BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Polish Culture Some little known history of November 8th

November 9 is often considered a fateful date in German history. The first German republic was proclaimed in Berlin on November 9, 1918.
On November 9, 1923, Adolf Hitler attempted to overthrow the German government in Munich.
On November 9, 1938, Jewish businesses and synagogues throughout Germany were set on fire during the nationwide pogrom known as the Night of the Broken Glass.
And on November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall came down. A fateful date? Definitely one imbued with the weight of history.

But it is the day before -- Nov. 8 -- which shows how tragic the mixture of coincidence, nature, and human activity can be. Indeed, had the world not lost 13 minutes on the evening of Nov. 8, 1939, an entire series of later, ominous dates in German history would never have taken place. Even the fall of the Berlin Wall would never have happened. Indeed, the Wall would never have been built.

Those 13 minutes on November 8, 1939 were the most costly in the history of the 20th century. Within a period of less than six years, from 1939 to 1945, they cost humanity 50 million lives and virtually wiped European Jewry from the map. For the Germans, these 13 minutes resulted in post-war expulsions from Poland and Czechoslovakia -- and a divided nation.

The Munich airport was shut down on November 8, 1939 because of heavy fog. As a result, the city's most prominent visitor on that day was forced to cancel his flight to Berlin and take the train instead. Adolf Hitler, who, on September 1, 1939, had ordered the German Wehrmacht to attack Poland, thereby triggering World War II, had come to Munich on that evening to give a speech at the Munich beer hall called the B�rgerbr�ukeller, just as he had done on November 8 in previous years. It was where the founding members of the Nazi party met every year to celebrate the attempted putsch of November 8, 1923 -- a putsch that ended with Adolf Hitler in jail.

Because of the fog in Munich, Hitler began his speech at the Hofbr�uhaus at 8:00 p.m., 30 minutes earlier than planned, so as not to miss the night train to Berlin. The F�hrer left the B�rgerbr�ukeller at 9:07 p.m. As it turned out, the bad weather was what saved his life. A bomb that had been hidden in a column directly behind where Hitler had been speaking exploded at 9:20 p.m. The explosion was so powerful that part of the ceiling collapsed. Eight people were killed and 60 were wounded, some seriously. When the bomb went off, Hitler was already sitting in a heated limousine, on his way to the train station.

Of course, no one knows how German history would have progressed if Hitler had been assassinated in the fall of 1939. World War II was already underway, not in the West, but in the East, where German tanks were advancing toward Warsaw. Would Hitler's demise have prompted the Wehrmacht to withdraw from the occupied territory immediately? And how long would it have taken for the Germans to bring down the Nazi regime and introduce democracy?

More here:

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/
0,1518,383792,00.html <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Hi John, excellent artical of what cauld have been if not for circumstance, chance and personal choice. The man seemed to lead a charmed life up to the end, who knows.

A bit of useless information on the trial of Adolf Hitler (Hitler-Prozess). There were also 10 other co-defendents as leading participants of the Hitler Putsch of the trial of 24 Febuary 1924/ 01 april 1924 conducted at the Munich Volk court.

Defendents: Adolf Hitler, Gen. Eic Ludendorf, Ernst R�hm, Wilhelm Frick, Ernst P�hner, Hermann Kriebel, Friedrich Weber, Robert Wagner, Welhelm Br�ckner, and Heinz Pernet.

All were charged with High Treason. The final analysis was since all had honourable motives against the Weimar Republic. Minimum sentences were given, Hitler, P�hner, Kriebel and Weber, were sentenced to the legel minimum of 5 years. R�hm,Frick, Wagner, Br�ckner and Pernet received 15 months imprisonment with probation. Ludendorff was acquitted in consideration of his service as a general in the First World War.

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian citizen and in violation of Paragraph 9, artical 2 of the Republic Protection Law Which described expulsion from Germany for foreigners convicted of high treason. He served approximatly 1 year in the Landsberg Am Lech fortress and released on 20 December 1924.

Some of those names sound familar?

Well, at least the in power goverment at that time did try to do some thing then. But, as you have brought out, the group went on to bigger and better things.

The above information is in the archives of NARA. I just was not able to transfer the url so as to see for your self the source.

Charles

A very interesting piece of reading indeed. I have however one question since I don't understand one sentence of the article

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,383792,00.html

It is in the last but one paragraph and reads:

"The small man from the Swabian Alb would likely have prevented the war and the murder of millions of European Jews."

Surely the author didn't mean that the 'small man' Elser, killing Hitler, wouldn't have prevented the murder of millions of European non-Jews as well? What's the clue then?

Adam,

You are reading the sentence correctly. The author is focused on the murder of the Jews and is overlooking the Poles and other non-Jews who were also murdered.

At the start of the article, there is also the statement:
"Within a period of less than six years, from 1939 to 1945, they cost humanity 50 million lives and virtually wiped European Jewry from the map."

If I indeed understood the ommission correctly, I'd like to express the astonishment that it happened in a major German magazine Spiegel. It is contrproductive and against the spirit of united Europe. On the other hand - feeds nationalists in Poland, which constantly point to the 'rewriting of WWII history' aimed at minimalisation of German sins and maximalisation of German sufferings and German 'opposition' against Hitler.

Adam, I liked your statement," Spirit of A United Europe". It is people that is Europe, North America and related countries. When people are united, they are strong in convections of freedom, and their voice has strength.

I was struck by your sensitivity expressed by your reaction to the, Der Spiegel artical. Not that I disagree. Your reaction was a strong reminder to my self of the lingering effects of that terrible war upon your self and others.

You guys bore the brunt of the cruel brutality that was against people in Poland. your nation was destroyed and used for the death camps and citizens abused beyound emagination.

I only wanted to express this to you, not as sympathy, but, as personal understanding and appreciation of your feelings and that as of others.

With much Respect

Charles

Thank you very much Charles for your wise and tactful words.

... however <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

what do you mean by saying 'When people are united, they are strong in convections of freedom, and their voice has strength' in this context?

All the best to you, too.

On that statement of: When people are united, they are strong in convections of freedom and their voice has strength.

My meaning was: In most cases, when many people hold the same convections, they become united in a common cause such as in this case, the cause is freedom. It creates a cohesive bond that makes them (people) equal with a common cause. With this situation, a goverment would find it very difficult to arrest all because of the shear number.

I believe some time past, a similar situation existed with one of your labour unions. At this moment, the name of that leader escapes my memory, I think the first name was Lech or simular.

Does any of this make sense?

Charles

I am not sure if I understand you correctly. You say:

"In most cases, when many people hold the same convections, they become united in a common cause such as in this case, the cause is freedom. It creates a cohesive bond that makes them (people) equal with a common cause. With this situation, a goverment would find it very difficult to arrest all because of the shear number"

in response to the obvious drawback of mine in the proper context undestanding of your previous statement

'When people are united, they are strong in convections of freedom, and their voice has strength'

expressed in realation to the ommision of many nationalities in the sentence

"The small man from the Swabian Alb would likely have prevented the war and the murder of millions of European Jews." in the Spiegel magazine.

I would be most grateful if you could please explain what do you mean in a somewhat more starightforward manner, please? Especially: Who should be united to prevent such scandalous ommissions? What government is about to stop arrestin who? Thanks in advance, Charles, and thank you for your concern.