How did the Munich Putsch contribute to
Hitler’s rise to power?
On 9th November 1923, Hitler, Ludendorff and 3000 S.A. men marched on
Munich's army headquarters. On the way they met police barricades who
opened fire, killing 16 Nazis. They were hoping to achieve from this Putsch
to overthrow the government. Hitler was arrested and sentenced to five
years imprisonment.
Ludendorff was found not guilty. At the trial Hitler gained enormous
publicity with his every word being reported on the radio and in the
newspapers. Hitler turned into a bit of a celebrity which no doubt helped
him into power in 1932.
As a result of the Munich Putsch Hitler spent nine months in the Landsberg
prison and he was banned from speaking publicly. The Nazi party was also
banned.
However, whilst in prison Hitler learnt many lessons. Firstly, he learnt that
the only way to get power was to stand in elections and once in power
destroy the system from the inside - use democracy to destroy democracy.
This is how he eventually became Fuhrer of Germany, when he became
Chancellor and then passed the act enabling him to become a dictator.
Secondly, he realised that he needed the support of the army and the
business community. The army had refused to support Hitler in the Munich
Putsch, resulting in its failure. When he was released from prison he won
the support of the army by reassuring them that he would not ignite a
future war in Germany if he got into power, and he promised to deal with
Communists and expand the army. He won the support of the business
community by saying he would reduce the power of workers and weaken
the trade unions.
Finally, while in prison, Hitler wrote `Mein Kampf' (My Struggle), which
allowed him to work out his own beliefs. It also provided a `Bible' for the
Nazi party. Hitler had become a politician due to the time he spent in prison
thinking about why he failed in the Munich Putsch. All of these things
helped Hitler gain power in 1932, and if he wasn't sent to prison in 1923,
he'd have probably failed in another Putsch and had a worse fate than being
sent to prison for nine months. The normal punishment for treason was
death but in 1923 due to the circumstances the court was sympathetic
towards Hitler.