Hitler: Ascent, 1889-1939 (151 page)

62 
Hanfstaengl,
Zwischen Weissem und Braunem Haus
, p. 129. Gottfried Feder also first received the order to be at the Bürgerbräukeller at 9 p.m. on 8 Nov. Notes on “November 1923,” in G. Feder’s diaries, vol. 5; IfZ München, ED 874.

63 
Hofmann,
Der Hitler-Putsch
, p. 160.

64 
Konrad Heiden,
Adolf Hitler: Das Zeitalter der Verantwortungslosigkeit. Eine Biographie
, Zurich, 1936, p. 156.

65 
See Hess,
Briefe
, p. 311 (dated 16 Nov./4 Dec. 1923).

66 
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 1, p. 50.

67 
Müller,
Im Wandel einer Welt
, p. 161. See Kahr, memoirs, p. 1353; BayHStA München, Nl Kahr 51.

68 
Indictment from 8 Jan. 1924;
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 1, p. 309.

69 
Kahr, memoirs, pp. 1354f.; BayHStA München, Nl Kahr 51. See
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 2, p. 749 (Lossow’s statement).

70 
Quotes from, respectively,
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 3, p.795 (Kahr’s statement); part 1, p. 51 (Hitler’s statement), p. 310 (indictment); part 2, p. 750 (Lossow’s statement); part 1, p. 310 (indictment), p. 115 (Pöhner’s statement), p. 310 (indictment). See Kahr, memoirs, pp. 1355f.; BayHStA München, Nl Kahr 51.

71 
Müller,
Im Wandel einer Welt
, p. 162.

72 
On Göring’s entrance see
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 2, pp. 597, 620, 631, 634.

73 
Müller,
Im Wandel einer Welt
, pp. 162f.;
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 1, p. 311 (indictment).

74 
Kahr, memoirs, pp. 1345f.; BayHStA München, Nl Kahr 51. In Munich in the spring of 1924, rumours swirled that Ludendorff had summoned his old confidant from the world war, Colonel Max Bauer, to the city on 8 Nov. 1923, but Bauer had refused to come and warned Ludendorff against the planned undertaking. As rumour had it, a letter to that effect had been confiscated when authorities had searched Ludendorff’s home, but prosecutors had decided not to use it. Political diary of Ritter von Epp, vol. 1 (entry for 27 April 1924); BA Koblenz, N 1101/22.

75 
Quotes from, respectively,
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 1, p. 311 (indictment); part 3, p. 796 (Kahr’s statement); part 1, p. 53 (Hitler’s statement). See Kahr, memoirs, pp. 1357f; Bay HstA München, Nl Kahr 51.

76 
Quotes from, respectively,
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 3, p. 797 (Kahr’s statement); Müller,
Im Wandel einer Welt
, p. 164;
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 1, pp. 311f. (indictment); Müller,
Im Wandel einer Welt
, p. 164;
Der Hitler-Prozess,
part 1, p. 312 (indictment). See Kahr, memoirs, pp. 1359f.; BayHStA München, Nl Kahr 51

77 
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 1, p. 53.

78 
See Hofmann,
Der Hitler-Putsch
, p. 169;
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 1, p. 279: Ludendorff said that he had been unable to believe “that the gentlemen would go back on their word.” According to testimony by Mathilde Scheubner-Richter on 9 July 1952, Ludendorff visited her two days after the failed putsch and cried like a small child, saying: “Noble lady, it is the end of Germany, if German officers break their word to another German officer.” IfZ München, ZS 292.

79 
See Peter Longerich,
Heinrich Himmler: Biographie
, Munich, 2008, pp. 76f.

80 
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 2, p. 756 (Lossow’s statement).

81 
Ibid., p. 757; see Kahr, memoirs, pp. 1367f.; BayHStA München, Nl. Kahr 51.

82 
Text in Hitler,
Sämtliche Aufzeichnungen
, no. 597, p. 1056.

83 
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 3, p. 873 (Seisser’s statement).

84 
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 2, pp. 662f. (retired Major Alexander Siry’s statement).

85 
See the report by the Spanish journalist Eugeni Xammar, who was present in the Bürgerbräukeller on 8 Nov.: “Der Putsch als Spektakel” (
Das Schlangenei
, pp. 134–8).

86 
For details see Walter,
Antisemitische Gewalt
, pp. 120–36; further, see the indictment against forty members of Stosstrupp Hitler, dated 29 April 1924, reprinted in Hans Kallenbach,
Mit Adolf Hitler auf Festung Landsberg
, Munich, 1933, pp. 16–29.

87 
Detlev Clemens,
Herr Hitler in Germany: Wahrnehmungen und Deutungen des Nationalsozialismus in Grossbritannien 1920 bis 1939
, Göttingen and Zurich, 1996, p. 80.

