Sixteen years before the Second World War, Adolf Hitler had already begun his plan to take over the world. With the help of nine close conspirators and a few hundred followers, he staged his first attempt at an overthrow of the German government. That night, Hitler stood on a table in the middle of Munich’s crowded Bürgerbräu Beer Hall, fired his revolver into the air and shouted ‘The National Revolution has begun!’ Although they managed to kill nineteen people, including four policemen, the attempt was far from a triumph. Cuffed and behind bars, Hitler and his accomplices, including Germany’s most prominent war hero, found themselves accused of high treason; if found guilty, they would face deportation, or worse, life in prison.

But the trial did not go as the prosecution had planned and, instead of being cowed, Hitler put his charisma and media savvy to the test, turning the trial into the single greatest opportunity of his life. Frustrating the prosecution and deftly enforcing his position under the eye of a sympathetic judge, Hitler’s flamboyant rhetoric, combined with his timely populist message, would win him many admirers in the courtroom and in the media alike. Drawing on the original court transcripts and hundreds of other documents, David King’s The Trial of Adolf Hitler is the first book-length account of this gripping true story of drama, intrigue and significance.