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88-614: German government victory [REDACTED] Kampfbund [REDACTED]   Weimar Republic The Beer Hall Putsch , also known as the Munich Putsch , was a failed coup d'état by Nazi Party 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

176-679: A ban on the Nazi Party, Freikorps Oberland and Bund Reichskriegsflagge (Imperial War Flag Society). During the night, and unknown to Hitler, the three men prepared resistance against the coup. The following day when Hitler and his followers marched from the beer hall to the Bavarian War Ministry to overthrow the Bavarian government as a prelude to their "March on Berlin", the police dispersed them. Fifteen Nazis and four police officers were killed. Kahr's involvement in

264-415: A chair, yelling: "The national revolution has broken out! The hall is surrounded by six hundred men. Nobody is allowed to leave." He went on to state that the Bavarian government was deposed and declared the formation of a new government with Ludendorff. Hitler, accompanied by Hess, Lenk, and Graf, ordered the triumvirate of Kahr, Seisser and Lossow into an adjoining room at gunpoint and demanded they support

352-410: A change in the attitude of a crowd in a few minutes, almost a few seconds ... Hitler had turned them inside out, as one turns a glove inside out, with a few sentences. It had almost something of hocus-pocus, or magic about it. Hitler ended his speech with: "Outside are Kahr, Lossow and Seisser. They are struggling hard to reach a decision. May I say to them that you will stand behind them?" The crowd in

440-595: A division named the Feldherrnhalle Regiment, and there was also an SA Feldherrnhalle Division. Der neunte Elfte (9 November, literally 'the ninth of the eleventh') became one of the most important dates on the Nazi calendar, especially following the seizure of power in 1933. Annually until the fall of Nazi Germany, the putsch would be commemorated nationwide, with the major events taking place in Munich. On

528-815: A few days earlier by the Berlin central government announcing the end to the resistance against the French occupation of the Ruhr , whose apparent capitulation infuriated the nationalists and freebooters. The Kampfbund conducted the Beer Hall Putsch of November 1923 in Munich, Germany. By this time, the German Workers' Party (DAP) had changed its name to the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP). It had grown from

616-619: A fringe sect to Bavaria's most powerful political force of 70,000 members. By 1923, the SA was the Nazi Party's private army with about 15,000 members. A subgroup of the NSDAP was the Stoßtrupp-Hitler , a personal bodyguard unit for Hitler under the command of Joseph Berchtold . Another group was the Party's youth group Jungsturm Adolf Hitler led by Adolf Lenk . The Oberland League was

704-655: A man". He was determined to put down the putsch with or without Lossow. Danner set up a command post at the 19th Infantry Regiment barracks and alerted all military units. Meanwhile, Captain Karl Wild, learning of the putsch from marchers, mobilised his command to guard Kahr's government building, the Commissariat , with orders to shoot. Around 23:00, Major-General von Danner, along with fellow generals Adolf Ritter von Ruith  [ de ] and Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein , compelled Lossow to repudiate

792-453: A march on Berlin modeled on Benito Mussolini's successful March on Rome of a year earlier and was not to include Hitler. Kahr warned the "patriotic associations" – including the Kampfbund – against independent action. He remarked to an assembly of high-ranking officers on 19 October 1923 that the real matter at hand was "a great battle of two worldviews which will decide the destiny of

880-559: A member of the 2nd Bavarian Infantry Regiment Kronprinz as a one-year volunteer . From 1882 to 1885 he studied law in Munich. After passing the first state law examination, he received legal training at various courts in Munich until 1888. On 12 January 1889 he joined the government of Upper Bavaria as a trainee ( Akzessist ) in the Department of the Interior and became a government assessor in 1897. His main field of activity in

968-462: A nationalist dictatorship without Hitler. The putsch was inspired by Benito Mussolini 's successful March on Rome . From 22 to 29 October 1922, Hitler and his associates planned to use Munich as a base for a march against Germany's Weimar Republic government. But circumstances differed from those in Italy. Hitler came to the realisation that Kahr sought to control him and was not ready to act against

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1056-399: A paramilitary organization led by Friedrich Weber . It had 4,000 armed troops, practically all disgruntled war veterans. This unit was a Freikorps unit. The Bund Reichskriegsflagge (Imperial War Flag Society) was another private army which had many war veterans, as well. The official leader was Joseph Seydel but Ernst Röhm was really in control. On 26 September 1923, following

