Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch, was a failed coup d'état by Nazi Party (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP) leader Adolf Hitler, Generalquartiermeister Erich Ludendorff and other Kampfbund leaders in Munich, Bavaria, on 8–9 November 1923, during the Weimar Republic. Approximately two thousand Nazis marched on the Feldherrnhalle, in the city centre, but were confronted by a police cordon, which resulted in the deaths of 15 Nazis, four police officers, and one bystander.
| Munich Putsch Beer Hall Putsch | |||||||||
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| Part of Political violence in Germany (1918–1933) | |||||||||
Nazis at the Marienplatz in Munich during the Putsch | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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Weimar Republic
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Adolf Hitler (WIA) Erich Ludendorff Ernst Röhm Rudolf Hess Ernst Pöhner Scheubner-Richter † Robert Wagner Hermann Göring (WIA) Heinrich Himmler |
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| Military support | |||||||||
| 2,000+ | 130 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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15 killed About a dozen injured Many captured and imprisoned |
4 killed Several wounded | ||||||||
| 1 civilian killed | |||||||||
Hitler escaped immediate arrest and was spirited off to safety in the countryside. After two days, he was arrested and charged with treason.
The putsch brought Hitler to the attention of the German nation for the first time and generated front-page headlines in newspapers around the world. His arrest was followed by a 24-day trial, which was widely publicised and gave him a platform to express his nationalist sentiments. Hitler was found guilty of treason and sentenced to five years in Landsberg Prison, where he dictated Mein Kampf to fellow prisoners Emil Maurice and Rudolf Hess. On 20 December 1924, having served only nine months, Hitler was released. Once released, Hitler redirected his focus towards obtaining power through legal means rather than by revolution or force, and accordingly changed his tactics, further developing Nazi propaganda.