During the 1920's and 1930's, Munich served as a background to events that surrounded the rise of the National Socialists.

The courtyard of the Alter Hof. While it does not have any connections to National Socialism, it was painted by Hitler (according to our tour guide). 

Hitler had moved to Munich in 1913 before the outbreak of the First World War. Being that he was in Munich when the war started, he fought in the German army as an Austrian citizen. Following the end of the First World War, Hitler returned to Munich where he involved himself in politics. By the early 1920's, he was the chairperson of the National Socialists and he staged the Beer Hall Putsch. 

While this is not the Beer Hall where the National Socialists began their coup, it is another famous beer hall in Munich. 

The Beer Hall Putsch was a National Socialist coup against the Weimar Republic. The National Socialists, who were agitated with the Treaty of Versailles and the government that upheld it's terms, wanted to march through Germany to Berlin to overthrow the Weimar Republic and begin their own regime that would restore Germany to it's glory. 

Area that use to have a memorial to fallen National Socialists 

This coup failed and led to the deaths of some National Socialists. Hitler himself was sentenced to prison for 5 years, although he only served 9 months of his term. It was during this time period that Hitler wrote Mein Kampf which restructured National Socialist tactics. Following his release, Hitler decided to take political power legitimately instead of attempting another government coup. This avenue took more time, but it worked since the National Socialists took power in 1933. 

Feldherrnhalle, which sits in Odeonsplatz and is where many parades where held. Hitler used this area for this function. 

After the National Socialists took power in 1933, Munich became an important city for them since it was basically their birthplace. Hitler erected a memorial to the east of Feldherrnhalle (both the site and the building are shown above) that memorialized National Socialists who fell during the Beer Hall Putsch. Munichers had to salute the memorial as they passed it, so Munichers used this memorial to form their own type of passive resistance to the new regime. The Munichers who wanted to resist would re-route their tour down an alley before coming to Odeonsplatz. Hitler somehow learned that Munichers were doing this and punished the ones that he found.

The golden trail is a memorial to the Munichers who resisted 

Hitler also opened the first concentration camp outside of Munich, in a town called Dachau, in 1933. This was the second concentration camp that Jon and I have visited and I was surprised by the differences between Dachau and Buchenwald. 

The entrance to Dachau 

Dachau was much closer to the town than Buchenwald was, which was the main surprise for me. It seemed as though Buchenwald was meant to be kept out of the way whereas Dachau was a short bus ride from the train station. In addition, Dachau touched me differently then Buchenwald did, which I did not expect. 

Memorial within Dachau 

While I have made it a point to not dwell on National Socialist history while in Germany, it was hard to avoid it while in Munich. Being that it was where National Socialism got going, there are many places that are associated with that time period and it was enlightening to see them first hand. While they are a small part of German history, they are still part of it and it is important to remember that time period, especially since it is recent history. However, it is also important to not let that time period define a country whose history is varied and rich. National Socialism was a blight on German history and should be remembered, but so should the rest of German history.