1144-493: A period of turmoil and political violence, Bavarian Prime Minister Eugen von Knilling declared a state of emergency and Gustav von Kahr was appointed Staatskommissar , or state commissioner, with dictatorial powers to govern the state. In addition to von Kahr, Bavarian state police chief Colonel Hans Ritter von Seisser and Reichswehr General Otto von Lossow formed a ruling triumvirate. Hitler announced that he would hold 14 mass meetings beginning on 27 September 1923. Afraid of

1232-522: A period of turmoil that included assassinations and political violence, the Bavarian state government of Minister President Eugen von Knilling (BVP) appointed Kahr state commissioner general ( Generalstaatskommissar ) with dictatorial powers under Article 64 of the Bamberg (Bavarian) Constitution. The step was taken in protest against the Reich government for ending passive resistance to the occupation of

1320-606: A sarcophagus bearing their name. In June 1945 the Allied Commission removed the bodies from the Ehrentempels and contacted their families. They were given the option of having their loved ones buried in Munich cemeteries in unmarked graves or having them cremated , a common practice in Germany for unclaimed bodies. On 9 January 1947, the upper parts of the structures were blown up. Kampfbund The league

1408-416: A state of emergency, and Gustav Ritter von Kahr was appointed Staatskomissar ("state commissioner"), with dictatorial powers to govern the state. Along with von Kahr , Bavarian state police chief Colonel Hans Ritter von Seisser and Reichswehr General Otto von Lossow formed a ruling triumvirate. Hitler announced that he would hold 14 mass meetings beginning on 27 September 1923. Afraid of

1496-568: 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. 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

1584-541: The Reichsexekution because he insisted that "troops do not fire on troops". He was also pursuing dictatorial aspirations of his own at the national level. Kahr, together with von Lossow and Hans von Seisser , commander of the Bavarian police, formed a "triumvirate" with the goal of using Bavaria as a base from which to overthrow the Republic and establish a national dictatorship. It was to be accomplished by

1672-538: The Bürgerbräu Keller . The putsch was inspired by Benito Mussolini 's successful March on Rome , from 22 to 29 October 1922. Hitler and his associates planned to use Munich as a base for a march against Germany's Weimar Republic government. Hitler came to the realization that Kahr sought to control him and was not ready to act against the government in Berlin. Hitler wanted to seize a critical moment for successful popular agitation and support. The putsch

1760-661: The Kampfbund were scurrying around to arm themselves from secret caches, and seizing buildings. At around 03:00, the first casualties of the putsch occurred when the local garrison of the Reichswehr spotted Röhm's men coming out of the beer hall. They were ambushed while trying to reach the Reichswehr barracks by soldiers and state police; shots were fired, but there were no fatalities on either side. Encountering heavy resistance, Röhm and his men were forced to fall back. In

1848-613: The Löwenbräukeller . These reports reached Major Sigmund von Imhoff of the state police. He immediately called all his green police units and had them seize the central telegraph office and the telephone exchange, although his most important act was to notify Major-General Jakob von Danner , the Reichswehr city commandant of Munich. As a proud war hero, Danner loathed the "little corporal" and those " Freikorps bands of rowdies". He also did not much like his commanding officer, Generalleutnant Otto von Lossow , "a sorry figure of

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1936-592: The Treaty of Versailles , which ended World War I , Germany declined as a major European power. Like many Germans of the period, Hitler, who had fought in the German Army but still held Austrian citizenship at the time, believed the treaty to be a betrayal, with the country having been "stabbed in the back" by its own government, particularly as the German Army was popularly thought to have been undefeated in

2024-555: The "order" in Bavaria after the turmoil and bloodshed of the Bavarian Soviet Republic and in contrast to the "Marxist" Weimar Republic headed by Social Democrats. As part of an anti-Semitic campaign throughout Germany in 1920 and following a suggestion from Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria , Kahr ordered the mass expulsion from Bavaria of so-called Eastern Jews, many of whom had lived there for generations. After

2112-523: The 16 fallen were the first losses and the ceremony was an occasion to commemorate everyone who had died for the movement. On 9 November 1935, the dead were taken from their graves and to the Feldherrnhalle . The SA and SS carried them down to the Königsplatz , where two Ehrentempel ('honour temples') had been constructed. In each of the structures, eight of the dead Nazis were interred in

