Chapter 36: The Munich Putsch

The Bavarian state government had originally scheduled a rally for the evening of November 21, which was attended by prominent figures from Munich’s political and social circles. (Due to the sudden death of the president, the succession of President Hindenburg, and a series of sudden events including the secret formation of the Greater Germany Party, the nobles and military in Bavaria were affected. Therefore, this gala, which was originally supposed to be held on November 8, was postponed to November 21. This also caused the Munich Beer Hall Putsch, which was supposed to erupt on November 8, to be postponed to the 21st.)

As a local celebrity, Hitler was also invited to this banquet. He stood by a pillar, squeezed into an inconspicuous corner with fellow Nazi Party members Max Amann, Rosenberg, and Ulrich Graf. No one paid any attention to his presence.

Twenty minutes after a local official named Kahr began to speak, the entire rally was suddenly interrupted. Göring burst into the hall with twenty-five armed Nazi Party members. The venue immediately descended into chaos. In the confusion, Hitler pulled a pistol from his coat, roared, jumped onto a chair, fired a shot at the ceiling, and then jumped down and walked towards the podium.

“The national revolution has begun!” Hitler shouted loudly. “This hall has been occupied by six hundred men with heavy weapons. No one is allowed to leave the hall. The Bavarian government and the German government have been overthrown, and a provisional national government has been formed. The army barracks and police stations have been occupied, and the army and police are advancing into the city under the Nazi banner.”

Many people in the hall were angered by the shamelessness of this young upstart who was trying to force his way into the political arena through intimidation. However, no one could figure out the exact extent of Hitler’s bluff. After all, they could all see that there were indeed about six hundred stormtroopers outside the hall, with a machine gun at the main entrance.

With the assistance of the former Munich police chief, Pöhner, Hitler had already persuaded an official still working at the police station, a man named Frick, to call the police officers in the hall and tell them not to interfere, but simply to report if anything happened, and to let Göring maintain order in the hall. These orders were carried out meticulously by Frick, and so the Nazi Party gained control of the entire hall.

Seeing that the situation was under control, Hitler had Kahr, Lossow, and Seisser escorted into a side room. At the same time, Scheubner-Richter drove to Ludwigshöhe that night to pick up General Ludendorff, because Hitler wanted him to serve as the nominal leader of his revolution.

Hitler was very excited and began a dramatic meeting with Kahr and his companions. Seeing Hitler enter, Kahr asked angrily, “What on earth do you want? We are government officials! You have no right to imprison us!”

Hitler gave a cold laugh, then waved his pistol at them and said, “Without my permission, no one will leave this room alive. I have formed a new government with Ludendorff. This government will lead the German people to a great victory!”

But at this time, Ludendorff still knew nothing about what was happening. Hitler was shamelessly deceiving everyone. “You have only one choice now: join my uprising!”

As he spoke, he waved his pistol, looking somewhat deranged, which greatly frightened Kahr and the others.

Seeing his opponents’ fear and retreat, Hitler became even more arrogant and shouted, “I have four bullets in my pistol. If you are unwilling to cooperate with me, I will grant three to you, and the last bullet will be for myself.”

He held the pistol to his own head and yelled, “If I have not succeeded by tomorrow afternoon, I will give up this life.”

Kahr and the others were surprisingly unmoved. First, they found it difficult to take Hitler’s ravings completely seriously, despite the guns and armed guards at the window. Second, they felt that whoever stepped forward first at this time would surely be the first to fall. Lossow heard Kahr and Seisser whisper a single word behind him: “Deception.”

At this point, Kahr did his best to put on a brave face and said, “You can arrest me or shoot me. My death is of no great consequence.” This sentence greatly angered Hitler.

Seisser then stepped forward and condemned Hitler for not keeping his promise. “God! You once promised me that you would not stage a coup! And now you are still trying to deceive me and ruin my reputation!”

Hitler, who had been angry, became very sheepish upon hearing Seisser’s words, but he still said firmly, “Yes, I have broken my word. Please forgive me. But for the sake of the fatherland, I had no choice.”

He wanted to explain further, but he saw Kahr begin to whisper in the ear of the silent Lossow. He suddenly flew into a rage and yelled, “No talking without my permission!”

Up to this point in the coup, Hitler had made virtually no real progress. Later, he had no choice but to walk out of the room without a word, rush into the main hall, and announce to the others, “The three men inside have agreed to form a new German government with me. The Bavarian cabinet has been deposed.” Hearing his words, a cheer went up in the hall.

