Police Report Of The Munich Putsch Essay

, Research Paper

Police Report of the Munich Putsch 8th November

1923, Otto von Lossow (commander of the Reichswehr) and State Commissioner

Gustav von Kahr were addressing a meeting of 2,000 right-wing supporters in the

Munich beer-hall. A man named Adolf Hitler, a pro-active right-wing leader,

burst into the hall with armed storm troopers and declared a national

revolution. Hitler, gun in hand, forces the State Commissioner and the Army

Commander, Lossow, into a side room of the beer-hall. Hitler coheres? both

Lossow and Kahr to state their support for a march on Berlin to impose a new

government, with General Ludendorff as the new Commander-in-Chief. During these

talks thousands of storm troopers were terrorising other members of the

Bavarian government and causing complete chaos, but the storm troopers failure

to gain control of the army barracks and because of the procrastination of the

revolutionaries control and order were restored. 9th November

1923, President Ebert declares a national state of emergency. General Seeckt

orders Lossow to crush the revolt. Lossow and Kahr soon announce a proclomation

denouncing the putsch. Adolf Hitler was said to be very upset by the announcement

of Lossow and Kahr?s proclamation and becomes very anxious about carrying on

with the revolt. General Ludendorff persuades Hitler to carry on and at noon 2,000-armed

Nazi storm troopers march into a military base in Munich. Our armed police

units and the Bavarian army meet them at the military base. The first shots

were fired by the Nazi troops. 14 Nazi troops were killed in the revolt, General

Ludendorff marched up to the police units and was arrested, and Hitler fled the

scene and was found and arrested on the 11th November. As a result

of the Putsch General Seeckt bans the Nazi party. The aims of the Putsch was

to essentially take over Germany and replace the existing government with a new

?provisional? government consisting of people such as General Ludendorff and

Hitler. Posters were posted around the city telling the people about the newly

devised provisional government even before anyone had actually agreed to

participate in this rebel government. Another reason for this revolt by the

right wing groups of Germany was the suspicion that the communist parties were

also going to revolt and the right wing groups needed to get there first, which

is why the revolution was so poorly planed. The Munich Putsch failed for

a number of reasons many members of the public thought it was a joke and

something that wasn?t to be taken seriously one bystander called it a ?Comic

Opera?. A major turning point was the retraction of support for the Putsch by

Lossow and Kahr, this stemmed many other problems for the leaders of the Putsch

it was even said that Hitler had a nervous break down when Kahr and Lossow renounced

their support for the cause. The Putsch was also not planed properly there was

a rush to beat the communists and the plan had not been thought through

properly which hindered the whole revolt. The authorities were well informed

and took special measures to make sure that the Nazis had no weapons and that

army officers stayed loyal to the government. Lossow?s subordinates in the army

had refused to help the Nazis and so it would be impossible for Lossow to have

had the support of the army when measures were taken to keep army members

loyal. The degree of threat that

the Nazi party perpetuated was minimal, they hadn?t the support nor the power

to control a full blown revolution. The authorities were well prepared for them

and only 14 people were killed, Hitler?s followers were in small numbers, with

only about 50,000 members. General Seeckt has now banned the party and therefor

reducing the risk of any other uprising. Hitler has been jailed for his crimes

and the party should disband with out his leadership.