2200-533: The 1st company of the 7th Engineer Battalion, did not believe them, but allowed them to perform the manoeuvres inside the building. He locked the building with the 400 men inside and positioned two machine guns at the entrance. Hitler attempted to have the men released, but Cantzler refused. Hitler considered using artillery to destroy the building but chose not to. The night was marked by confusion and unrest among government officials, armed forces, police units, and individuals deciding where their loyalties lay. Units of

2288-715: The Bavarian Reichstag on 16 March 1920. A Protestant monarchist and member of the Catholic Bavarian People's Party (BVP), Kahr presided over a middle-class right-wing government and pursued an independent position for Bavaria within the German Reich. Backed by the Civil Guard, he had the leftist workers' and soldiers' councils dissolved and established Bavaria's reputation as the Reich's "cell of order" ( Ordnungszelle ), referring to

2376-839: The Bavarian government. The trial judge, Neithardt, was sympathetic toward Hitler and held that the relevant laws of the Weimar Republic could not be applied to a man "who thinks and feels like a German, as Hitler does." The result was that the Nazi leader remained in Germany. Though Hitler failed to achieve his immediate goal, the putsch did give the Nazis their first national attention and propaganda victory. While serving their "fortress confinement" sentences at Landsberg am Lech , Hitler, Emil Maurice and Rudolf Hess wrote Mein Kampf . The putsch had changed Hitler's outlook on violent revolution to effect change. From then his modus operandi

2464-865: The Dachau Moor shortly after 30 June. In July 1934 the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office at the Munich II Regional Court began investigations into Kahr's death. On 14 July the Reich Ministry of Justice informed the Bavarian Ministry of Justice that the Kahr case fell "under the Law on Measures of State Self-Defense of 3 July 1934" and was thus legal. The proceedings for the killing of Kahr were then discontinued on

2552-575: The German people – the international Marxist-Jewish and the national Germanic." Weighing on Kahr's mind however, were the Weimar leadership's warnings against revolutionary activities, including the threat of a military intervention. Seeckt reiterated the warnings, prompting the triumvirate of Kahr, Lossow and Seisser to back down. They then informed the members of the Kampfbund that it was they who would determine when action would be taken. The statement greatly angered Hitler. On 8 November 1923, while Kahr

2640-558: The Munich Reichswehr Division take an oath to Bavaria and its government as "trustees of the German people". On 9 November 1923 Reich President Ebert imposed a military state of emergency across Germany and told General Hans von Seeckt to do "whatever was necessary to secure the Reich". In spite of Bavaria's openly rebellious acts, the Reich government did not impose a federal intervention ( Reichsexekution ) against it. Seeckt would not have been willing to implement

2728-479: The Ruhr by French and Belgian troops. On the same day, Kahr declared a state of emergency in Bavaria. In response, Reich President Friedrich Ebert (SPD) instituted a state of emergency throughout Germany and transferred executive power to Minister of Defense Otto Gessler . Kahr refused to carry out his orders, such as banning the Nazi Party newspaper Völkischer Beobachter , and on 29 September he suspended

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2816-511: The SA had disrupted a meeting of the Bayernbund ('Bavaria Union') which Otto Ballerstedt , a Bavarian federalist, was to have addressed, and the Nazi troublemakers were arrested as a result. Hitler ended up serving just over a month of a three-month jail sentence. Judge Georg Neithardt was the presiding judge at both of Hitler's trials. Hitler's trial began on 26 February 1924 and lasted until 1 April 1924. Lossow acted as chief witness for

2904-549: The SS stood guard between a lower plaque. Passers-by were required to give the Nazi salute . The putsch was also commemorated on three sets of stamps. Mein Kampf was dedicated to the fallen and, in the book Ich Kämpfe (given to those joining the party c. 1943), they are listed first even though the book lists hundreds of other dead. The header text in the book read "Though they are dead for their acts they will live on forever." The army had

2992-641: The University of Munich rioted and marched to the Feldherrnhalle to lay wreaths. They continued to riot until 9 November, when they learned of Hitler's arrest. Kahr and Lossow were called Judases and traitors. Two days after the putsch, Hitler was arrested and charged with high treason in the special People's Court . Some of his fellow conspirators, including Rudolf Hess, were also arrested, while others, including Hermann Göring and Ernst Hanfstaengl, escaped to Austria . The Nazi Party's headquarters

