Hofbrauhaus Munich

[ThunderRod]

Hofbrauhaus Munich is an historical tourist destination, yet I know little about it.  All the American tourists head straight there and rave about it, but I am completely oblivious as to why it is popular.  What is the history on this place?  Was it used by Hitler as his local or something like that?
I know beer halls in Munich are very popular, but why is this one so internationally recognised?

[silri]

As far as I know, the Hofbräuhaus in Munich was used by the Nazi Party for its political reunions, and it is where Hitler proclaimed the 25 theses of the National Socialist program. But I do not know much more than that...

[TalkMunichAdmin]

OK, I am going to exhibit an amazing display of ignorance here... but what exactly was/is "the 25 theses of the National Socialist program"?
Or is that a question for Google?

[silri]

As far as i know, they are the 25 statements that stated the program of the party. I'll see if I can get any more information on the guides that I have at home.

[TalkMunichAdmin]

I would appreciate that, it sounds interesting.
I know people often had a fascination with Munich because of the Nazi party, but I myself know little about the history here.  I guess, like ThunderRod, I am a little ignorant of what happened prior to WWII in Munich (@ThunderRod, that is an assumption, but maybe you are indeed quite knowledgable in this area).

@Silri, does this mean that you worked/work as a guide in Munich?  or are these guides that you have bought out of a personal interest?  Just curious.

[silri]

Just personal interest :-)

[TalkMunichAdmin]

Well I look forward to finding out a bit more. 
I also wonder if there is a Munich tour which deals purely with the Nazi past and brings you to places that have historical significance for this subject.  I know the Gasteig has a pseudo-memorial to Georg Elser and the BeerHall putsch, so I guess these would figure prominently in that tour, if it exists.
Hofbrauhaus would feature also I guess... but probably right at the every end of the tour 
I read a few years ago you can still see swastikas on the ceilings there.  I think that it would have been removed by now though.

[Brandon]

I read a few years ago you can still see swastikas on the ceilings there.  I think that it would have been removed by now though.

There are bavarian flags on the cieling, and the story goes that they were painted directly over the swastikas. You can sort of see them if you look at it at the right angle and squint a bit. The more beer you drink the clearer it becomes though.

I've not seen any period pictures of the beer hall though that either confirm or rebuke this.

[silri]

Coudn't find much more info unfortunately... The most recent Lonely says that the first big meeting of the Socialist Party was held in the ballroom upstairs, where the flags on the ceiling were repainted recently to minimize the resemblance with the swastikas.

[TalkMunichAdmin]

So it was actually true about the flags on the ceiling. 

I read today about ex-Nazi's once living in Germany and nothing being done to bring them to justice by the government.  Here is the article from the BBC news website - a very brave couple to do what they did.

Thanks for checking things out for me Silri.  It is an interesting topic.

Correction: thanks to Brandon for pointing out the large genital mistake (personal joke)

[Brandon]

I read today about ex-Nazi's once living in Germany and nothing being done to bring them to justice by the government.  Here is the article from the BBC news website - a very brave couple to do what they did.

They bravely put a 60ft penis on the ceiling in order to bring nazi's to justice....

[Brandon]

