Hitler and the Early Nazi Party
In 1919 the German Workers Party was nothing but a tiny extremist group based in Munich, located in the southern German state of Bavaria. Party members denounced the Jews, Marxists and Democrats, to name a few. Pretty much anyone who did not agree with their political ideals was a potential target of the groups hate. The group’s platform was built on the idea of a uniquely German “national socialism.” They would abolish injustices of capitalism and create a “people’s community.” It wasn’t long before Adolph Hitler, an immigrant from Austria, became the party leader. Hitler was a powerful speaker and knew how to use mass propaganda to his advantage.
He established a strong group identity, with special uniforms and badges, victory salutes and even a strange military march. Hitler would hold mass rallies in Munich, with songs, slogans and demonstrations, attacking the Jewish community, the war profiteers and the Weimar Republic. As inflation grew and living conditions worsened in Germany, Hitler decided that the time was ripe to overthrow the government and establish the Nazi’s as the leading power. Hitler was inspired in part by the recent victory in Italy by Mussolini and his fascist regime.
The Uprising in the Beer Hall
The plan Hitler was pretty simple. Too simple. The Bavarian government would be overthrown. General Ludendorff, a WWI veteran hero, would march on Berlin with Hitler’s support and viola! No more Weimar Republic. On the night of November 8, 1923, Hitler and a group of supporters burst into a beer hall in Munich, fired a shot in the air and declared that President Ebert and the whole government had been deposed. Two days later Hitler was arrested and the whole revolt was put down by local police and army.
Hitler Goes to Jail and Writes Mein Kampf
Following the revolt and his arrest, Adolph Hitler should have been deported back to his native Austria. Instead he was sentenced to five years in jail, with all but nine months suspended- the minimum sentence by law. The judge in the case declared that Hitler and the rest of the Nazi party were “…guided in their actions by a purely patriotic spirit and the noblest of selfless intentions.” At his trial, Hitler showed open contempt for the government and presented his own political agenda. He garnered a great deal of publicity for the Nazi party.
Hitler had nine months to reflect on his next move. He realized the folly of his plan to overthrow the Weimar Republic. Instead he knew that he must undermine it. He would use the democratic institutions to his advantage. He would intimidate opposition and get himself elected into power. He wrote down his political plan in a book called Mein Kampf (My Struggle). In it he declared that Germany had the right to conquer all Eastern Europe in order to maintain Lebensraum (living space). He preached against not only the Jews, but the communits, gypsies, Africans, basically anyone who did not fit the white Aryan profile the Nazi party declared as the “Superior” race. Mein Kampf was published in 1925. Eight years later Hitler would be the undisputed leader of Germany.
Sources:
Burns, Ralph, Lerner, Meacham. World Civilizations, Sixth Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1982.
Facing History and Ourselves National Foundation. Holocaust and Human Behavior. Brookline, Massachusettes. 1994.
Mckay, Hill, Buckler. A History of World Societies: Volume II Since 1500. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 1992
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