3080-596: The armed militia organisation Reichskriegsflagge , were shot down accidentally in a burst of machine gun fire during the occupation of the War Ministry as the result of a misunderstanding with II/Infantry Regiment 19. Also honoured as a martyr in Mein Kampf was Karl Kuhn (born 7 July 1875), a head waiter in a restaurant. Allegedly he took part in the putsch as a member of the Freikorps Oberland, and

3168-933: The attempted coup. After being forced to resign as state commissioner general in 1924, Kahr served as president of the Bavarian Administrative Court until 1930. Because of his actions during the Beer Hall Putsch, he was murdered during the Nazi purge known as the Night of the Long Knives in June 1934. Kahr was born in 1862 in Weissenburg in Bayern , the son of Gustav von Kahr, President of the Bavarian Administrative Court, and his wife Emilie, née Rüttel. After completing school in 1881 he became

3256-626: The auditorium flanked by Rudolf Hess and Adolf Lenk. He followed up on Göring's speech and stated that the action was not directed at the police and Reichswehr, but against "the Berlin Jew government and the November criminals of 1918". Dr. Karl Alexander von Mueller, a professor of modern history and political science at the University of Munich and a supporter of Kahr, was an eyewitness. He reported: I cannot remember in my entire life such

3344-407: The auditorium. Hitler, surrounded by his associates Hermann Göring , Alfred Rosenberg , Rudolf Hess , Ernst Hanfstaengl , Ulrich Graf , Johann Aigner, Adolf Lenk , Max Amann , Max Erwin von Scheubner-Richter , Wilhelm Adam , Robert Wagner and others (some 20 in all), advanced through the crowded auditorium. Unable to be heard above the crowd, Hitler fired a shot into the ceiling and jumped on

3432-406: The collapse of Hitler's coup attempt cost him the support of right-wing nationalist forces in Bavaria, and he was made a scapegoat for the failure. Two months later, on 18 January 1924, Minister President von Knilling, under pressure from Berlin, forced Kahr to resign from his post as state commissioner general. On 26 February 1924 Kahr testified as a witness in the treason trial against Hitler and

3520-547: The course of events had been stained with blood, came to be known as the Blutfahne ('blood flag') and was brought out for the swearing-in of new recruits in front of the Feldherrnhalle when Hitler was in power. Shortly after he came to power, a memorial was placed at the south side of the Feldherrnhalle crowned with a swastika . The back of the memorial read Und ihr habt doch gesiegt! ('And you triumphed nevertheless!'). Behind it, flowers were laid, and either policemen or

3608-477: The cultivation of folk art and thus received personal nobility. On 1 February 1912 he was granted the title and rank of privy councilor ( Geheimrat ) and on 1 October was appointed ministerial director and councilor of state in the senior civil service. During his years in the Ministry of State he continued to devote himself primarily to the preservation and protection of endangered cultural assets. Although he

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3696-692: The decade before the turn of the century was organizing the preservation of folk art and endangered architectural monuments. He was a co-founder of the Bavarian State Association for the Preservation of Local History. Beginning in 1902 Kahr quickly passed through the stages of ministerial service up to the level of state councilor ( Staatsrat ). In 1911 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown for his services to

3784-487: The early 20th century, many of the larger cities of southern Germany had beer halls , where hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of people would socialise in the evenings, drink beer and participate in political and social debates. Such beer halls also became the hosts of occasional political rallies. One of Munich's largest beer halls was the Bürgerbräukeller , which became the site where the putsch began. After

3872-663: The enactment in Berlin of the Law for the Protection of the Republic , which increased the punishments for politically motivated acts of violence and banned organizations that opposed the "constitutional republican form of government" as well as their printed matter and meetings, Kahr resigned in protest on 12 September 1921 since the act led to the disbanding of the Civil Guard, which was Kahr's main source of support. He returned to his former post as district president of Upper Bavaria. Defunct Defunct On 26 September 1923, following

