When Hitler was able to, he staged a Putsch in Munich, hoping to get enough backing
to prevent Hindenburg from suppressing the party he was forming. I forget the immediate
results, will go look it up.I think it was not a complete success.

putsch
n.
5Ger < Swiss dial., lit., a push, blow6 a sudden political uprising or rebellion

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GERbeer.htm

Thanks for that link, very interesting accounts. Reading about the period, both fact and fiction - Christopher Isherwood, Len Deighton etc. - has a strange fascination. Something to do with watching the stages of a total and inevitable yet predictable disaster unfold and trying to understand the motivations and states of mind of the players that led us all into it.
I would like to find again a huge series of books - 11 volumes, each about 1000 pages I think - called The World's End Series by Upton Sinclair but I think they are out of print. I may try posting to see if anyone knows where I could find them. I read them in my late teens I think and they made a lasting impact.

you might try eBay...

OK, thanks. I'll give it a go. Hope there's a set in the UK, carriage cost could be prohibitive!