Question Explain how the Munich Putsch, even though it failed and it occurred in 1923, can nevertheless be regarded as an important factor in Hitler's rise to power. Response The Munich putsch cannot be disregarded as a main factor contributing to Hitler’s rise to power, as it was what made the German people first trust and believe in Hitler. Without this trust or belief, no matter how popular his policies were, he would not have won the vote of the Germans and would never have come into power. The putsch was a move made by Hitler in order to overthrow the Weimar Republic - that was unpopular with Germans, as democracy was not well liked. The putsch started off with violence solely on the Nazi side but the violence later spread as Weimar forces retaliated a day later. There was great commotion as shots broke out on the streets and 16 Nazi SA’s were killed. Ludendorff, an old German war hero, also supported Hitler; this gave him more credibility since people trusted Ludendorff because he was loyal to his country and had risked his life for it. This made him a role model and a hero in the eyes of the German people, which made them more likely to support and trust Hitler with Ludendorff by his side. Also the fact that even though the Putsch failed miserably and no one came to support it Hitler stuck by it to the very end, he didn’t try to go back or apologize for it even when he was put under trial for treason. This showed the German’s that he cared and would stand up for them when no one else had the courage to do so, even if it meant being shot or arrested for treason. Furthermore during the trial, which was highly publicised, Hitler had the opportunity to broadcast his ideals and convince German’s that they should support him. This worked very well in Hitler’s favour as he convinced the judge to give him a merciful penalty of 5 years, of which he only served 9 months, and he convinced the German people that they should trust him. Also, while Hitler was in prison he wrote the infamous ‘Mein Kampf’ (or “my struggles’). In this book, published in 1924, Hitler outlined Germany’s problems, where they came from and how he was going to solve them. Also the book consisted mostly of eugenics, racial politics and Hitler’s plans for Germany. The book was important to maintain Hitler’s status as leader of the Nazi party as it allowed Hitler to maintain control over the Nazi party. It also became important to Hitler’s rise to power as the book offered ‘explanations’ to Germany’s problems, Hitler used minorities (mostly Jews) as scapegoats for such problems and the German people supported this. Question A full explanation of the rise of Hitler would consider both long and short-term factors. Why do you think this is so? Response Hitler entered the public eye shortly after his participation as a soldier in WW1, at the time Germany was a mess and they needed someone, anyone, to lead them out of their crisis. The country had entered a deep depression following the treaty of Versailles, and all its infamous clauses, especially the war guilt clause. This clause stated that all blame for the Great War would land solely on Germany’s shoulders and that Germany was to bear this burden alone. They had to pay a steep £6600 million of reparations to the allies; this bill would only be fully paid until 1984. The fact that the Kaiser abrogated and Germany was now under democratic rule from the Weimar government left the people surprisingly outraged. What left the people even more vexed was that th