Beer Hall Putsch

The Beer Hall Putsch (1923) was a failed attempt by the Nazis to start a revolution in Germany, during the years of the Weimar Republic. They were helped by Erich Ludendorff, a former general who had lead the German army during World War I along with Hindenburg.

They attempted to seize public buildings in Munich, but the revolution failed within a day. Sixteen Nazis and four policemen were killed, while Hitler ran away at the first volley of gunfire causing Ludendorff to forever consider him a coward. Years later, in 1937, Hitler would refuse to speak at Ludendorff's funeral.

Hitler was captured and imprisoned for over eight months. He profited politically from the Putsch, using his trial as a chance to make speeches and including the names of the sixteen dead Nazis as "martyrs" in his book, Mein Kampf. During later recruiting ceremonies, Hitler would have the blood-spattered Nazi "blood flag" brought out. The Nazi party gained nationwide publicity from the incident.