Munich Putsch and the lean years (1923-29)

• Munich Putsch + Lean years

  Munich Putsch:

  the munich putsch was an armed rebellion by the NDSP which aimed to overthrow the weimar republic. on the 8th of november 1923, leaders of the bavarian government were speaking at a beer hall in munich when the nazis took it over (hitler used his connection with general ludendorff). whilst hitler subdued the leaders, rohm and the SA took over the police headquarters. however, ludenderff let the leaders of the bavarian government go home. the following morning, the nazis took to the streets, but the regional government were well-prepared, using the army to suppress the putsch. hitler had also miscalculated the amount of support the nazis would receive from the locals. the putsch ended with a stand-off between the army, police, and nazis. hitler ended up escaping, but was eventually arrested.
• Munich Putsch + Lean years

  Causes of the munich putsch:

  short term causes of the munich putsch: hyperinflation & occupation of ruhr made weimar republic weak, which the nazis decided to capitalise off of. long term causes: build up of resentment towards the weimar republic after ww1. hitler was also inspired by previous german revolts and mussolini's march on rome in 1922.
• Munich Putsch + Lean years

  Consequences of munich putsch:

  short term consequences of the munich putsch: the nazi party was banned from operating in germany, hitler was sentenced to 5 years at landsberg prison for treason (where he wrote mein kampf), and ludendorff was let off. long term consequences: hitler understood that he had to use democratic methods to take power, ban of nazis was lifted, & hitler became known through media coverage.
• Munich Putsch + Lean years

  Lean years (1924-1928):

  the lean/wilderness years refer to the period between 1924 and 1928 when the nazi party didn't have high levels of support. there were 3 reasons: improving confidence in weimar republic - due to the work of stresemann and the success of pacts, economic stability - due to the introduction of the rentenmark, support for extremist groups fell, & humiliation of munich - failure of munich putsch meant party lost much of its direction..
• Munich Putsch + Lean years

  Reorganising the nazi party:

  hitler only served 9 months of his 5 year sentence. after his release, he took steps to improve party organisation and take power by democratic means. he appointed a party secretary and treasurer to organise and finance the nazis. after the ban on the NDSP was lifted in february 1925, they focused on gaining support from the youth and women (with the nationalist socialist german's student league and german women's order). hitler also wanted to broaden their geographic reach from just the southern region. to create a national party, he ensured there was a nazi party office in every constituency of the weimar republic. this was paid for by donations from wealthy business who wanted hitler to crush communism. he also reformed nazi security forces, creating the SS (schutzstaffel) in 1925 to act as his personal bodyguard, consisting of 3000 men by 1930 and controlled by himmler.
• Munich Putsch + Lean years

  Reorganising the nazi party:

  hitler only served 9 months of his 5 year sentence. after his release, he took steps to improve party organisation and take power by democratic means. he appointed a party secretary and treasurer to organise and finance the nazis. after the ban on the NDSP was lifted in february 1925, they focused on gaining support from the youth and women (with the nationalist socialist german's student league and german women's order). hitler also wanted to broaden their geographic reach from just the southern region. to create a national party, he ensured there was a nazi party office in every constituency of the weimar republic. this was paid for by donations from wealthy business who wanted hitler to crush communism. he also reformed nazi security forces, creating the SS (schutzstaffel) in 1925 to act as his personal bodyguard, consisting of 3000 men by 1930 and controlled by himmler.
• Munich Putsch + Lean years

  Bamburg Conference:

  the bamberg conference was a meeting between all the leaders of the nazi party and was held to address a growing north-south split within the party. in the north of germany, socialism appealed to many as it focussed on benefits for workers. however, in the south, there was a focus on the national. as a result of the bamberg conference, hitler placed nationalism at the centre of the party at the expense of socialism.