88 
See Gordon,
Hitlerputsch 1923
, p. 241; Walter,
Antisemitische Gewalt
, p. 114. On 13 Nov. 1923, the widow Elly von der Pfordten wrote to Karl Alexander von Müller with the request: “Should you be able with the help of Engineer F(eder) to tell me more about my husband’s final moments, I would be very grateful. Every word is important to me.” BayHStA München, Nl K. A. v. Müller 19/1.

89 
Hanfstaengl’s note; BSB München, Nl Hanfstaengl Ana 405, Box 25;
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 3, p. 1203.

90 
Recorded as “November 1923” in G. Feder’s diaries, vol. 5; IfZ München, ED 874. The quote is from Hofmann,
Der Hitler-Putsch
, p. 194

91 
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 1, p. 282 (Ludendorff’s statement).

92 
See ibid., p. 57 (Hitler’s statement): “Herr Ludendorff in particular took the standpoint that we had to try to go into the city ourselves, even if it were our last move, and attempt to get public opinion on our side.” See notes of a conversation with Karl Kriebel from 17 June 1952; IfZ München, ZS 258.

93 
Der Hitler-Proze
ss part 1, p. 58. See also ibid., p. 230 (Kriebel’s statement); part 2, p. 400 (Brückner’s statement). On the role of Rossbach and the Infantry School see the transcript of a conversation with Gerhard Rossbach, dated 31 Oct. 1951; IfZ München, ZS 128.

94 
See Hanfstaengl,
Zwischen Weissem und Braunem Haus
, p. 143. Text in David Jablonski,
The Nazi Party in Dissolution: Hitler and the Verbotszeit 1923–1925
, London, 1989, p. 29. That morning, the
Münchener Neueste Nachrichten
(9 Nov. 1923) ran a headline reading, “National Directorship to be Instituted.” Six days earlier, the
Münchener Zeitung
(3 Nov. 1923) had already run the headline “Hitler’s Putsch—Kahr’s Rape” and published Kahr’s contrary appeal. Copies of the newspapers in BayHStA München, Nl K. A. v. Müller 19/2.

95 
See the report by Police First Lieutenant Baron von Godin, 10 Nov. 1923; Deuerlein,
Der Hitler-Putsch
, doc. 97, pp. 330f.

96 
For the following quotations see also Anna Maria Sigmund, “Als Hitler auf der Flucht war,” in
Süddeutsche Zeitung
, 8 and 9 Nov. 2008 (based on the unpublished memoirs of Helene Hanfstaengl).

97 
See the report dramatising his wife’s memoirs in Hanfstaengl,
Zwischen Weissem und Braunem Haus
, p. 6.

98 
Deuerlein,
Der Hitler-Putsch
, doc. 118, p. 372 (dated 13 Nov. 1923). See also the recollections of the Uffinger police constable Georg Schmiedel in “Ich verhaftete Adolf Hitler!,” in the
Weilheimer Tageblatt
, 10 Dec. 1949; BSB Müchen, Nl Hanfstaengl Ana 405, Box 40; further, the half-monthly report of the Weilheim Police Directorship from 30 Nov. 1923; BA Berlin-Lichterfelde, NS 26/66.

99 
On Hitler’s arrival in jail, see the description of former prison official Franz Hemmerich “Die Festung Landsberg am Lech 1920–1945,” written in 1970, pp. 3f.: “A couple of strands of hair hung down into his face, pale and sunken from stress and sleepless nights, out of which a pair of hard eyes stared out into the void.” IfZ München, ED 153; Otto Lurker,
Hitler hinter Festungsmauern: Ein Bild aus trüben Tagen
, Berlin, 1933, pp. 4–6 (on p. 65 see the protective custody order from 11 Nov. 1923).

100 
See Gordon,
Der Hitlerputsch
, pp. 416–23. On Hess see Hess to his parents, 21 Dec. 1923, 2 April 1924; BA Bern, Nl Hess, J1.211-1989/148, 31, 33; Hess,
Briefe
, p. 322 (dated 11 May 1924). On Feder, see “Promemoria 1923/24,” in G. Feder’s diaries, vol. 6; IfZ München, ED 874.

101 
Quoted in Gordon,
Der Hitlerputsch
, p. 313.

102 
Clemens,
Herr Hitler in Germany
, p. 80. See Kahr, memoirs, pp. 1376f.; BayHStA München, Nl Kahr 51. In a conversation with Ritter von Epp, Minister President Knilling described Kahr as “the most hated man in Munich.” Political diary of Ritter von Epp, vol. 1 (entry for 10 Nov. 1923); BA Koblenz, N 1101/22.

