Bavarian People's Court

“ Therefore, an illegal attack by the government against anyone is out of the question. There is no basis for actual self-defense, not even for presumed self-defense; if the government had allegedly committed the crime of negligence, the defendants should have acted in presumed self-defense by having forced the Reichsregierung to take those measures which they thought were necessary. ”

“ During the trial, Pöhner stated that naturally the advance to Berlin would be undertaken with military force. Someone else said that Bavarian fists would bring order to Berlin. It was obvious that the existing government, which was supported by a great number of people, and above all, as the defendants assert, by the Marxists--i.e. by one of the largest political parties in the country--would not surrender without a fight. There was no reason to hope, as some of the defendants did, that the march would be nonviolent because all the people would join with them. ”

“ The goal of the uprising was the elimination of the Reichsregierung, including the Parliament in its present state, because in the eyes of the defendants it was completely bewitched by Marxism. They intended to form a national government that would represent the völkische interests as defined by the defendants. The elimination of the Bavarian government, and the appointment of Kahr and Pöhner as the holders of Bavarian power, was only a means to an end--it was to enable them to fight the Reichsregierung effectively from Bavaria. ”

“ On November 7th, Hitler discussed his ideas with Dr. Weber and Kriebel. On the morning of November 8th, he took Pöhner into his confidence. Everyone agreed with Hitler. They planned to call in a sizeable armed detachment from members of the Kampfbund. When the latter appeared at the meeting in the Bürgerbräukeller, Kahr, Lossow, and Seisser were supposed to be asked to go into another room where they would be told that now was the time for action. It was hoped that the three men would no longer resist and would participate in the election of a national dictatorship. ”

“ One point, however, must be stressed: Kahr, Lossow, and Seisser have absolutely denied that they ever made statements which could have led the defendants to believe that they thought the institution of a dictatorship in Bavaria was either possible or useful. Rather, Kahr, Lossow, and Seisser have maintained that they always stressed the fact that they considered it essential that a national directorate be formed in Berlin, with the assistance of prominent people of the Reich from the North. ”

“ As far as the Bavarian government is concerned, the arrest of 50 percent of all ministers was already an important step towards accomplishing the goal. During the trial, some defendants asserted that the coup was a success; therefore, they maintained, they had not committed an offense under the legal principle that only an unsuccessful coup is punishable, while a successful one is not. Actually, however, the defendants were still a long way from having authority over the Reich or over the State of Bavaria. ”

“ For months, even for years, it had been their aim to compensate for the high treason of 1918 by committing an act of liberation. As the prosecution indicated, their openly stated objectives were not resisted with the necessary resolute actions. Thus, matters developed to such a point that an action had to be taken because the aroused spirits could not longer be contained. Hitler stressed this repeatedly. The Court therefore cannot assume that the attack at the Bürgerbräukeller was a conscious breach of promise on the part of the defendants. ”

“ The defendants dismissed the government. That is, they wanted to prevent the government from acting. The formation of a new government can even less be construed as an act of self-defense. For after the deposal of the previous government, there was practically no one who could have made the required attack without violating Article 53 of the Criminal Code, against which the presumed act of self-defense--i.e. the formation of a national government-was directed.
An emergency situation cannot be used as a reason for the action of the defendants. ”

“ It seems that the defendants wanted only to claim self-defense against an inefficient administration of national affairs. It is possible that the claim of self-defense against unlawful negligence is justifiable. However, we can speak of unlawful negligence only if a legal standard prescribes a certain behavior. But the administration of government is strictly a matter of political and statesmanlike judiciousness ”

“ It is the function of the judiciary to uphold the law ( Meyer, Lehrbuch des deutschen Strafrechts, 4th ed., p. 23) . It is a matter-of-course that sympathies or antipathies towards the accused or towards the offense can be of no consideration whatsoever. ”

“ Hitler is German-Austrian. He considers himself to be a German. He is a man who thinks and feels as a German. He fought in the German army for four and one-half years. He received high honors for outstanding courage in action. ”

“ If the holder of the state authority is attacked by force and he, or any of his appointed officials, are deprived of their unencumbered right to govern, then it is of no importance whether this was done for a longer or a shorter period of time. ”

“ For this reason, Ludendorff did not necessarily have to suspect that the statements by Kahr, Lossow, and Seisser to cooperate referred to Hitler's plan; it was just as possible that the gentlemen had needed a push to realize their own plan. When Ludendorff arrived, Hitler had already given his speech in the adjoining room, in which he demanded that Kahr become Landesverweser, Lossow, Minister of the Reichswehr, and Seisser, Minister of Police. ”

“ Soon after Kahr, Lossow, and Seisser had entered the adjoining room, Kriebel ordered that Frick, who was at Police Headquarters, and those attending the Löwenbräukeller meeting be notified. This order was carried out by telephone and by messengers.
When news reached the Löwenbräukeller, there was tremendous rejoicing. On orders from Röhm and Brückner, the people left the hall and assembled in the Stiglmaierplatz to march to the Bürgerbräukeller. ”

“ Röhm obeyed the order. He was joined by some Oberland units. All in all there were 250 to 300 men. Brückner took most of his men and marched to the Bürgerbrüukeller.
During the afternoon, Wagner had informed some of his comrades of his discussion with Rossbach. In the evening, the School assembled in the courtyard. Wagner divided them into four companies. Under Rossbach's command--who, meanwhile, had arrived and had appointed Wagner his aide--they also marched off to the Bürgerbräukeller where they were greeted by Ludendorff. ”

“ Therefore, the Court is convinced that Ludendorff spoke the truth when he maintained that, while he was being taken to the Bürgerbräukeller on the evening of November 8th, he thought of nothing else but of the fact that Kahr's national dictatorship had finally taken concrete form. ”

“ Furthermore, he cannot have been notified of the events at the Bürgerbräukeller by the police; this could only have been done by the Kampfbund. A police officer would definitely have identified himself as a subordinate to Frick as the chief. That is, Frick was informed in accordance with Kriebel's order mentioned above. However, it is more than conspicuous that Frick was at his office when he received the news. ”