Hindenburg, Ludendorff and Hitler: Germany's Generals and the Rise of the Nazis

349 Pages·2021·10.129 MB·English

by  Alexander Clifford

Hindenburg, Ludendorff
and Hitler
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For
Ross, Alex & Kay
the best of colleagues
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Hindenburg, Ludendorff
and Hitler
Germany’s Generals and the
Rise of the Nazis
Alexander Clifford
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First published in Great Britain in 2021 by
Pen & Sword Military
an imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
Yorkshire – Philadelphia
Copyright © Alexander Clifford 2021
ISBN 978 1 52678 333 2
The right of Alexander Clifford to be identified as Author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act 1988.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library.
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Contents
Acknowledgments vii
List of Illustrations viii
Glossary xiii
Political Parties of Weimar Germany xv
Cast of Characters xx
Prologue The Double Act: The Emergence of Hindenburg and
Ludendorff xxii
Contrasting backgrounds xxiv
The Great War xxvi
The new Germany xxxiii
Chapter 1 The Stab in the Back: Hindenburg and Ludendorf as
Liars-in-Chief 1
Origins 1
Ludendorff as architect: The excuses of a broken man 8
Hindenburg as cheerleader: The myth becomes
mainstream 14
Chapter 2 Conspirator: Ludendorf as Public Enemy Number One 28
Paramilitary politics 28
The Kapp Putsch 33
Munich – the far right’s playground 53
1923: Year of crisis 64
The Beer Hall Putsch 71
Chapter 3 Figureheads: Hindenburg and Ludendorff as Leadership
Contenders 87
On trial 87
The struggle for control 97
The 1925 presidential election 106
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vi Hindenburg, Ludendorff and Hitler
Chapter 4 C onstitutionalism and Conspiracy Theories: Hindenburg
Ascends, Ludendorff Fades 119
Hindenburg: Father of the nation 119
Ludendorff’s withdrawal 128
Hindenburg and the Grand Coalition 134
Chapter 5 T he Hindenburg Republic: Hindenburg as the Arbiter of
German Politics 143
Presidential government 143
The president looks to the right 154
The field marshal versus the lance corporal 164
A cabinet of ‘my friends’ 177
Hindenburg digs Weimar’s grave 196
Epilogue T he One-Man Show: Hindenburg and Ludendorf in
Eclipse 222
Hindenburg: Willing collaborator 222
Ludendorff’s final retreat 233
Hindenburg, Ludendorff and German history 238
Appendix I Elections in the Weimar Republic 242
Appendix II Governments of Hindenburg’s Presidency 245
Appendix III Hindenburg’s Cabinets 246
Notes 252
Further Reading and Bibliography 281
Index 285
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Acknowledgements
he genesis of this book was a conversation during a departmental
Tmeeting at my school several years ago, the topic of which I have long
since forgotten. Somehow, I managed to divert discussion away from
data, curriculum or pedagogy to Erich Ludendorff and his pernicious influence
on twentieth-century history. One of my colleagues suggested, perhaps in jest,
that I write a book about him and that, in contrast to my work on the Spanish
Civil War, it would be a book they would actually read. This planted a seed
which, alongside my pre-existing interest in Paul von Hindenburg, eventually
flowered into the present volume.
The book could not have been written without the remarkable scholarship
that already exists on these two controversial figures and several of the creators
of that scholarship have been immensely helpful and kind in assisting me during
my research and writing. Larry Eugene Jones’s works have been instrumental
in shaping my picture of the period and he was very generous in providing me
with both answers to many naïve questions and granting me access to some
of his latest research. Jay Lockenour was equally forthcoming in directing me
to essential source material on Ludendorff and our conversations, which were
released as a podcast (episode 34 of History’s Most), were very instructive and
certainly altered some of my conclusions, to this volume’s benefit. Equally,
George Vascik was kind enough to talk to me about the Stab-in-the-Back myth,
a discussion which was also immortalised in podcast form (episode 31 of History’s
Most) and deepened my understanding of the Dolchstoss considerably.
I am indebted to Jack Arscott, whose translation skills I leaned on many times
in helping me decipher difficult texts and better render peculiarly Germanic
phrases in English. Our conversations about German nationalism also helped
