Steve Bannon's Possible J-6 Testimony: A Stunt From Out Of Hitler's Munich Trial Playbook?
Steve Bannon's Possible J-6 Testimony: A Stunt From Out Of Hitler's Munich Trial Playbook?
Introduction--
"We will come to power...legally within the rules of the Constitution...and then the November 1918 revolution will be avenged, and heads will roll."
-----Adolf HItler, testifying at his own trial for the Munich Putsch, 1924
"You're going to be held accountable bro'. When we come back to power, don't think you're skipping away from this."
-----Steve Bannon quote in "The Independent," March 22, 2022, in response to book revelations by former Defense Secretary Mark Esper and others who turned against Trump.
On November 9th, 1923, Adolf Hitler and his fellow Nazis committed high treason against the German government and people, an action which left four Bavarian police dead, sixteen Nazi Party members dead, hundreds injured and wounded, including Jewish residents of Munich whose homes and businesses were broken into, their property destroyed, and who were dragged out and beaten by the violent mob of Stormtroopers there accompanying Hitler. Hitler and his inner circle were arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced for treason to five years in prison (with one exception), and paroled after nine and half months after a virtual vacation in relative freedom and luxury. For treason.
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How does one make sense of this? How do we process this reality, having our own historical hindsight and knowing what calamities would not have occurred in the twentieth century had there been a just trial and sentencing for the crimes actually committed over those few days? And what does this have to do with Steve Bannon? The answer to that question is what we call today "a slam dunk."
Part I-- The Strategic Setting, The Weimar Republic Collapses--
Most educated people are versed in the 20th Century origins of World War II, the basic timelines of the rise of fascism in Europe, and the seminal events in which Hitler seized and consolidated power in post World War I Germany.
There was the seeming "out of nowhere" electoral gains of the Nazis in the aftermath of the US stock market crash and ensuing world depression in 1929. We are aware that these gains through 1932 were the basis for Hitler's appointment as Chancellor by the aging President Paul von Hindenberg, to lead a coalition government with the German Christian conservative and center parties.
And of course, we are aware of the "legal coup" through which Hitler established a dictatorship in the aftermath of the Reichstag fire, in which he used the section of the Weimar Republic's Constitution with it's emergency provisions which allowed him to rule by decree, dissolve the Reichstag, institute censorship and ban opposition parties under the Enabling Act, which suspended the Weimar Constitution.
It must be emphasized that technically speaking, everything Hitler did to seize power and consolidate it was legal under the German Constitution, which allowed for the passage of emergency decrees in the case of threats to national security from within or without. This threat, according to the Nazis came from the KPD, the German Commuist Party, which was blamed for setting the Reichstag on fire.
Thus, shortly after his swearing in, Hitler did exactly what he swore he would do from the witness stand, almost nine years before. At trial, he took his place and ranted for five hours continuously in front of a judge, jury, prosecutors, government officials and representatives of most of the world's leading press in Munich while standing trial for treason, along with the inner circle of Nazi Party leaders who were his accomplices.
Part 2-- The Chaos Of Germany's Hyperinflation Fed The Flames
The context for Hitler's "Putsch" was the October 11, 1923 collapse of the value of the German Papiermark to the level of $1 US to 4 billion Marks. Concretely, what that meant in real terms, was that a loaf of bread in Weimar Germany, which had cost less than 1 Mark, or 26 cents in 1919 immediately at the end of World War I, rose to a cost of 200 million Marks by November of 1923.
You have likely seen old photos of the long lines for bread throughout Germany, or heard stories about the dislocation, shortages, chaos and absurd circumstances which were forced upon the German people after the war, and have some kind of mental construct as to what this was like for them.
The roots of this crisis were the consequences of Kaiser Wilhelm II making the awful decisions which led to WWI, and deciding to end the gold standard, (convertibility of the Mark to gold) which meant paying for the war by having the Reichstag borrow money. France, on the other hand used an income tax to finance the War. The Kaiser bet everything on winning the war, hoping that a German victory would yield enough "spoils" to pay back what they had borrowed, including seizing some of the resource rich areas to their east and west, and imposing a cash indemnity on the vanquished powers as had France after the War of 1870.