103 
Karl Alexander von Müller to Paul Nikolaus Cossmann, 13 Nov. 1923; BayHStA München, Nl K. A. v. Müller 19/1. For the course of the mass event at Munich University on 12 Nov. 1923 see Deuerlein,
Der Hitler-Putsch
, doc. 113, pp. 357f.; Anton Schmalix to Christian Weber, 20 Sept. 1937; BA Berlin-Lichterfelde, NS 26/1267. On the students’ mood see Albrecht Haushofer in retrospect to Rudolf Hess, 29 March 1935; BA Koblenz, N 1122/957.

104 
See Winkler,
Weimar
, pp. 241ff.

105 
Memoirs of Franz Hemmerich, p. 13; IfZ München, ED 153. See ibid., pp. 9–15: According to these sources, Hitler began his hunger strike several days after being brought to Landsberg and held out for ten days.

106 
Otto Gritschneder,
Bewährungsfrist für den Terroristen Adolf H.: Der Hitler-Putsch und die bayerische Justiz
, Munich, 1990, p. 35. See also Ott’s report in the
Bayernkurier
, 3 Nov. 1973, reprinted in Werner Maser,
Adolf Hitlers “Mein Kampf”: Geschichte, Auszüge, Kommentare
, 9th edition, Esslingen, 2001, pp. 18–20. Anton Drexler too claimed that he—together with attorney Lorenz Roder—had convinced Hitler to end his hunger strike after thirteen days. Anton Drexler to Felix Danner, 5 Jan. 1934; BA Berlin-Lichterfelde, NS 26/2012.

107 
Hess,
Briefe
, p. 313 (dated 16 Nov./4 Dec. 1923).

108 
Quoted in John Toland,
Adolf Hitler
:
Volume 1
, New York, 1976, p. 192. On 23 Nov. one of Hitler’s early visitors, the Sudeten German National Socialist Hans Knirsch, reported: “He still has no use of his arm.” Othmar Plöckinger,
Geschichte eines Buches: Adolf Hitlers “Mein Kampf” 1922–1945
, Munich, 2006, p. 32.

109 
See Brigitte Hamann,
Winifred Wagner oder Hitlers Bayreuth
, Munich and Zurich, 2002, pp. 86–100 (quotations on pp. 90, 91, 96f., 97, 99, 94).

110 
Report by deputy state prosecutor Dr. Ehard, 14 Dec. 1923, on interrogating Hitler during the previous days;
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 1, pp. 299–307 (quotation on pp. 299f.).

111 
Ibid., p. 307.

112 
See the reports by the
Münchener Neuesten Nachrichten
, 27 Feb. 1924 and the
München-Augsburger Abendzeitung
, 27 Feb. 1924; BA Berlin-Lichterfelde, NS 26/1928c and NS 26/1928d. On the run-up to the trial, see Wilhelm Frick to his sister Emma, 12 Feb. 1924. Frick wrote that “the trial is attracting massive public interest—the unintended result is European fame.” BA Koblenz, N 1241/7.

113 
Hanfstaengl,
Zwischen Weissem und Braunem Haus
, p. 156.

114 
München-Augsburger Abendzeitung
, 27 Feb. 1924;
Münchener Zeitung
, 26 Feb. 1924;
Münchener Neueste Nachrichten
, 27 Feb. 1924; BA Berlin-Lichterfelde NS 26/1928e, NS 26/1928b, NS 26/1928d.

115 
Indictment from 8 Jan. 1924;
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 1, pp. 308–22 (quotation on p. 324).

116 
Ibid., pp. 60f.

117 
Kahr, memoirs, p. 1450; BayHStA München, Nl Kahr 51. The quote is from Friedrich Hitzer,
Anton Graf Arco: Das Attentat auf Eisner und die Schüsse im Landtag
, Munich, 1988, p. 313. On Neidhardt see Bernhard Huber, “Georg Neidhardt—nur ein unpolitischer Richter?,” in Marita Krauss (ed.),
Rechte Karrieren in München: Von der Weimarer Zeit bis in die Nachkriegsjahre
, Munich, 2010, pp. 95–111.

118 
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 2, pp. 738f. See the political diary of Ritter von Epp, vol. 1 (entry for 12 March 1924): “From the trial: Lossow snd Seisser getting the job done. Kahr is collapsing.” BA Koblenz, N 1101/22.

119 
See
Der Hitler-Prozess
, part 3, pp. 1034, 1088.

120 
Quoted in Deuerlein,
Aufstieg
, p. 205. See also the
Bayerischer Kurier
report, which concluded that “in terms of content” the trial was like “a rabble-rousing meeting of ethnic chauvinists”; ibid., p. 228. The Social Democratic newspaper
Münchener Post
(29 Feb. 1924) wrote that the proceedings were “increasingly taking on comedic qualities.” BA Berlin-Lichterfelde, NS 26/1928a.