The full text of the 25 point program

   1. We demand the unification of all Germans in the Greater Germany on the basis of the right of self-determination of people.
   2. We demand equality of rights for the German people in respect to the other nations; abrogation of the peace treaties of Versailles and St. Germain.
   3. We demand land and territory (colonies) for the sustenance of our people, and colonization for our surplus population.
   4. Only a member of the race can be a citizen. A member of the race can only be one who is of German blood, without consideration of creed. Consequently no Jew can be a member of the race.
   5. Whoever has no citizenship is to be able to live in Germany only as a guest, and must be under the authority of legislation for foreigners.
   6. The right to determine matters concerning administration and law belongs only to the citizen. Therefore we demand that every public office, of any sort whatsoever, whether in the Reich, the county or municipality, be filled only by citizens. We combat the corrupting parliamentary economy, office-holding only according to party inclinations without consideration of character or abilities.
   7. We demand that the state be charged first with providing the opportunity for a livelihood and way of life for the citizens. If it is impossible to sustain the total population of the State, then the members of foreign nations (non-citizens) are to be expelled from the Reich.
   8. Any further immigration of non-citizens is to be prevented. We demand that all non-Germans, who have immigrated to Germany since [2 August 1914], be forced immediately to leave the Reich.
   9. All citizens must have equal rights and obligations.
  10. The first obligation of every citizen must be to work both spiritually and physically. The activity of individuals is not to counteract the interests of the universality, but must have its result within the framework of the whole for the benefit of all. Consequently we demand:
  11. Abolition of unearned (work and labour) incomes. Breaking of rent-slavery.
  12. In consideration of the monstrous sacrifice in property and blood that each war demands of the people, personal enrichment through a war must be designated as a crime against the people. Therefore we demand the total confiscation of all war profits.
  13. We demand the nationalisation of all (previous) associated industries (trusts).
  14. We demand a division of profits of all heavy industries.
  15. We demand an expansion on a large scale of old age welfare.
  16. We demand the creation of a healthy middle class and its conservation, immediate communalization of the great warehouses and their being leased at low cost to small firms, the utmost consideration of all small firms in contracts with the State, county or municipality.
  17. We demand a land reform suitable to our needs, provision of a law for the free expropriation of land for the purposes of public utility, abolition of taxes on land and prevention of all speculation in land.
  18. We demand struggle without consideration against those whose activity is injurious to the general interest. Common national criminals, usurers, profiteers and so forth are to be punished with death, without consideration of confession or race.
  19. We demand substitution of a German common law in place of the Roman Law serving a materialistic world-order.
  20. The state is to be responsible for a fundamental reconstruction of our whole national education program, to enable every capable and industrious German to obtain higher education and subsequently introduction into leading positions. The plans of instruction of all educational institutions are to conform with the experiences of practical life. The comprehension of the concept of the State must be striven for by the school [Staatsbuergerkunde] as early as the beginning of understanding. We demand the education at the expense of the State of outstanding intellectually gifted children of poor parents without consideration of position or profession.
  21. The State is to care for the elevating national health by protecting the mother and child, by outlawing child-labor, by the encouragement of physical fitness, by means of the legal establishment of a gymnastic and sport obligation, by the utmost support of all organizations concerned with the physical instruction of the young.
  22. We demand abolition of the mercenary troops and formation of a national army.
  23. We demand legal opposition to known lies and their promulgation through the press. In order to enable the provision of a German press, we demand, that: a. All writers and employees of the newspapers appearing in the German language be members of the race: b. Non-German newspapers be required to have the express permission of the State to be published. They may not be printed in the German language: c. Non-Germans are forbidden by law any financial interest in German publications, or any influence on them, and as punishment for violations the closing of such a publication as well as the immediate expulsion from the Reich of the non-German concerned. Publications which are counter to the general good are to be forbidden. We demand legal prosecution of artistic and literary forms which exert a destructive influence on our national life, and the closure of organizations opposing the above made demands.
  24. We demand freedom of religion for all religious denominations within the state so long as they do not endanger its existence or oppose the moral senses of the Germanic race. The Party as such advocates the standpoint of a positive Christianity without binding itself confessionally to any one denomination. It combats the Jewish-materialistic spirit within and around us, and is convinced that a lasting recovery of our nation can only succeed from within on the framework: The good of the state before the good of the individual.[12]
  25. For the execution of all of this we demand the formation of a strong central power in the Reich. Unlimited authority of the central parliament over the whole Reich and its organizations in general. The forming of state and profession chambers for the execution of the laws made by the Reich within the various states of the confederation. The leaders of the Party promise, if necessary by sacrificing their own lives, to support by the execution of the points set forth above without consideration.