We know what happened then. According to Wikipedia:
["The cause of the immense acceleration of prices seemed unclear and unpredictable to those who lived through it, but in retrospect, it was relatively simple. The Treaty of Versailles imposed a huge debt on Germany that could be paid only in gold or foreign currency. With its gold depleted, the German government attempted to buy foreign currency with German currency, equivalent to selling German currency in exchange for payment in foreign currency, but the resulting increase in the supply of German marks on the market caused the German mark to fall rapidly in value, which greatly increased the number of marks needed to buy more foreign currency.
That caused German prices of goods to rise rapidly, increasing the cost of operating the German government, which could not be financed by raising taxes because those taxes would be payable in the ever-falling German currency. The resulting deficit was financed by some combination of issuing bonds and simply creating more money, both increasing the supply of German mark-denominated financial assets on the market and so further reducing the currency's price. When the German people realized that their money was rapidly losing value, they tried to spend it quickly. That increased monetary velocity caused an ever-faster increase in prices, creating a vicious cycle.
The government and the banks had two unacceptable alternatives. If they stopped inflation, (ie; stopped printing money- lfr) there would be immediate bankruptcies, unemployment, strikes, hunger, violence, collapse of civil order, insurrection and possibly even revolution. If they continued the inflation, they would default on their foreign debt.
However, attempting to avoid both unemployment and insolvency ultimately failed when Germany had both."]
The highly punitive Treaty of Versailles took a horrible revenge on Germany, imposing reparations payments which were impossible, and economic conditions which were crippling. They were forced to sell off everything possible, food, machines, and manufactured goods to generate foreign exchange to meet these payments. When they had nothing left to export, they were forced to print more currency to purchase foreign currency and commodities.
This led to extreme shortages, and the absurd situations of people being forced to use wheelbarrows and wagons to take enough Marks to the shops to buy groceries.
The post War collapse of the German economy led to a Socialist Revolution which failed, and not long after, the first political actions by Hitler’s Nazis, with his "Putsch", an armed political coup against the local government.
The day to day life of Germans became increasingly chaotic. Because the rate of hyper-inflation accelerated by the hour, German workers insisted on being issued paychecks each day, and later multiple times per day, literally meeting family members at plant gates to give them their pay to buy necessities before the price went up, and before the supply was gone. Literally, German housewives were running relay races to cope with the currency and shortage crises. Money had virtually no value, and there was very little to buy with it.
People burned money in their stoves and fireplaces for heat and to cook with. They stuffed mattresses, papered their walls, and made clothes of it. The shortages created desperation and hardship, with meat being in such shortage that there was an epidemic of serial killers committing murder and selling the butchered remains for potted meat. (See my blog article, "How the Nazis Campaigned for the Death Penalty to Win Elections")
Eventually, the chaos was of such a nature that the Allies had to make adjustments to prevent a Soviet backed insurrection and coup, so the Reichsbank brought in a new chairman, Hjalmar Schacht, to stabilize the currency and implement a savage economic austerity plan, with some restructuring of debt and reparations. (Schacht was later tried and incredibly acquitted at Nuremberg for his role as Nazi Finance Minister) Nevertheless, the German people still suffered and the crime and street fighting accelerated, especially after the 1929 Crash and Global depression.
It is worth remembering that times of deep economic depression, desperation and chaos often lead to rise of radical movements which fall prey to demagogues. Demagogues of the left and right each appeal to the anger and rage produced by these events, and make promises of justice, restoring order, revenge against those who victimized them, putting money and food on their table, and scapegoating some group, foreign or domestic for their ills. These were the circumstances in which Hitler and his Nazis rose to power, destroyed the Weimar Republic, and began to visit their nightmare upon the world.
