Nikolaus Hollweg

Nikolaus Hollweg (15 May 1897 – 9 November 1923) was a Bavarian police officer and wachtmeister who was a member of the Bavarian Police Hundertschaft, and one of the four government casualties during the Beer Hall Putsch, in which Adolf Hitler and the Nazis first attempted to seize power and overthrow the Weimar Republic.

Biography and context Born in 1897 in a small village (ortsteil) of Kulmbach, Hollweg first worked as a merchant. After his military service, Hollweg enlisted in the Bavarian Police in November 1922, signing up for 12 years of service and working in Munich as a first assignment.

On 8 November 1923, Adolf Hitler and his followers of the Nazi Party launched the Beer Hall Putsch, seeking to overthrow the Weimar Republic. The march began at the Bürgerbräukeller, heading for the Military District Command, formerly the Royal Bavarian Ministry of War. Nazi member Ernst Röhm and his followers had been mutinying there since the previous day, prompting the 2nd Police Company to attempt to halt the march and prevent its advance on the Military District Command. The putschists were finally suppressed, and Hitler's attempts were thwarted, resulting in his imprisonment. Participants in the putsch were awarded the Blood Order award by the Nazi regime. The plaque was later removed and replaced in 2010 by a memorial plaque on the facade of the Munich Residenz. Another memorial plaque in honor of Hollweg is located in his birthplace in Kulmbach. Hollweg, as well as the other three officers, are considered by modern German politicians and media as martyrs and defenders of the Weimar democracy as well as one of the first rejections of Nazism by Germans.