me form my arguments presented in this book. I must thank Rupert Harding at
Pen & Sword for once again putting enormous trust and faith in me, and for his
understanding when the Coronavirus pandemic derailed my research schedule.
Linne Matthews has edited the book magnificently and worked wonders in
preparing it for publication. As in the past, it has been a pleasure to work with her.
Finally, my partner Róisín, amidst the adversity of lockdown, had to tolerate
my attentions at times being unforgivably given over to Paul von Hindenburg
and Erich Ludendorff. I thank you for your tolerance.
Alex Clifford, March 2021
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List of Illustrations
Page xiv D iagram 1. States of the Weimar Republic. (Wikimedia user shadowfox,
CC By-SA 3.0)
Page xv Diagram 2. Political Spectrum of the Weimar Republic. (Alexander
Clifford)
Plate section
Page 1
1. Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg (left) and General Erich Ludendorff
(right) as Chief of the General Staff and First Quartermaster General
respectively, pose with Kaiser Wilhelm II, 1917. (Public domain)
2. & 3. The making of an icon: the famous wartime ‘Iron Hindenburg’ statue
in Berlin and one of the countless examples of Hindenburg kitsch – the
field marshal decorates an ashtray. (Public domain & Author’s collection)
Page 2
4. Wartime portrait of Erich Ludendorff from 1918, when his grand plans
failed, his mental health collapsed, and he devised the Stab-in-the-Back
myth. (Public domain)
5. Postcard to raise money for the Ludendorff-Spende, a charity for wounded
war veterans that ran from 1918 to 1923, of which the general was honorary
president. The inscription reads: ‘No victory without sacrifice, no peace
without victory.’ (Author’s collection)
6. One of many visualisations of the poisonous Stab-in-the-Back myth that
pervaded German perceptions of the Great War thanks to Hindenburg and
Ludendorff. (Public domain)
Page 3
7. Two protagonists of the Kapp Putsch farce – General Walther von
Lüttwitz (centre) converses with Defence Minister Gustav Noske (right).
(Bundesarchiv)
8. Corvette Captain Hermann Ehrhardt (second from left), commander of the
key Freikorps milita Marine Brigade Ehrhardt, during the Kapp Putsch.
(Bundesarchiv)
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List of Illustrations ix
9. Early twentieth-century postcard of Berlin. The Reichstag building
dominates the Tiergarten park, with the Siegesallee running up to the
Brandenburg Gate, just visible in the distance. This is where Ludendorff
supposedly ran into the putschists while he was out on a morning walk
through the park. (Public domain)
Page 4
10. & 11. The Kapp Putsch, 1920: Freikorps troops of Marine Brigade
Ehrhardt march into central Berlin. Note the swastika decal painted onto
their helmets. (Bundesarchiv)
12. The Erhardt Brigade that occupied Berlin was heavily armed and highly
experienced, making the government’s decision to flee the capital rather
understandable. (Bundesarchiv)
Page 5
13. Ludendorff in Bavaria: the general (centre) with Bavarian premier Gustav
von Kahr (left) and Munich Chief of Police Ernst Pöhner (right), 1921.
(Bundesarchiv)
14. Ludendorff as Nazi leader, reviewing SA troopers of the newly formed
Kampfbund at the German Day rally, 2 September 1923. (Bundesarchiv)
15. A Nazi meeting at the Munich Bürgerbräukeller, sometime in 1923. The
same beer hall would play host to von Kahr’s address on 8 November 1923
that Hitler hijacked to proclaim the National Revolution. (Bundesarchiv)
Page 6
16 & 17. The Beer Hall Putsch: Kampfbund paramilitaries guarding the Bavarian
War Ministry, where Ludendorff wasted the early hours of 9 November
1923, and the central Munich Marienplatz that morning, where the general
made the fateful decision to march on the same ministry. (Bundesarchiv)
18. The Feldherrenhalle in 1915, a martial monument that stands on the
southern edge of Munich’s Odeonsplatz. The fateful march that Ludendorff
and Hitler led through the city on 9 November 1923 ended bloodily when
they ran into a police cordon at the end of the narrow Residenzstrasse (left).
(Public domain)
Page 7
19. Ludendorff is chauffeured to the final day on the putsch trial, 1 April 1924,
greeted by cheering crowds. (Bundesarchiv)
20. The final day of the Beer Hall Putsch trial, 1 April 1924. Ludendorff
(wearing the uniform he swore never to put on again) stands to the left of
Hitler and is joined by: (from left to right) his stepson Pernet, Weber, Frick,
Kriebel, Brückner, Röhm and Wagner. (Bundesarchiv)
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