3960-401: The end, Hitler served just over eight months of this sentence before his early release for good behaviour. Prison officials allegedly wanted to give Hitler deaf guards, to prevent him from persuading them to free him. Although the trial was the first time that Hitler's oratory was insufficient, he used the trial as an opportunity to spread his ideas by giving speeches in the courtroom. The event

4048-542: The enforcement in Bavaria of the Law for the Protection of the Republic. Beginning in mid-October, Kahr again had several hundred Jewish families who had immigrated from Eastern Europe decades earlier expelled from Bavaria. By this means he sought to solidify his support among the supporters of Adolf Hitler and the Deutscher Kampfbund , a league of nationalist societies led by Hitler. At the time Kahr and Hitler were in rivalry with each other for leadership of

4136-565: The equivalent of lance corporal, but a special class of private) and holder of the Iron Cross , First Class, to infiltrate the tiny Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (" German Workers' Party ", abbreviated DAP). Hitler joined the DAP on 12 September 1919. He soon realised that he was in agreement with many of the underlying tenets of the DAP, and rose to its top post in the ensuing chaotic political atmosphere of postwar Munich. By agreement, Hitler assumed

4224-406: The event and Heinrich Himmler spoke in his place. As the war went on, residents of Munich came increasingly to dread the approach of the anniversary, concerned that the presence of the top Nazi leaders in their city would act as a magnet for Allied bombers. Every Gau (administrative region of Germany) was also expected to hold a small remembrance ceremony. As material given to propagandists said,

4312-658: The field. For the defeat, Hitler scapegoated civilian leaders, Jews and Marxists , later called the "November Criminals". Hitler remained in the army in Munich after the war. He participated in various "national thinking" courses, organised by the Education and Propaganda Department of the Bavarian Army under Captain Karl Mayr , of which Hitler became an agent. Captain Mayr ordered Hitler, then an army Gefreiter (not

4400-437: The government forces forced Hitler and Ludendorff to flee Munich, it was the origin of the Blutfahne ('blood flag'), which was stained with the blood of two SA members who were shot: the flag bearer Heinrich Trambauer, who was badly wounded, and Andreas Bauriedl, who fell dead onto the fallen flag. A bullet killed Scheubner-Richter. Göring was shot in the leg, but escaped. The rest of the Nazis scattered or were arrested. Hitler

4488-467: The government in Berlin. Hitler wanted to seize a critical moment for successful popular agitation and support. He decided to take matters into his own hands. Hitler, along with a large detachment of SA , marched on the Bürgerbräukeller , where Kahr was making a speech in front of 3,000 people. On the evening of 8 November 1923, 603 SA surrounded the beer hall and a machine gun was set up in

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4576-425: The government of the Weimar Republic in several instances, including by ceasing to enforce the Law for the Protection of the Republic . He was also making plans with General Otto von Lossow and Bavarian police commander Hans von Seisser to topple the Reich government in Berlin. In November 1923, before they could act, Adolf Hitler instigated the Beer Hall Putsch . The three turned against Hitler and helped stop

4664-469: The hall backed Hitler with a roar of approval. He finished: You can see that what motivates us is neither self-conceit nor self-interest, but only a burning desire to join the battle in this grave eleventh hour for our German Fatherland ... One last thing I can tell you. Either the German revolution begins tonight or we will all be dead by dawn! Hitler, Ludendorff, et al. , returned to the main hall's podium, where they gave speeches and shook hands. The crowd

4752-414: The hall, the three called for those present to support Hitler's coup, which was planned for the next day. In view of their word of honor not to do anything against Hitler, Ludendorff did not have Kahr, Lossow and Seisser imprisoned. The latter two then immediately initiated countermeasures to put down the coup. After a few hours of internal wrangling, Kahr also turned against Hitler and at 2:55 a.m. broadcast

4840-568: The meantime, the Reichswehr officers put the whole garrison on alert and called for reinforcements. In the morning, Hitler ordered the seizure of the Munich city council  [ de ] as hostages . By mid-morning on 9 November, Hitler realised that the putsch was going nowhere. The putschists did not know what to do and were about to give up. At this moment, Ludendorff cried out, "Wir marschieren!" ('We will march!'). Röhm's force together with Hitler's (a total of approximately 2000 men) marched out – but with no specific destination. On

