World War II Leaders

World War II Leaders — page 3 — Hitler later gave speeches at the Munich beer hall to commemorate the events of November 1923

World War II Leaders — page 4 — CHAPTER 1 THE WORLD IN FLAMES Bullets flew all around Adolf Hitler knocking several of his companions to the ground He dove for cover as the bullets whizzed past injuring his shoulder as he hit the hard pavement He looked around at his companions bleeding and dying around him It was November 9 1923 on the streets of Munich Germany Only the day before local official Gustav von Kahr had been speaking to a crowd of 3,000 businessmen in Munich's Burgerbraukeller or Citizen's Beer Hall As Kahr spoke Hitler dressed in formal clothing led a group of 25 men into the beer hall from the back entrance Suddenly Hitler rushed toward the stage His men lined up along the wall Their purpose was obvious nobody was leaving Hitler fired a revolver into the air The national revolution is begun he shouted The hall erupted into a panic Some in the crowd recognized Hitler He was the leader of the National Socialist 7

World War II Leaders — page 5 — German Workers Party NSDAP sometimes referred to as the Nazi Party Others did not know him at all Hitler hustled Kahr into a back room He soon returned to the stage The beer hall was an excited babble of voices Hitler fired his pistol again to quiet the crowd He proclaimed Kahr had agreed to support him in his takeover of the German government He also said the national government in Berlin had been overthrown As Hitler spoke his words seemed to some observers to cast a spell over the audience One witness recalled In a few sentences he totally transformed the mood of the audience I have rarely experienced anything like it At the end of the evening everyone in the beer hall was allowed to leave including Kahr He quickly contacted the national government in Berlin which had not been overthrown and told them what had happened The next day on November 9 Hitler and approximately 2,000 of his followers went to take over the nearby Bavarian Defense Ministry They had not gone very far however when they came upon a large group of police blocking their way Kahr's phone call had raised the alarm Suddenly a shot rang out The police fired a storm of bullets into the crowd As people started falling all around him Hitler dove to the ground dislocating his shoulder He crawled to a waiting car threw himself in and was driven away Behind him 16 Nazis lay dead on the street The attempted coup later called the Beer Hall Putsch had failed Hitler was arrested found guilty of treason and sentenced to five years in prison Many Germans thought they had seen the last of him They were wrong a CD

World War II Leaders — page 6 — Nazis would brutally murder Kahr ten years later as revenge for his actions during the attempted takeover

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