About the event

On the evening of 8 November 1923, Adolf Hitler rushes into the Bürgerbräukeller with his revolver drawn and announces the start of the national revolution. At noon on the next day this revolution ends in a hail of bullets at the Feldherrnhalle. However, Hitler’s amateurish act was only the tip of the iceberg. Concealed underneath is a story of high treason in which a large portion of the Bavarian leading officials were involved and the ramifications of which went as far as Berlin. Wolfgang Niess uses investigative instinct to uncover this network of plotters and shows how Hitler ruined their plans by pushing ahead. Against his will, he thus provided the democrats with a chance to safe the Weimar Republic when it already appeared lost.

• The hidden story behind the Beer Hall Putsch
• The right-wing putsch plans in the year 1923 – deciphered with investigative instinct
• How Hitler enabled the survival of the Weimar Republic by his amateurish act
• Only the tip of the iceberg – what really happened in Bavaria 100 years ago
• How Bavarian leadership planned the "march to Berlin"

The event takes place in cooperation with the publishing house C.H.BECK.

Moderation: Niels Beintker (BR)

Personal data

Wolfgang Niess is a graduated historian and worked for a long time as editor and anchorman at the broadcasting stations Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR) and Südwestrundfunk (SWR). He is the author of numerous radio and TV reports, articles and book publications on aspects of contemporary history. His most recently published works are "Die Revolution von 1918/19. Der wahre Beginn unserer Demokratie" and "Der 9. November. Die Deutschen und ihr Schicksalstag" (C.H.Beck 2021).

About the series

"Zur Sache ..." / "To the point ..." – Authors at the Staatsbibliothek, is a series of events jointly organised by the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek and Munich publishing houses, with the kind support of the Sponsors and Friends of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek and the book trader Lehmkuhl.

Information overview