Beer Hall Putsch Sources Coursework

Rachael Cornes

Beer Hall Putsch Coursework Assignments

1. Describe the main events of Hitler’s political career from 1918 to 1922

Hitler is recognised as one of the most notorious dictators the world has ever known. He caused a great deal of suffering to millions of innocent people. However, in the latter part of the 20th Century, people have become more interested in what Hitler did with his power rather than how and why he gained it. Therefore, in this question I will discuss Hitler’s main political events that happened earlier on in his career. These events gave him the strength and courage to rise to power.

On November 10,1918, while Hitler was lying in bed having been blinded from a British Chlorine attack, he heard news about the ending of the war. Like most Germans, he was deeply outraged and saddened. They felt betrayed by the government who had requested an armistice negotiation with the allies; it seemed as though the government had lost faith in their soldiers. Therefore, to the German people, the German politicians who had signed this agreement on November 11, 1918, were known as the ‘November Criminals’. In addition, this feeling was known as the ‘stab in the back’ theory by many Germans who found it impossible to swallow defeat. Hitler became obsessed with this idea of being betrayed and started to blame Jews and Marxists for undermining the war effort. This betrayal, as Hitler saw it, was a vast influence on his political career, as he became infatuated with taking revenge on the November Criminals. If they had not singed the Treaty of Versailles, would Hitler have persecuted the Jews and Marxists while still being in power? Would he have strived to become a ‘God-like’ person? The answer to these questions can only be answered with hindsight.

In the summer of 1919, Hitler was still in the army, which was stationed in Munich. However, since the disarmament of the German army, due to the government signing the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler could no longer be a soldier. Therefore, he became an undercover agent, who tried to weed out Marxist influence within the ranks. He also investigated illegal political organisations. Thus in September 1919, one of Hitler’s tasks was to look into an organisation/small group called the German Worker’s Party.

On September 12,191, in a Munich beer hall, Hitler attended one of their meetings. Once ...

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On September 12,191, in a Munich beer hall, Hitler attended one of their meetings. Once there, he started to argue with a man that enraged him with his preposterous ideas, and for 15 minutes, he was uninterrupted. The crowd was astonished with this ‘natural born orator’. In addition, among the crowd was Anton Drexler, one of the primary founders of the German Worker’s Party. He to was surprised and impressed, as he reportedly whispered to his colleague, ‘he’s got the gift of the gab, we could use him’. As a result, after Hitler’s sudden outburst, Drexler hurried to meet him, and gave him a booklet entitled: ‘My Political Awakening’. This leaflet had all the ideas and objectives of the party, which Drexler told him to read, and if he agreed with the ‘vision’ to come back again. A few days later, Hitler read the book; he was amazed as there were such people who had the same views as him. He was not alone! ‘My political awakening’ reflected his political thinking-building a strong nationalist nation, being pro-military, for example taking back lost land due to the Treaty of Versailles, such as that Rhineland, and being anti-semitic. To put the ‘icing on the cake’ the people in the party consisted of the working class. He saw that the party was badly organised and with very little money or support, but when he read the pamphlet, he was ‘moved’ by Drexler’s words-‘the party was a movement, not just a political party’. It was a challenge and an opportunity for him to spread his was of thinking and ‘dissolve’ the November Criminals, which was his dream. Hence, a few days later, at the age of thirty, Hitler joined the committee of the German Worker’s Party (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or DAP) and thus entered politics. This event was very significant in his life as it gave Hitler an objective to strive for success and reach his dream (to take he revenge on the November Criminals and destroy France). If Hitler hadn’t of entered the DAP, would he have still risen to power by some other means, or would he have kept quiet as he assumed that he was the only person with those strong political beliefs? In my opinion without the DAP, Hitler would have remained anonymous throughout History. The party gave him the encouragement and confidence to speak out.

In spite of this, being a member of the party did not automatically mean you were allowed to give speeches. Except on October 16,1919, Hitler was given a chance, and asked to be the second speaker at a meeting, despite the misgivings of some of the committee members who doubted Hitler’s ability at this time. Nevertheless, like before, when Hitler spoke he astounded everyone, including himself with a highly emotional, and at times near hysterical manner of speech making. This was a very important moment in Adolf Hitler’s young political career, he realised that he could get people to actually listen to him. It was at this point he recognised that he might be able to change peoples outlook, and join, what he thought was an amazing party with brilliant political ideas.