Exam Question:

Explain why the Munch Putsch (1923) failed.(12 marks)

You may use the following in your answer

  • The German army
  • Bavarian leaders

You must use information of your own.

The Munich Putsch of 1923, was an attempt by Hitler's Nazi party to begin a revolution in Munich with the aim of bringing down the Weimar Republic of Germany. Hitler intended to take power by force and establish the Nazi party in government. Hitler had planned for him and his storm troopers to march into the beer hall and take over force, but things didn't go as planned and the Putsch failed. There were a number of reasons why the plot failed; this was partly because of the role of the German army, the part played by the Bavarian leaders and Hitler’s own miscalculations.

The first reason for the failure was because when the uprising took place instead of joining the Nazi’s, the German army remained loyal to the government and helped put down the attempted rebellion. As a German army commander and World War One hero,Ludendorfwas convinced that once the violence had broken out, soldiers would support him and Hitler. Hitler also thought that because he believed he had secured an agreement with von Lossow, the head of the German army in Bavaria, the German army had effectively been neutralised with von Lossow’s support. However, not only did they find that the Germany army had joined forces with the police against the Nazi’s; they were prepared to shot at them. As a result, 14 Nazi members were killed, the rebels were scattered and Hitler was injured when he fell to the ground to take cover. The remaining rebels had to scramble for cover and Hitler escaped in a car before being later arrested. This was a very obvious defeat and humiliation for the rebels.

Another reason for the failure of the Putsch was because of the Bavarian leaders who were involved. When Bavarian officials Otto von Lossow and Gustav von Khar were holding a meeting in a beer hall in Munich on 8th November , they were interrupted by Hitler and 600 members of the SA shooting into the air and demanding at gunpoint that the Kahr, Lossow and Seisser support them. The three leaders reluctantly shook hands and Hitler, believig he had their support let them go. However, the next day when Hitler and his supporters gathered ready for the Putsch it became clear that the three Bavarian leaders had withdrawn their support.Hitler decided to go ahead but without the support of the Bavarian leaders they could not hope to be successful. Kahr was the leader of the Bavaria, Seisser was head of the Bavarian police and Lossow was head of the army in Bavaria, so their combined forces were able to overwhelm the rebels. Also, by having turning out such a strong force, anyone who may have thought about supporting the Putsch would think twice when they saw the strength of the authorities.

Another important consideration in the failure of the Putsch was the poor planning by Hitler himself. It seems that nothing was very well planned. Hitler just assumed people would join the rebellion once it had started, he miscalculated by trusting the Bavarian leaders and when it was clear they were actually going to act against him, eye witnesses said he had a nervous collapse. By accepting the loyalty of the bavarian leaders Hitler showed his naivety, gave them advanced warning of what was going to happen and so gave them time to let the government in Berlin know and organise the army and police. The fact that Hitler apparently lost his nerve when he realise they had been let down, suggests the failure had been a shock and his confidence was misplaced, he totally overestimated his position, and underestimated the level of opposition against him.

After Lossow and Kahr promise loyalty to the putsch, Ludendorff allows them to leave. This was a very bad thing to do as it meant that the news had spread to Berlin very quickly and this gave them time to sort it. What Hitler should have done was take over the media (radio/newspapers) to stop the news travelling as quick. Hitler also failed to do what he said. In his speech at Burgerbraukeller on the 8th November 1923, Hitler said that the army and police barracks had been occupied, but they hadn't. On the 9th November President Ebert declared a national emergency because of treason in Munich. Lossow and Kahr then issue a proclamation denouncing the putsch. This showed that Hitler had allowed time for the opposition of the putsch to gather and go back on their promise to support him

The Putsch failed also because of the timing. By November 1923, Germany was over the worst effects of hyperinflation. Stressman had taken over as chancellor of Germany and he had already begun to have good contacts with other countries. He had managed to persuade big countries like the USA to lend Germany money to help them get over hyperinflation which is probably why hardly any German citizens joined them.

Overall, the Putsch failed because if the factors explain above. Probably the most significant one was the mistakes made by Hitler: if he had read the situation correctly and not been so naïve and impatient he would have realised that there was no realistic chance of success. However, while in the short term the failure of the putsch may have had a negative impact for the Nazi party, in time they were able to turn it to their advantage.