Good morning, rather late, from the puma.

There is much that can be said, but to be honest, I am in a lot of pain and PTSD stuff, so I'm gonna cut to the chase and go for trivia.

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In 1923, in Munich, the Beer Hall Putsch was put down by soldiers loyal to Germany's democratic government. The Putsch began the evening before, when Adolf Hitler and some of his pals took control of a beer hall in Bavaria, at gunpoint, holding hostage several political leaders in the process. (That being his point, in fact.) He was at that point a shmuck who was part of the nationalist party and its "Kampfbund" (an alliance of like-minded patriotic and military and such types), but rose to national prominence after the Putsch.

The Munich Putsch was no small event. Bavaria was (and remains) a part of Germany that fancies itself not really part of Germany, and its leaders were not in agreement with the central German government of the time (the Weimar Republic). What with one thing and another in Hitler's life, Germany socioeconomics and similar, primarily nationalist sentiment combined with post-WW1 economic crunch and cultural disgust with Germany's treatment as the loser of aforesaid war.... Well, Hitler realized his boss of the moment was not realllllly going to go the distance against Germany's central government. So he walked into the beer hall with about 600 pals (beer halls were essentially where you went to have social and political events alike), jumped on a chair and held everyone hostage at gunpoint after dramatically declaring the Bavarian government deposed. He then delivered a speech about how they had to all stand agains the "Berlin Jew" government of Germany and the "criminals of November" (referring to those who signed the Treaty of Versailles), and the crowd went from scared to cheering.

Among those with Hitler in the putsch, arrest, and imprisonment are such familiar names in history as Hermann GOring and Rudolf Hess. Yes, *that* Hess and *that* Goring.

In his five years in prison, Hitler penned "Mein Kampf".

On th emorning of November 9, 1923, btw, Hitler and his buddies realized that, having done all this declarative drama, they had no idea what ot actually *do*, and someone suggested they march, and thus eventually sorta figured out they had to march *somewhere*, chose the Ministry of Defense, whereupon gunfire broke out. Four police and sixteen Nazis were killed. Minor injuries slowed down GOring, who esacped, and Hitler, who as I mentioned was tried and convicted of treason and did time in prison.

If this sounds all confusing, consider that it was. Angry people demanding things be better but having no clue what they'd actually do about it tends to result in chaos. Of course, we all know Hitler got quite a lot figured out in prison, and he and GOring and Hess went on to be famed Nazi names and so forth. At the time, however, it was more or less trying to figure out which mob of scared angry people was going to rule, and rule what, and ... Well, y'know.

Goring ewnt on to commit suicide after being convicted of crimes against humanity. He somehow obtained and ingested cyanide the night before he was to be hanged. Hess, to whom Hitler dictated "Mein Kampf" (my struggle), eventually fled to th eUK in WW2, was arrested, and after the war was also convicted, and sentenced to life. He died of suicide at age 93, in 1987, in Spandau Prison. Hess is probably best known for claiming amnesia during his trial at Nuremburg, which no one believed then, and he admitted later was a lie.

After Hess died, Spandau Prisonw as torn down, to rpevent it becoming a neo-Nazi shrine.

This is rather all dull, I'm sure, but the same day in 1938 (fifteen years later), came Kristallnacht, in which Jews were targeted by Nazi soldiers and fellow German citizens, their homes and business damaged if not destroyed. The final tally for dead and harmed at the time was about 91, all Jews, but the pogrom led to about 30,000 Jews being rounded up and deported to "camps". Kristallnacht marked the beginning of what eventually became known as the Holocaust. People used sledgehammers to destroy buildings owned by or used by Jews, including hospitals and schools. No, the police did nothing. Assumign the police weren't in there swinging with the rest, that is.

Kristallnacht is the shorthand for "night of broken glass", although other names for it in German include Pogromnacht, Reichspogromnacht (state program night (against Jews)), and simply Novemberpogrome.

The full extent of Kristallnacht extended itno German-held territories (modern Czech Republic, Austria, and parts of modern Poland).

History does love symmetry. Hitler fails 9 November 1923, and his policies win 9 November 1938. Nothing like mass murder to wipe out a previous failure.

Speak of, symbolism crops up again. On this date in 1989.... East Germany opened its borders to allow free travel to (and from) West Germany.

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Peaceful day to all,

Leo