhr in January 1923. 

Events of the Munich Putsch 

1. The putsch originally only involved Hitler as a minor figure with the three key leaders being Gustav von Kahr, Colonel von Seisser and General von Lossow, who were all powerful figures in Bavaria. However, they wanted to delay the Putsch.  

2. Hitler disagreed and decided to take charge of events himself, with the support of General Ludendorff, by interrupting a meeting at which the three men were speaking at a Beer Hall in Munich on the evening of 8 November, 1923. He took Karr, Seisser and Lossow prisoner.  

3. Ludendorff allowed Von Kahr and his associates to go home during the night. Von Lossow alerted the local army barracks. 

4. At midday on 9 November Hitler decided to launch his march, despite the key desertions, and was supported by 1000 SA members and 2000 locals bribed with from a bank robbery. He marched at the front alongside Ludendorff, Goering, Rohm and Streicher. 

5. There was no further support from the local population and the local police and army blocked their path. Shots were fired, 14 marchers and four police were killed. 

6. Hitler fled the scene but was arrested two days later on 11 November, found hiding in a cupboard. 

7. The other leaders were arrested or fled into exile and the ‘march on Berlin’ was over almost as soon as it had begun. 

Consequences of the Putsch 

1. Hitler was found guilty in his 1924 trial for treason, but the judge was a Nationalist sympathiser and gave him only five years in prison of which Hitler only served 9 months.  

2. The NSDAP was banned, although this was lifted in February 1925.  

3. Hitler used his time in prison to change his strategy from gaining power through violent protest to winning power through democratic elections.  

4. He also used the time to write his memoirs, ‘Mein Kampf’  

5. Hitler gained national publicity during his trial. 

6. The Nazis won 32 seats in their first election in May 1924 (under a different name as they were technically banned) to begin their new strategy. 

Mein Kampf 

1. This was Hitler’s autobiography which this while in Landsberg Prison after the Munich Putsch.  

2. He laid out key political ideas, like his very racist views in which he said there was a Jewish conspiracy to undermine the Aryan race, the need for Lebensraum (‘living space’ for the German people) and the injustices of the Treaty of Versailles.  

3. He said Germany needed a strong leader who would overthrow the democratic system.  

4. He expressed some socialist views, like using wealth to benefit the German people.  

5. He expressed the belief in traditional German values like the importance of clear male and female roles. 

Party reorganisation 1924-8 

1. Hitler relaunched the newly legal NSDAP in a Munich meeting on 27 February 1925. 

2. A new Party secretary, Philipp Bouhler and Party treasurer, Franz Schwarz, were appointed to improve organisation and financing of the Party. 

3. A new women’s section, called the German Women’s Order, was set up as well as a National Socialist Students League for 14-18 year olds. 

4. The Party organisation was divided into 35 regions (‘Gaue’), each run by a Gauleiter. Hitler also tried to make links to big businesses to improve party finances. 

5. The SA grew to 400,000 members by 1930 but Hitler distrusted their increasing loyalty to Ernst Rohm so he was removed as their leader from 1925-30.  

6. Hitler set up a new bodyguard unit known as the Schutzstaffel (SS) which came under the control of Heinrich Himmler in 1926 who introduced black uniforms and helped raise its numbers to 3000 by 1930. 

The Bamberg Conference, 1926 

1. Hitler called a National Party conference in Bamberg, Bavaria to address the growing split between the northern parts of the party, which favoured more socialist policies, and the more rural southern parts, which emphasised the more nationalist elements. 

2. At the conference Northern leaders such as Gregor Strasser and Joseph Goebbels set out their views but were then subjected to a five hour rant by Hitler. Goebbels wavered and came over to Hitler’s side. 

3. Hitler’s control of the party was now re-established and Goebbels was rewarded by becoming Gauleiter of Berlin. Hitler never trusted Strasser again and he would become a victim during the Night of the Long Knives.  

4. The Nazis now became much more of a nationalist party.  

Reasons for Limited support 1924-9 

1. By 1929 the Nazis had grown to 100,000 members but support for its policies remained limited. In the May 1928 elections, the Nazis won only 2.6% of the vote and 12 seats. The SPD, a moderate, pro-democracy party, won 30% of the vote in the 1928 elections. 

2. This was partly due to greater economic stability, due the Stresemann’s policy of a new currency, and the Dawes Plan.  

3. The Locarno Pact, membership of the League of Nations and the Kellogg-Briand Pact all suggested Germany’s improved status, boosting support for the government.  

4. In 1925, Paul von Hindenburg became the President of the Republic. He was a war hero and very popular. This further increased support for the democratic Weimar Republic.