4928-674: The night of 8 November, Hitler would address the Alte Kämpfer ('Old Fighters') in the Bürgerbräukeller (after 1939, the Löwenbräu , in 1944 in the Circus Krone Building ), followed the next day by a re-enactment of the march through the streets of Munich. The event would climax with a ceremony recalling the 16 killed on the Königsplatz . The anniversary could be a time of tension in Nazi Germany. The ceremony

5016-413: The other putschists. From 16 October 1924 to 31 December 1930 he served as president of the Bavarian Administrative Court. He retired in relative obscurity on 1 January 1931. On the evening of 30 June 1934, in the course of the Nazi purge known as the Night of the Long Knives , the 71-year-old Kahr was arrested in his Munich apartment by an SS commando. On the way to the Dachau concentration camp he

5104-412: The political leadership of a number of Bavarian revanchist "patriotic associations", called the Kampfbund . This political base extended to include about 15,000 members of the Sturmabteilung (SA, literally "Storm Detachment"), the paramilitary wing of the NSDAP. On 26 September 1923, following a period of terror and political violence, Bavarian Prime Minister Eugen von Knilling declared

5192-495: The potential disruption, one of Kahr 's first actions was to ban the announced meetings, placing Hitler under pressure to act. The Nazis, with other leaders in the Kampfbund , felt they had to march upon Berlin and seize power or their followers would turn to the communists. Hitler enlisted the help of World War I general Erich Ludendorff in an attempt to gain the support of Kahr and his triumvirate. However, Kahr had his own plan with Seisser and Lossow to install

5280-409: The potential disruption, one of Kahr's first actions was to ban the announced meetings. Hitler was under pressure to act. The Nazis, with other leaders in the Kampfbund, felt they had to march upon Berlin and seize power or their followers would turn to the Communists. Meanwhile, on 5 October 1923 Kahr closed the Nazi paper Völkischer Beobachter for ten days. Kahr also announced a surprise speech at

5368-593: The prosecution. Hitler moderated his tone for the trial, centring his defence on his selfless devotion to the good of the people and the need for bold action to save them, dropping his usual anti-Semitism. He claimed the putsch had been his sole responsibility, inspiring the title Führer or 'leader'. The lay judges were fanatically pro-Nazi and had to be dissuaded by the presiding Judge, Georg Neithardt , from acquitting Hitler outright. Hitler and Hess were both sentenced to five years in Festungshaft  [ de ] ('fortress confinement') for treason. Festungshaft

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5456-536: The putsch and accept the government positions he assigned them. Hitler had promised Lossow a few days earlier that he would not attempt a coup, but now thought that he would get an immediate response of affirmation from them, imploring Kahr to accept the position of Regent of Bavaria. Kahr replied that he could not be expected to collaborate, especially as he had been taken out of the auditorium under heavy guard. Heinz Pernet , Johann Aigne and Scheubner-Richter were dispatched to pick up Ludendorff, whose personal prestige

5544-480: The putsch went forward, but failed. Gustav Ritter von Kahr Gustav Ritter von Kahr ( German: [ˈɡʊstaf ˈʁɪtɐ fɔn ˈkaːɐ̯] ; born Gustav Kahr; 29 November 1862 – 30 June 1934) was a German jurist and right-wing politician. During his career he was district president of Upper Bavaria , Bavarian minister president and, from September 1923 to February 1924, Bavarian state commissioner general with dictatorial powers. In that role he openly opposed

5632-410: The putsch. There was one member of the cabinet who was not at the Bürgerbräukeller: Franz Matt , the vice-premier and minister of education and culture. A staunchly conservative Roman Catholic , he was having dinner with the Archbishop of Munich , Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber and with the Nuncio to Bavaria , Archbishop Eugenio Pacelli (who would later become Pope Pius XII ), when he learned of

5720-500: The putsch. He immediately telephoned Kahr. When he found the man vacillating and unsure, Matt made plans to set up a rump government-in-exile in Regensburg and composed a proclamation calling upon all police officers, members of the armed forces, and civil servants to remain loyal to the government. The action of these few men spelt doom for those attempting the putsch. The next day the archbishop and Rupprecht visited Kahr and persuaded him to repudiate Hitler. Three thousand students from

