The Trial of Adolf Hitler: The Beer Hall Putsch and the Rise of Nazi Germany

King (Death in the City of Light) affirms his reputation as a first-rate narrative historian in this well-researched analysis of Adolf Hitler’s trial for treason in the aftermath of the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch. Initially Hitler was a marginal figure; the focus was on national hero Erich Ludendorff. But in this fast-paced account, King demonstrates how Hitler increasingly came to dominate and define the proceedings. He understood, and took full advantage of, the court’s overriding desire to conceal the full extent of the conspiracy of leading public figures against the state of Bavaria and the Weimar Republic. Hitler used the courtroom as a public forum, talking for hours at a time of his vision of a Germany raised to greatness from the ashes of defeat. His speeches were described by one newspaper as “a serialized novel.” The trial’s presiding judge understood the value of the smokescreen this hitherto minor figure was providing, and Hitler’s conviction for high treason was a matter of form. His minimal sentence and eventual parole reflected the legal system’s collective conviction that he would sink back into obscurity. As King shows, Hitler’s trial made him a patriot and martyr to an increasing number of supporters, and the system’s contingent miscalculations facilitated Hitler’s rise to power. (June)