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What was the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923?

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Birth of the Weimar Republic — Weimar Republic Learn about Germany's fledgling Weimar Republic and the challenges it faced.

The Beer Hall Putsch, which took place on November 8–9, 1923, was an abortive attempt by Adolf Hitler and General Erich Ludendorff to overthrow the Weimar Republic.12

Seeking to exploit the political and economic chaos of the era—including hyperinflation and the occupation of the Ruhr—Hitler and his Nazi Party aimed to use Bavaria as a base for a nationalist march on Berlin. On November 8, Hitler and armed SA members seized a meeting at a Munich beer hall, forcing local officials to support a national revolution.345

The coup collapsed the following day when police fired upon the marchers in Munich, resulting in several deaths. Hitler was arrested and tried for treason; although sentenced to five years in prison, he served only nine months. During his incarceration at Landsberg, he wrote his political autobiography, Mein Kampf. The failure of the putsch led Hitler to conclude that his movement must achieve power through legal means rather than insurrection.25