Otto Von Lossow - Beer Hall Putsch

Beer Hall Putsch

Generalmajor von Lossow became briefly prominent in German history as being, with Gustav Ritter von Kahr, Minister President of Bavaria and Colonel Hans Ritter von Seisser (Seißer), head of the Bavarian State Police (Landespolizei), part of the triumvirate who at that time exercised political control in Bavaria.

The political situation in Germany was one of turmoil and political violence. The Bavarian Government under Ritter von Kahr tended to take a line independent of that of the national government of the Weimar Republic in Berlin. When ordered to arrest three of the leaders of some of the armed groups then currently operating in Bavaria, the triumvirate refused. General von Lossow was ordered by the Commander-in-Chief of the army, General Hans von Seeckt, to arrest the three men and to suppress the daily newspaper of the Nazi Party, the Völkischer Beobachter. This he hesitated to do, and was sacked from his command by General von Seeckt and replaced by General Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein. However, Ritter von Kahr defied Seeckt and announced that von Lossow would retain the command.

In 1923, many right-wing groups wanted to emulate Mussolini's "March on Rome" by a "March on Berlin". Among these were the wartime General Erich Ludendorff and also the Nazi (NSDAP) group, led by Adolf Hitler. Hitler decided to try and seize power in what was later known as the "Hitler Putsch" or Beer Hall Putsch. Hitler and Ludendorff sought support of the triumvirate. However, Kahr, Seisser and Lossow had their own plan to install a nationalist dictatorship without Hitler.

On 8 November 1923, Hitler and the SA stormed a public meeting of 3,000 people which had been organized by Kahr in the Bürgerbräukeller, a large beer hall in Munich. Hitler interrupted Kahr's speech and announced that the national revolution had begun, declaring the formation of a new government with Ludendorff. While waving his gun around, Hitler demanded the support of Kahr, Seisser and Lossow. Lossow, Kahr and Seisser were detained.

After Hitler left the Beer Hall to supervise the activities of the putschists, Kahr, Seisser and Lossow were released, ostensibly to fulfill Hitler's orders at their respective offices. Instead, the men fled to join the opposition to Hitler. They went to the barracks of the local infantry regiment, where General Jakob Ritter von Danner, Munich garrison commandant and technically Lossow's deputy, met them. Ritter von Danner, who had been directed independently by General von Seeckt to put down the coup, asked if their statements at the Beer Hall was merely a ruse to escape Nazi custody. The triumvirate agreed, fearing the consequences of their initial cooperation with the putschists, and acted to put down the putsch attempt. Lossow ultimately escaped any disciplinary action for his behavior during the putsch attempt, but never held another command.