Der Fuehrer - Hitler's Rise to Power (1944) - Heiden

THE BEER HALL PUTSCH 193Stunned at the blow, Hitler sank into a chair, stared at the greatQuartermaster General and said nothing. He felt that his game had goneamiss, though he did not yet fully admit it to himself.During the night of November 8, some three thousand storm troopersgathered in Munich. They had machine guns and even some cannon.But for many hours Hitler refused to believe that he would really haveto fight. In that night two men were active. Rohm hurried with a smallband to Lossow's headquarters where he himself had formerly worked,drew barbed wire around the building, set up machine guns in thewindows, and prepared for battle. Rudolf Hess sent gangs to the homesof political opponents, rounded them up and herded them to theBurgerbrau, aiming to intimidate Kahr and Lossow with the threat ofmurdering the hostages. For weeks Goring had spoken of nothing butthe murder of hostages.The night was spent in deliberation, hope, fear, hesitation. Meetingswere held in the Burgerbrau and in Lossow's offices occupied by Rohm.Hitler, Scheubner-Richter, Rosenberg, and Ludendorff examined theirsituation for hours. For a long time they continued to hope that Lossowor Seisser would suddenly reappear and put everything aright. They feltthat a crisis, a struggle for a decision, was in progress among theiradversaries. They continued to hope for a favorable turn and — partlyout of pride and vanity — failed to realize the gravity of their situation.Who would dare to raise a hand against them?'If we get through,' said Hitler darkly, 'very well; if not, we'll have tohang ourselves.' Rohm was embittered at so much inactivity and showedit. He had appeared with a fully packed soldier's kit, as though goinginto the trenches for weeks; he lay half asleep on the ground, his headon his knapsack, blinking at the light. Defiant and indifferent, he tookno part in the deliberations. Someone suggested that perhaps the Allies,at news of the putsch, would send in their soldiers; particularly theCzech army was feared because of its proximity. 'There you see again,'said Hitler, 'what a worthless government we have in Berlin. They oughtto have such a hold on the three million Germans in Czechoslovakia thatthey would rise up at the press of a button and make the whole Czechmobilization impossible.'