It can be seen that Hitler was a very rash hard-hitting person. When he was passionate about something he put all of himself into it. But could that have been the downfall of the “Beer Putsch.” There were many components that went into the planning of the putsch, Hitler and his colleagues knew they needed support from the police and army. Knowing that Hitler and his crew went along with the plan even though there was some loose ends that still needed to be tied up. Hitler and his supports were ready for the revolution, everything was going well until things started turning sour. “The hurried improvisation of the planning, the hectic rush to prepare at only a day’s notice, that had followed Hitler’s impatient insistence that the putsch should be advanced to the evening of the Bürgerbräukeller meeting, now took its toll, determining the shambolic course of the night’s events” (Kershaw 208). The failed revolution might have been best for Hitler, he learned from his mistakes and came back even stronger.
Hitler being arrested and his time in jail were shown to be extremely helpful to him and developing his mindset to rise and become to leader of Germany. “His ability to direct events outside led to Hitler to the writing of Mein Kampf and the ‘rationalization’ and partial modification of his political ideas” (Kershaw 224). He was still revered as a leader; he had visitors and fan mail. Even though he continually said he was not going to take a political stance until he was out of jail people still thought of him as a “demi-god” (224).
He was referred to as a ‘drummer’ that just relayed the Right ideals but then he started seeing himself as a leader and one day the overall ruler of Germany.
I agree that the failed putsch helped to develop his political mindset and goals. He experienced the failure of an armed takeover, which solidified his faith and reliance upon propaganda and mass mobilization. This obviously shaped how he continued in his political career. Perhaps he no longer saw himself as a drummer but as the ultimate leader now because he saw that what he did best was what would be the most effective for the party and the movement. There was no need to rely so heavily on the skills of others, particularly militaristic, as Hitler saw that it was not successful.
ReplyDeleteNot only did Hitler have the time to cement his ideological and political plans, he became more of a sensation by being in prison. Being behind bars brought him more attention and publicity than ever before. Hitler utilized this time to continue spreading his ideas, which newspapers featured on a regular basis. Judges were affected by Hitler, and even the prosecutors didn’t think twice about challenging him. Followers were sympathetic. Germans became more aroused by the fact that the leader of the NSDAP Party, who was now more than just a drummer, was still fighting for the right wing cause when the police kicked him down. Although Hitler failed to overthrow Ebert’s Weimar government at the time, he succeeded in crystallizing the loyalty of his followers. In many modern cases, imprisoned criminals just wait for their verdict, but charismatic Hitler used this opportunity to strengthen what he had in mind for Germany. Complete extermination, followed by utter domination.
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