From Our Archives: Putsch Leader Says He Won’t Stop

As a public service, The Kibbitzer is publishing an old but pertinent article from its archives.

April 17, 1924 (LANDSBERG PRISON, BAVARIA) – This baroque fortress of a prison some 40 miles south-west of Munich today houses Herr Adolf Hitler, the unlikely leader of the so-called “beerhall putsch” last November during which 20 people were killed.

Largely unknown before the putsch, Herr Hitler is now regarded by many on the right as the man who, once he completes his prison term, will save Germany from the Weimar swamp and the treasonous media and elites who populate it.

In this exclusive interview from within the forbidding walls of the prison, a relaxed and confident Herr Hitler told The Kibbitzer – the only news outlet to talk to him since his arrest – what prompted him to lead some 2,000 of his followers into the street in an attempt to overthrow the government.

“You’ll never take over a country with weakness,” Herr Hitler maintained, as his assistant, a ferrety-looking man named Rudi Hess, noted down every word he uttered. ”You have to show strength and you have to be strong.”

“Trial by combat,” interjected Hess. “It’s the only way.”

Herr Hitler explained that the putsch was a spontaneous reaction to the speech he had made in the beerhall. “I told them that we were going to walk down Ludwigstrasse and we’re going to the Feldherrnhalle, and we’re going to try and give our good Germans – the  weak ones because the strong ones don’t need any of our help – we’re going to give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.”

Addressing those who had lost their lives or been injured during the putsch, Herr Hitler said: “I know your pain. I know you’re hurt. There’s never been a time like this where such a thing happened, where they could take it away from all of us – from me, from you, from our country. But we can’t play into the hands of these people. I love you. You’re very special. I know how you feel. But go home now and wait for my return.”

Asked whether he thought his trial and prison sentence marked the end of his political career, Herr Hitler said: “We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn’t happen. You don’t concede when a sacred landslide victory is stripped away.”

Commenting on Herr Hitler’s statements, the president elect of the Weimar Republic, Baron Johannes von Biden, said: “The scenes of chaos at the Feldherrnhalle, do not reflect the true Germany, do not represent who we are. What we’re seeing is a small number of extremists dedicated to lawlessness.”