5808-414: The right-wing camp. On 20 October 1923 Lieutenant General Otto von Lossow , regional commander of the Reichswehr (the German armed forces) and commander of the Munich military district was relieved of his posts by Defense Minister Gessler for refusing to obey orders. Kahr then reinstated him as Bavarian state commander and entrusted him with the command of the Reichswehr in Bavaria. Two days later he had

5896-449: The soviet republic. Those who responded were organized into Freikorps . After the suppression of the soviet republic at the beginning of May, during which about 335 civilians were killed by Freikorps fighters, Munich's leaders wanted to maintain the capabilities of the Freikorps but without their drawbacks. They saw them as too violent, too small, and too independent of the Bavarian state. The paramilitary Civil Guards, or Einwohnerwehr ,

5984-431: The spur of the moment, Ludendorff led them to the Bavarian Defence Ministry. However, at the Odeonsplatz in front of the Feldherrnhalle , they met a force of 130 soldiers blocking the way under the command of State Police Senior Lieutenant Michael von Godin  [ de ] . The two groups exchanged fire, which resulted in the deaths of 16 Nazis, four police officers, and one bystander. Although their defeat by

6072-436: The visitor book) was later sold at auction, it was noted that Ludendorff had visited Hitler a number of times. The case of the resurfacing papers was reported in Der Spiegel on 23 June 2006; the new information (which came out more than 30 years after Shirer wrote his book, and which Shirer did not have access to) nullifies Shirer's statement. Police units were first notified of trouble by three police detectives stationed at

6160-476: The war led the intrinsically apolitical Kahr into politics. As district president Kahr proposed the creation of a civil defense force, but his suggestion did not meet with the approval of Bavaria's new Minister President Johannes Hoffmann of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). When the Bavarian Soviet Republic was proclaimed in April 1919, Kahr fled Munich with Hoffmann and the rest of the state government to Bamberg where they called for volunteers to help crush

6248-597: 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 . In

6336-410: Was acquitted . Both Röhm and Wilhelm Frick , though found guilty, were released. Göring, meanwhile, had fled after suffering a bullet wound to his leg, which led him to become increasingly dependent on morphine and other painkilling drugs. This addiction continued throughout his life. One of Hitler's greatest worries at the trial was that he was at risk of being deported back to his native Austria by

6424-651: Was a reserve officer, Kahr did not participate in World War I because the minister to whom he reported did not want to release him from his position working to ensure food security. In 1917 King Ludwig III of Bavaria appointed Kahr district president of Upper Bavaria. The fall of both the German Hohenzollern and Bavarian Wittlesbach monarchies during the early days of the German Revolution of 1918–1919 that broke out after Germany's defeat in

6512-526: Was arrested two days later. In a description of Ludendorff's funeral at the Feldherrnhalle in 1937 (which Hitler attended but without speaking) William L. Shirer wrote: "The World War [One] hero [Ludendorff] had refused to have anything to do with him [Hitler] ever since he had fled from in front of the Feldherrnhalle after the volley of bullets during the Beer Hall Putsch." However, when a consignment of papers relating to Landsberg prison (including

6600-647: Was being harnessed to give the Nazis credibility. A telephone call was made from the kitchen by Hermann Kriebel to Ernst Röhm , who was waiting with his Bund Reichskriegsflagge in the Löwenbräukeller , another beer hall, and he was ordered to seize key buildings throughout the city. At the same time, co-conspirators under Gerhard Rossbach mobilised the students of a nearby infantry officers' school to seize other objectives. Hitler became irritated by Kahr and summoned Ernst Pöhner , Friedrich Weber , and Hermann Kriebel to stand in for him while he returned to

6688-502: Was cancelled in 1934, coming as it did after the so-called Night of the Long Knives . In 1938, it coincided with the Kristallnacht , and in 1939 with the attempted assassination of Hitler by Johann Georg Elser . With the outbreak of war in 1939, security concerns caused the re-enactment of the march to be suspended, never to be resumed. However, Hitler continued to deliver his 8 November speech through 1943. In 1944, Hitler skipped

6776-461: Was created on 1–2 September 1923 at Nuremberg , where Hitler joined other nationalist leaders to celebrate Sedantag , which marked the anniversary of the Prussian victory over France in 1870 . The purpose was to consolidate and streamline their agendas and also prepare to take advantage of the split between Bavaria and the central government. The impetus for this consolidation was the declaration