Part 3-- The Putsch
By November 1923, Hitler and his associates had concocted a plot to seize power of the Bavarian state government (and thereby launch a larger revolution against the Weimar Republic) by kidnapping Gustav von Kahr (1862-1934), the state commissioner of Bavaria, and two other conservative politicians. Hitler’s plan involved using Erich Ludendorff (1865-1937), the right-wing World War I general, as a figurehead to lead a march on Berlin to overthrow the Weimar Republic. Hitler’s proposed putsch was inspired by the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), whose march on Rome in October 1922 had been successful in ousting the liberal Italian government.
Hitler had initially approached von Kahr to lead the march on Berlin, but when von Kahr began to back away from the plan, Hitler moved ahead without him. Hearing that von Kahr was scheduled to address a large crowd in the Bürgerbräukeller, one of the biggest beer halls in Munich, on November 8, 1923, Hitler took hundreds of his followers and surrounded the hall that evening. The Nazi Party leader and about 20 of his associates burst into the hall, and Hitler fired a shot into the ceiling and declared a “national revolution.” Von Kahr and two colleagues were herded into a back room while one of Hitler’s associates telephoned Ludendorff. When the general arrived at the hall, he convinced the three Bavarian leaders to give in to Hitler’s demands for the march on Berlin.
Hitler made the mistake of leaving the beer hall later that night to deal with crises elsewhere in the city. His followers were supposed to take over government buildings throughout Munich but their attempts were largely foiled by the city’s military troops. Meanwhile, Ludendorff had allowed von Kahr and the other two leaders to leave the beer hall after Hitler’s departure. By the next morning, the putsch had fizzled.
Ludendorff attempted to salvage the situation by calling on Hitler’s followers for a spontaneous march on the city center. He led about 2,500-3,000 supporters in the direction of the Bavarian Defense Ministry. On their way, the marchers were blocked by a group of state police officers. The two groups exchanged fire, and four police officers were killed along with 16 Nazis. Hitler suffered a dislocated shoulder when he fell to the ground. He crawled along the pavement and was taken away in a waiting car, leaving his comrades behind. Ludendorff walked straight ahead into the ranks of the police, who refused to fire on him.
Part 4-- The Trial
After the putsch failed, Hitler, Erich Von Ludendorff and eight co-defendants were put on trial for high treason at the People’s Court in Munich. The proceedings were held from February 26 to April 1, 1924. The eight co-conspirators were Ernst Pöhner (judge at the State Supreme Court), Wilhelm Frick (senior officer in the Munich police department), Friedrich Weber (veterinarian), Ernst Röhm (retired captain), Wilhelm Brückner (retired first lieutenant in the reserves), Robert Wagner (lieutenant), Hermann Kriebel (retired first lieutenant) and Heinz Pernet (retired first lieutenant). Presiding judge Georg Neithardt did little to conceal his sympathies for the putsch’s instigators and gave them ample opportunity to present their political convictions and launch demagogic attacks against the Reich government at the largely public proceedings. Hitler, in particular, seized the opportunity: on the very first day, he discussed his defense in a speech that lasted about three-and-a-half hours. His address at the conclusion of the trial went on for about two hours. The strikingly lenient verdict, delivered on April 1, 1924, sentenced Hitler, Weber, Kriebel and Pöhner to five years’ imprisonment for high treason, less their time in pretrial detention, and payment of 200 gold Marks or an additional twenty days in prison. They were eligible for parole after just six months. Brückner, Röhm, Pernet, Wagner and Frick were found guilty of abetment and sentenced to fifteen months’ imprisonment, less their time in pretrial detention, as well as a fine of 100 gold marks or an additional ten days in prison. However, they were immediately released on parole. Ludendorff was acquitted.
--Source, The History Channel
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Hitler's speech, excerpts--
"Lossow said here that he had spoken with me in the spring and had not noticed then that I was trying to get something for myself and had thought that I only wanted to be a propagandist and a man who would rouse people."
"How petty are the thoughts of small men! You can take my word for it, that I do not consider a ministerial post worth striving for."
"From the very first I have aimed at something more than becoming a Minister. I have resolved to be the destroyer of Marxism. This I shall achieve and once I’ve achieved that, I should find the title of ‘Minister’ ridiculous. When I first stood in front of Wagner’s grave, my heart overflowed with pride that here lay a man who had forbidden any such inscription as ‘Here lies State Councilor, Musical Director, His Excellency Richard von Wagner’. I was proud that this man and so many others in German history have been content to leave their names to posterity and not their titles. It was not through modesty that I was willing to be a ‘drummer’ at that time for that is the highest task [das Höchste]: the rest is nothing."