He pressed his palms down, signaling for everyone to be quiet, and then continued, “Therefore, I propose that the Bavarian government be composed of a regent and a prime minister with dictatorial powers. I suggest Mr. von Kahr serve as the regent, and Mr. Pöhner serve as the prime minister. The government of the November criminals and the German President have been declared removed. A new national government will be appointed and established here in Munich today.”

Just as in history, Hitler so frivolously declared the Munich Beer Hall Putsch a victory. At this point, he had not yet gained the support of General Ludendorff, nor the compromise of any high-ranking government official. He hadn’t even considered the attitude of the Reichswehr. He had just recklessly begun his grand plan.

As soon as Hitler returned to the Nazi Party office building, his co-conspirator, Ludendorff, arrived. He was furious that Hitler had kept him in the dark and manipulated him. “Adolf! You can’t be so reckless! And I am not your pawn! Have you ever thought that if your action fails, I will also be sent to court?”

Hitler laughed heartily. “I will not fail! The German people will march towards glory and victory under my leadership!” He tried to sway the old veteran Ludendorff in the same way he swayed the Nazi Party members.

But clearly, he did not succeed. Ludendorff roared with rage, “You bastard! You have made yourself, not me, the future dictator of Germany! And you have me commanding your non-existent armies like a monkey! Do you think everyone is a fool?”

However, Hitler was unmoved. Ludendorff had no choice but to control himself and say to Hitler in as calm a tone as possible, “Mr. Hitler! This is a matter of national importance. I can only advise others to cooperate. I cannot truly control their actions!”

Hitler shook his head and said, “It’s too late! We can’t turn back now. Our actions have already been written into the pages of world history.” Seeing Ludendorff yield, his loyal subordinate Lossow also had to stand up and compromise with Hitler. “I will carry out Mr. Hitler’s wishes as orders.”

Ludendorff’s intervention played a decisive role. When Kahr still expressed dissent, Hitler used his last trump card. He said to Kahr, “If your excellency permits, I will immediately drive to see His Majesty, the Crown Prince of Bavaria, and tell him: ‘The German people have risen up and have redressed the injustice suffered by Your Majesty’s late father.'”

Hearing these words, the wavering monarchist official Kahr also surrendered, immediately agreeing to cooperate and serve as the king’s representative. They achieved a superficial unity, and the entire group returned to the main hall in formation.

As the audience jumped onto their seats and cheered enthusiastically, each of them gave a short speech on the stage, swearing allegiance and shaking hands with one another. Hitler was overjoyed, relieved, and said emotionally, “I am about to fulfill the vow I made five years ago when I was temporarily blind in the military hospital: to strive tirelessly and unceasingly until the government of the November criminals is overthrown, until on the tragic ruins of today’s Germany, a strong, free, and glorious Germany is once again established.”

As soon as he finished speaking, his Brownshirts gathered in the beer hall shouted loudly, “Deutschland über alles (Germany above all).”

Everyone applauded and shouted along with Hitler, “Deutschland über alles!”

Amidst the rolling shouts, a man in a brown shirt walked out of the beer hall. He gave a salute to the few Brownshirts guarding the main door, then nodded and walked away, disappearing into the night.

In a small alley not far away, a man was leaning against a wall, smoking a cigarette. Seeing the man in the brown shirt approach, he dropped the cigarette butt from his mouth to the ground, crushed it with his foot, and took a slip of paper from the brown-shirted man’s hand. After handing over the note, the man in the brown shirt nodded and turned to leave.

He opened the note. By the light from a window behind him and the moonlight, he could vaguely make out a line of small words: “Hitler is staging a putsch in the beer hall. Inform the Gestapo commander, Major Gascoigne, immediately.”

At around 11 o’clock on the morning of November 22, the Nazi Party took action. Three thousand Nazi Party members and Brownshirts gathered again outside the beer hall from that night. They distributed a small number of rifles and ammunition, shouted slogans, and prepared to launch their uprising.

The undisciplined procession, carrying a variety of weapons, marched towards the center of Munich, led by Hitler, Göring, and the famous General Erich Ludendorff.

At the same moment, in the Reichswehr barracks outside Munich, the sound of alarms split the sky. Vehicle after vehicle drove out of the warehouses. Row upon row of Reichswehr soldiers stood in neat formation, rifles in hand. As soldiers of the newly formed 22nd Reichswehr Division, they were waiting for the arrival of a key figure.