Sure, he was imprisoned. He was tried for the 'high treason' that he committed. This is not a trivial matter and he should have been punished harshly. Even though it was blatantly obvious that he was one of the figures who initiated and planned the coup, his magical oration skill only benefited him. He stated everything that he wanted to for four hours and he was not stopped because "it was impossible to interrupt his torrent of words" (216). His ability to captivate and persuade any kind of crowd and luck resulted in only five years of imprisonment. He could have been deported but he wasn't because he thinks and feels like a German. He was able to serve in the German army also due to chance and fortunate situations regarding telegrams. Therefore, he was not deported.
His luck did not end there. His short imprisonment time was even further reduced. "A calculation in the files of the state prosecution office noted that he had three years, 333 days, twenty-one hours, fifty minutes of his short sentence still to serve" (239). This is not something that Hitler worked hard to achieve. In fact, while in prison, he decided to "withdraw from politics" (230). Instead of declined attention from the public, it "exacerbate the spit that was already taking place, increase confusion, and thereby bolster his image as a symbol of unity" (231). Public's attention increased and the party leaders' effort to keep Hitler interested in politics persisted. All of these factors added up and Hitler's early release was achieved. Just imagine how different the Germany and world history would have been if Hitler served his full sentence. I think that Hitler himself would have been too discouraged after five years and the public's interest in him would have declined significantly.
Even though he spent little time in prison, his time in prison practically prepared him to be the horrendous dictator. His prison time was "a period in which hitler inwardly consolidated and rationalized for himself the world-view he had been developing since 1919" (240). In prison, he organized thoughts and he decided that "The 'mission' of the Nazi Movement was...to destroy "Jewish Bolshevism". At the same time...for outright imperialist conquest" (243). Also, while he viewed himself as a 'drummer' who shakes the public, in prison, "he began to see himself...as Germany's savior" (240). In prison, he discovered what he should be in regards to Germany and how this will be accomplished. Before, he used whatever method and idea to stir up a public and to get attention. However, this time, he mobilized himself to be the savior and the ultimate dictator of Nazi Germany.
None of the events that should have been obstacles to him became pedestals to his career. His life was abnormally lucky.
I have to agree that Hitler had an unusual amount of luck, or at least Kershaw makes it seem that way. All of his luck created a very direct path to becoming this Nazi leader. He was lucky when he was able to avoid serving in the Austrian military and avoid going to prison for evading it, being able to serve in the Bavarian army without being a German citizen, not being sent back to Austria by the Bavarian army officials, and Captain Mayr’s patronage. Events such as serving in the army gave him extra appeal because he was seen as a war hero and later saved him from being deported back to Austria when he was on trail because they said that he was a “German-Austrian” who “considers himself a German (Kershaw 1998, 217).” We can now add being released from prison early for good behavior to his series of lucky events. One can argue that going to prison actually benefited him, and was an essential moment that led to him becoming the Nazi leader, because he organized his thoughts, reaffirmed his worldview, developed the idea of wanting to destroy “Jewish Bolshevism there, and had his mission in mind (Kershaw 1998, 241). Also, he gained many more followers and believers in his mission in the prison. Kershaw often says, throughout the book, that had it not been for all of these events, Hitler’s future would have been different.
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