On 9 November 1923, Hitler, Ludendorff and 3000 SA men
marched on Munich's army headquarters. On the way they met a police
barricade which opened fire, killing sixteen Nazis. Hitler was arrested
and sentenced to five years imprisonment. Ludendorff was found not
guilty. At the trial Hitler gained enormous publicity with Hitler's
every word was reported in the newspapers. Hitler turned into a bit of a
celebrity which no doubt helped him into power in 1932.
As a result of the Munich Putsch, Hitler spent nine months in the
Landsberg Prison and he was banned from speaking publicly. The Nazi
party was also banned. However, whilst in prison Hitler learnt many
lessons.
1. Firstly, he learnt that the only way to get
power was to stand in elections and once in power, destroy the system
from within. This is how he eventually became Fuhrer of Germany when he
became chancellor and then passed the Enabling Act.
2. Secondly, he realised that he needed the support
of the army and the business community. The army had refused to support
Hitler in the Munich Putsch, resulting in its failure. When he was
released from prison he won the support of the army by reassuring them
that he would not ignite a future war in Germany if he got into power
and he promised to deal with Communists and expand the army. He won the
support of the business community by saying he would reduce the power of
workers and weaken trade unions.
3. Finally, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf, which allowed
him to work out his own beliefs. It also provided a 'Bible' for the Nazi
party and he provided himself as a martyr. These acted like corner
stones for the Nazi party.
Hitler had become a politician due to the time he spent in prison
thinking about why he failed in the Munich Putsch. All of these things
helped Hitler gain power in 1932 and had he not been sent to prison in
1923, he would have probably failed in another Putsch and been sent to
prison for the rest of his life.