"Mr Public Prosecutor! You emphasize in the indictment that we had to wait with clenched teeth until the seed ripened. Well, we did wait and when the man came, we cried: ‘The seed is ripe, the hour has come.’ Only then, after long hesitation, did I put myself forward. I demanded for myself the leadership in the political struggle; and secondly, I demanded that the leadership of the organization for which we all longed and for which you inwardly long just as much should go to the hero who, in the eyes of the whole of German youth, is called to it. The witness Seisser declared cynically that we had to have Ludendorff so that the Reichswehr would not shoot. Is that a crime? Was it treason that I said to Lossow, ‘The way you are beginning it must come to a conflict; as I see it, there need be no conflict?"
"What did we want on the evening of 8 November? All these gentlemen wanted a Directory in the Reich. If one has striven for something in the Reich, one cannot condemn it in Bavaria. The Directory already existed in Bavaria, it consisted of Messrs Kahr, Lossow and Seisser. We no longer knew anything of a legal government, we only feared that there might be scruples over the final decision."
"I am no monarchist, but ultimately a Republican. Pöhner is a monarchist, Ludendorff is devoted to the House of Hohenzollern [Prussia-Germany]. Despite our different attitudes we all stood together. The fate of Germany does not lie in the choice between a Republic or a Monarchy, but in the content of the Republic and the Monarchy. What I am contending against is not the form of a state as such, but its ignominious content. We wanted to create in Germany the precondition which alone will make it possible for the iron grip of our enemies to be removed from us. We wanted to create order in the state, throw out the drones, take up the fight against international stock exchange slavery, against our whole economy being cornered by trusts, against the politicizing of the trade unions, and above all, for the highest honorable duty which we, as Germans, know should be once more introduced—the duty of bearing arms, military service. And now I ask you: Is what we wanted high treason?"
"The army which we have formed grows from day to day; it grows more rapidly from hour to hour. Even now I have the proud hope that one day the hour will come when these untrained [wild] bands will grow to battalions, the battalions to regiments and the regiments to divisions, when the old cockade will be raised from the mire, when the old banners will once again wave before us: and the reconciliation will come in that eternal last Court of Judgment, the Court of God, before which we are ready to take our stand. Then from our bones, from our graves, will sound the voice of that tribunal which alone has the right to sit in judgment upon us. For, gentlemen, it is not you who pronounce judgment upon us, it is the external Court of History which will make its pronouncement upon the charge which is brought against us. The verdict that you will pass I know. But that Court will not ask of us, ‘Did you commit high treason or did you not?’ That Court will judge us as Germans who wanted the best for their people and their fatherland, who wished to fight and to die. You may pronounce us guilty a thousand times, but the Goddess who presides over the Eternal Court of History will with a smile tear in pieces the charge of the Public Prosecutor and the verdict of this court. For she acquits us."
-- -- source, German History in Images and Documents. https://ghdi.ghi-dc.org/about.cfm
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Part 4- Steve Bannon- Throwing himself on the sword for his Führer?
Most people know something of Bannon's history going back to his stint with Goldman-Sachs, his building up of right-wing rag "Breitbart," his role as Trump campaign operative, and White House advisor. He is also an extremist charismatic Catholic, (though that presented no obstacle to his giving legal and PR advice to his good friend, pedophile Jeffrey Epstein) a collaborator and protégé of Russian fascist academic and Putin mentor Aleksandr Dugin, and is actively involved in organizing a fascist coup in Vatican circles to remove Pope Francis. He is openly recruiting members of QAnon to be "activists" in both Trump's upcoming campaign and for joining the far right fascist anti-immigration parties of Europe, such as the German AfD and France's LePen. Simply put, Bannon is Donald Trump's "Nazi whisperer." He is the expert in coded language, hyperbole and "dogwhistle messaging" who is the literal gold standard for all of the leading propagandists of the alt-right, from Tucker Carlson to Steve Miller.
