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If you mention the Beer Hall Putsch, let's consider how Weimar Republic actually had fallen. Read about the Reichstag Fire and the Reichstag Fire Decree. It started with a stupid and pointless act of violence - a communist (Marinus van der Lubbe) setting a fire in the Reichstag. But that fire didn't kill Weimar. That has been used by the Nazis to claim the communists are preparing a violent coup (which they in theory might not mind - violent revolution was the part of the Communist theory - but in practice hadn't been preparing any) and prosecute Communist leadership. It wasn't a violent putsch - despite considerable support and frequently using violence as tactics, they never felt strong enough to just take over the government by a violent strike. Instead, they combined occasional violence with massive propaganda, scaring the public about possible communist uprising, and presenting themselves as guardians of order, and slow takeover of government institutions, while suppressing their opposition (especially communists) under the mantle of preserving law and order. That's one of the reasons why they got handed considerable power without having to seize it violently - and were in position to pass such decrees as Reichstag Fire decree and the Enabling Act - that ended the Weimar Republic.


The point was more that the Beer Hall Putch failed, but was "forgiven" in the interests of "unity". Hitler and most of the conspirators were pardoned. The Nazi party ended up being emboldened instead of shunned or prosecuted. And the next time they were smarter about things.

This kind of rhetoric minimizing the attack at the capitol seems very much of a piece with the way the Bavarian establishment treated Nazism in the 20's to my eyes.




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