6864-436: Was delivering a speech to an audience of some 3,000 in the packed hall of Munich's Bürgerbräukeller , the meeting was stormed by Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff , Hermann Göring and other National Socialists . Hitler proclaimed a "national revolution" and called for Kahr, Lossow and Seisser to meet with him. In a back room he compelled Kahr and the others at gunpoint to join the national uprising he had proclaimed. Returning to

6952-516: Was extensively covered in the newspapers the next day. The judges were impressed (Presiding Judge Neithardt was inclined to favouritism towards the defendants prior to the trial), and as a result, Hitler served just over eight months in prison and was fined 500  ℛ︁ℳ︁ . Due to Ludendorff's story that he was present by accident, an explanation he had also used in the Kapp Putsch , along with his war service and connections, Ludendorff

7040-432: Was fatally shot by the police. In reality, Kuhn was an innocent bystander. He was working as a waiter in a nearby restaurant when he stepped outside to watch, after which he was killed in the crossfire. The 15 fallen insurgents, as well as the bystander Karl Kuhn, were regarded as the first "blood martyrs" of the Nazi Party and were remembered by Hitler in the foreword of Mein Kampf . The Nazi flag they carried, which in

7128-429: Was formed in an attempt to resolve the problems. Following the failure of the 1920 Kapp Putsch in Berlin, General Arnold von Möhl, after consulting with Kahr, Georg Escherich and Munich Police Chief Ernst Pöhner , demanded that Minister President Hoffmann establish an emergency regime in Bavaria. Hoffmann refused to do so and resigned, followed by the rest of his cabinet. Kahr was then elected minister president by

7216-455: Was planned on 7 November in a hasty decision in Kriebel's apartment. Not all members were notified. For the purpose of communicating, the party used two pieces of paper; one colored red meaning "the real thing" and the other white signifying a practice run. They chose to pass the white tag out. At the time of the putsch, only 2000 members of the Kampfbund were in Munich. On 8 November 1923,

7304-661: Was raided, and its newspaper, the Völkischer Beobachter ( The People's Observer ), was banned. In January 1924, the Emminger Reform , an emergency decree, abolished the jury as trier of fact and replaced it with a mixed system of judges and lay judges in Germany's judiciary . This was not the first time Hitler had been in trouble with the law. In an incident in September 1921, he and some men of

7392-513: Was severely maltreated by two SS men. By order of the camp's commandant Theodor Eicke , Kahr was taken to the camp's detention building, known as the "bunker" where he was handed over to the detention supervisor. He was shot shortly thereafter, most probably by Johann Kantschuster  [ de ] , the head guard of the bunker. Soon after Kahr's murder, the legend arose – one that has even made its way into professional literature – that his body had been found mutilated with pickaxes outside in

7480-458: Was the mildest of the three types of jail sentence available in German law at the time; it excluded forced labour, provided reasonably comfortable cells, and allowed the prisoner to receive visitors almost daily for many hours. This was the customary sentence for those whom the judge believed to have had honourable but misguided motives, and it did not carry the stigma of a sentence of Gefängnis (common prison) or Zuchthaus (disciplinary prison). In

7568-560: Was then allowed to leave the hall. In a tactical mistake, Hitler decided to leave the Bürgerbräukeller shortly thereafter to deal with a crisis elsewhere. Around 22:30, Ludendorff released Kahr and his associates. The Bund Oberland, under the command of Max Ritter von Müller, was sent to seize weapons from the Army Engineer Barracks under the pretence of performing training manoeuvres. Oskar Cantzler, captain of

7656-574: Was to do everything "strictly legal". The process of "combination", wherein the conservative-nationalist-monarchist group thought that its members could piggyback on, and control, the National Socialist movement to garner the seats of power, was to repeat itself ten years later in 1933 when Franz von Papen asked Hitler to form a legal coalition government. The 15 deceased are listed in Hitler's dedication to Mein Kampf . Scheubner-Richter

7744-484: Was walking arm-in-arm with Hitler during the putsch; he was shot in the lungs and died instantly. He brought Hitler down and dislocated Hitler's shoulder when he fell. He was the only significant Nazi leader to die during the putsch. Of all the party members who died in the putsch, Hitler claimed Scheubner-Richter to be the only "irreplaceable loss". According to Ernst Röhm , Martin Faust and Theodor Casella, both members of

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