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And make no mistake, Bannon is a student of history. He knows the story of Hitler's rise to power as well as he knows his own biography. He is ideologically and philosophically committed to fascism, despite his ability to "dress up," speak politely and act civilized in mixed company, just like the leaders of the original Third Reich. His ability to connect through himself the hard core neo-nazi base of the MAGA underworld with "mainstream news figures" such as Carlson and Newsmax's Jack Posobiec through euphemistic language and subtle inference is his art.
He has produced a modern-day version of Josef Goebbels Nazi Radio station in "Americanese" through his podcast, "The War Room" (not coincidentally the name for Trump's and Meadows covert hotel command center for deploying the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys to storm the Capitol). The War Room provides a forum for the dregs of the misnamed "Freedom Caucus" such as Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and other gurus of the Trumpworld insurrectionist culture warriors. It also serves as Vladimir Putin's cheering section in a fashion far worse than even Carlson's Fox propaganda forum. But he uses his podcast to incite, not "inform," which is the relevant point. His listeners will be the vanguard of the next nationwide January 6th, all being recruited through carefully parsed language.
But, as his recent utterances swearing revenge under the duress of indictment such as the quote opening this article indicates, all it takes is scratching the polished surface to reveal the Nazi criminal which lurks underneath.
Therefore based on my personal knowledge of Bannon, and decades of tracking Trump and knowing his profile, there is no doubt in my mind that Bannon is not testifying solely in order to save his voluminous ass. He is testifying because Trump has deployed him to, as the opening salvo of Trump's 2024 campaign, and as an operation to hijack the January 6th Committee hearings. Whether this testimony occurs is, as of this writing, still to be determined.
From all reports, Trump is enraged, desperate, and demanding that his most loyal followers engage in a variety of stunts, public distractions and likely political violence to take control of the media narrative about him. Trump is furious at House Minority Leader McCarthy for being idiot enough to follow his own advice, having pulled out all GOP participants from the J6 Committee, whining that he has no one there to defend him, or to promote "The Big Lie." So, Bannon has been delegated.
As far as my hypothesis goes that Bannon's testimony will be modeled on Hitler's Munich Trial defense... just keep a few things in mind.
Like Bannon, Trump admires and has studied Hitler's rise intensively. His ex-wife Ivana has said in an interview that Trump kept a book of Hitler's speeches in his night table.
Like Bannon, Trump believes Hitler "did some good things" as he said to General John Kelly, his former Chief of Staff during a WWII commemoration at a European cemetery.
Like Bannon, he understands the power of propaganda, such as that of the Nazis to compel loyalty and obedience, and deploy a violent mob. He never expressed a shred of remorse for what he set loose on January 6th, because he plans to do it again when he is indicted.
Yes friends, expect from Steve Bannon what you would expect of Trump were he to be testifying himself. In every respect, he will attempt to use his witness chair as a pulpit for preaching the MAGA gospel. It will be a fascist propaganda "shit show" in which he will attempt to blow up the format and structure of the hearings in a fashion which borders on contempt of Congress to deliver the message put in his mouth by Trump. And 80 percent of it will center on the "stolen election." I'd make book on it. In the same way that Hitler justified his coup in the name of avenging Germany for the crimes of "The November Criminals" behind Germany's surrender, the infamous "stab in the back," Bannon will do his job and focus on "The Big Lie."
That is, if he testifies, whether live or on video, and what constraints he is put under by those conducting the interview.
I won't be surprised if he drops some salacious gossip about Trump for media consumption and entertaining the public. He will do what he can to pump up his podcast views and make some money, since someone with his appetite has to eat. He has to give the Committee something to justify dropping the contempt of Congress charge. I believe Trump is willing to take some kind of a hit in order to disrupt the hearings, and fund his campaign and legal defense. He "needs the juice" which can come from it. Likewise Bannon, who has a ton of billable hours from his lawyers to be paid.
We shall see. If I am wrong, then at least we will have taken the time and trouble to learn something useful from history.
