In 1923 Adolf Hitler and his fellow conspirators marched on the Feldherrnhalle, also known as both the “Beer Hall Putsch” and “The Munich Putsch.” Several of the Nazis died and Adolf himself in a few days was arrested and sentenced to five years in Landsberg Prison for high treason, a prison designated as a light form of punishment for prisoners.
    The question being; how should any society respond to traitors, insurrectionists, and those who embolden, encourage them and lead them during an attempted insurrection, or at least try to? Should they be treated more like the driver who takes the murderous bank robbers to the bank, and also helped plot and plan the event? Knowing murder would happen if there was any resistance?
    Instead, as we all know, Hitler waited, and once released, weaseled his way into power then become Der Fuhrer. One thing history shows that’s when the real horrors began, and perhaps begin: looking at similar situations.
    Let’s change the scenario a tad. Instead of leading those insurrectionists what if Hitler, who had been a big part of the plot and knew quite possible people would be killed, had been held back just before the conflict by some of his followers? Would that have been better? He had all the intent of a driver to that bank I mentioned who plotted the murderous robbery, in this case of a nation.
    Either way, what if his conviction for treason had been taken more seriously? In 20’s Germany high treason could have received the death penalty. What if a gallows was constructed on site of the rebellion, and after a quick, yet fair, trial immediate justice was serve?
    Would there have been no WWII?
    The results of extreme leniency historically is obvious.
    Admittedly Butterfly Effect scenarios are hard to predict. Conditions in Germany WERE ripe for someone like Hitler. A lot of blame to toss around, but without Adolf Hitler it seems unlikely Germany would have dove as deep into White Nationalism, or Nazism if you wish.
    One thing has become apparent, just like it should have been apparent in 1923, or after Reconstruction fell apart: kindness when adjudicating, compassionate penalties, forgiveness, lenient sentences may SEEM the way to heal, but evidence more than suggests otherwise. Such merely encourages the worst among us. The South was like that, especially after Grant had had to give up on Reconstruction. WWI did not stop WWII. Korea didn’t stop Vietnam or moderate the leaders of North Korea.
    I respect the hell out of Abe Lincoln, but the planned forgiveness merely made it so for more than a century the Confederacy lost the war, but violently won the peace.
    Hoping they’ve “learned their lesson” doesn’t work. They just use all that to destroy freedom and the lives of anyone but their fanatical, cultish base.
    Given the upcoming change and return to what was only worse: history provided a hell of a lot of warning signs.

     Not all columns are posted on alternate sites. If you feel you have missed one please go to endofthenet.org

                                    -30-

    “Inspection” is a column that has been written by Ken Carman for over 50 years. Inspection is dedicated to looking at odd angles, under all the rocks and into the unseen cracks and crevasses that constitute the issues and philosophical constructs of our day: places few think, or even dare, to venture.
©Copyright 2024
Ken Carman and Cartenual Productions.
All Rights Reserved.