Adolf Hitler’s Rise: The Nazi’s Beer Hall Putsch, Landsberg Prison, and “Mein Kampf”

From 1919 through late 1923, high inflation strangled the German economy and fueled political unrest. Adolf Hitler began spying on political groups in Munich as a hired Weimar Army informant in mid-1919. A small nationalist group called the German Workers’ Party (DAP) caught his fancy. So much so that he became member #55, and soon became the party’s most dynamic speaker, shaping its pro-nationalist agenda by demonizing Jews, Marxists, and Democracy.

By February 1920, the German Workers’ Party had become the Nazi Party, officially known as the NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers’ Party). Hitler helped broaden the party’s appeal by introducing a 25-point program that emphasized nationalism, anti-Semitism, anti-Marxism, and the rejection of the Treaty of Versailles. As its undisputed leader, he used Brownshirts to protect Nazi meetings and intimidate opponents. The group attracted donations from nationalists and conservatives as Hitler drew sizeable crowds.

Following in Mussolini’s footsteps in Italy, Hitler began plotting the Beer Hall Putsch. On November 8–9, 1923, 600 Nazi stormtroopers stormed a Bavarian officials’ meeting at the Bürgerbräukeller beer hall. They called for a national revolution and the overthrow of the Weimar Republic. The next day, Hitler led the march of over 2000 Nazis through Munich to push their agenda. Armed police met and defeated them, with 16 Nazis and four police officers killed.

Two days later, the Police arrested Hitler and charged him with treason. He used his trial to paint himself as a patriot defending Germany’s humiliation resulting from the Treaty of Versailles. He served roughly nine months out of his five-year sentence in Landsberg Prison. During his imprisonment, Hitler dictated his political manifesto, “Mein Kampf,” to his deputy Rudolf Hess. Besides the usual platform, Hitler now called for Lebensraum (the annexation of surrounding countries).