1923, the Weimar Republic’s darkest hour and The Nazi’s failed attempt to gain power.
After World War I ended and the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919, many Germans believed they were entering a period of hopelessness and great humiliation. The treaty laid the sole blame for the war on Germany and imposed massive reparations for the country to pay. Additionally, the Treaty of Versailles took away Germany's overseas colonies and 13% of its territory, restricted its military to 100,000 personnel, demanded Germany turn over their top secret information, and prohibited it from possessing any submarines due to their use of unrestricted submarine warfare. Postwar Germany saw hatred towards the Jews come to the surface due to the stab-in-the-back theory perpetrated by far-right groups and militias in Germany that the Jewish elites and bankers helped Germany lose the war. It wasn’t just Jews who were blamed; social democrats, communists, and socialists were also blamed for the war being lost. It was a dark prelude to what was to come for the Jewish population of Germany and anyone who opposed the Nazis. Hitler was recovering from a mustard gas attack when he found out Germany had lost the war. Postwar, he would end up in Munich being recruited by a man named von Mahr to keep tabs on various left and right-wing groups that would get together in beer halls. This is how Hitler meets a man called Anton Drexler, who recruits him into the German Workers Party, which will be renamed the National Socialist Party when Hitler becomes the group's leader in 1921.
When the calendar flipped to 1923 in Germany, this would mark the toughest test the young Weimar Republic would face. After failing to pay reparations to the allies, French and Belgian troops would in January occupy the Ruhr valley, the heartland of Germany’s industrial zone. Then, a failed coup happened the next month, hyperinflation devastated the ordinary citizens, the government tried to form a grand coalition that would hold, Bolsheviks attempted to seize power and start an uprising, and most importantly, Adolf Hitler tried to seize power in the Infamous beer hall putsch. So, where can you read about all this? Well, I got you covered. Volker Ullrich’s Germany 1923 and David King’s The Trial of Adolf Hitler cover these topic’s David King’s book focuses solely on the failed Beer Hall Putsch and Hitler's trial, while Volker Ullrich’s book focuses on the many problems that plagued the Weimar Republic during 1923. Both are essential reads to better understand the Situation in Germany post world war 1 and i highly recommend them both alongside a series called the rise of the Nazis on youtube i will put a link down below for that series.
I chose to do these two books due to how much the word Nazi and fascist is used in the current world more specifically the United States. My goal by covering these books is that people will take the time to educate themselves about this time in history, so that the word fascist and Nazi aren’t used as a labels for something or a political leader you don’t agree with the world is more divided then ever and we need to come together. Hope you enjoy this review, and it makes you want to grab these two books. Remember to subscribe so you never miss a review!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcfTOKgDdWQ
