9 November in German history

There are eight events in German history that are connected to 9 November, five of which had considerable historical consequences: the execution of Robert Blum in 1848, the end of the monarchies in 1918, the Hitler putsch attempt in 1923, the Nazi antisemitic pogroms in 1938 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

A few hours later, Karl Liebknecht, one of the leaders of the left-wing revolutionary Spartacus League (Spartakusbund), proclaimed a "Free Socialist Republic" from a balcony of the Berlin Palace.

Adolf Hitler, the leader of the NSDAP party, until then hardly known to the general public, attempted a coup against the democratic Reich government on the 5th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic.

After his political takeover, he declared 9 November a national holiday, and every year a celebration in remembrance of the so-called Blutzeugen (blood-witnesses), the victims of the Beer Hall Putsch, took place.

In Nazi propaganda, the outrages, committed primarily by SA and SS members in civilian clothes, are portrayed as an expression of "popular anger" against the Jews.

The event demonstrated that the antisemitic stance of the Nazi regime was not so 'moderate' as it had partially appeared in earlier years and marked the transition from social exclusion and discrimination to open persecution of Jews under the dictatorship.

9 November 1967: At the inauguration ceremony of the new rector of Hamburg University, students unfurled a banner with the slogan Unter den Talaren – Muff von 1000 Jahren (English: Under the gowns – Mustiness of a 1000 years), which will become the symbol of the protests of 1968.

9 November 1989: The fall of the Berlin Wall ended the separation of Germany and started a series of events that ultimately led to German reunification.