The consequences of the Kapp putsch brought about a great shift in the political landscape. A counter-argument to this is that Ebert was irrelevant to the Berliners thinking they simply wanted no more trouble in their capital after experiencing the Spartacists/Communist rebellion in 1919. After the Kapp Putsch was over and Kapp had fled, communist workers in the Ruhr launched a mass strike. It was led by Wolfgang Kapp (hence the name) who opposed all that he believed then-President Friedrich Ebert stood for, and came in the wake of the Versailles Treaty that devastated post-WWI Germany. What was the root cause of the Kapp Putsch? Members of the Freikorps did not want to become unemployed again as they had after the First World War, so they turned against the Government. The Kapp Putsch proved to the Weimar government that a large percentage of the population, especially those that were affected by the Great War, was deeply mistrustful and disappointed with the Weimar government. Why were the Kapp Putsch a threat? [3]:229230, On 18 March, Seeckt praised the discipline of the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt and the next day provided Ehrhardt with a written promise that he would not be arrested as long as he was in command of the brigade and the brigade left Berlin. For more information on usage, please refer to our Terms of Use. of the users don't pass the Kapp Putsch quiz! They took over the Weimar Republic. The repeatedly fractured and highly angular memorial rose up on three sides, as if thrust up from or rammed into the earth. As the Freikorps grew steadily through 1919, the relationship between Friedrich Eberts government and the Reichswehr deteriorated. The Putsch leaders' quest for solutions: Doubting the wisdom of his coup and looking anxiously for a simple way to escape his dilemma, Kapp sought a "compromise" with the Ebert Government, the most important demand of which was that both sides condemn the general strike and emphasize the need for a resumption of production. German history is full of failed coup attempts, whether it be the Kapp Putsch of 1920 or Adolf Hitler's first attempt in the failed Beer Hall Putsch in November 1923. [2]:26, Kapp declared himself Chancellor (Reichskanzler) and formed a provisional government. P.S. The German government had repeatedly used Freikorps troops to put down Communist uprisings after the war. He died before this trial was completed. Lttwitz took up exile in Hungary until granted amnesty to return to Germany in 1924. The memorial was commissioned by the Weimar Gewerkschaftskartell (Union Cartel), which conducted a competition to select a design. Upload unlimited documents and save them online. In the eastern provinces, the bureaucracy fell in line behind Kapp and Lttwitz. Category. As we all know, the Freikorps were made up of former soldiers, thus Seeckt responded to Ebert with a stern declination to his orders. Everyone remains bound in obedience to the constitutional government. The aspiring Kapp government was confined to the capital and paralysed by what one socialist called the terrible silent power of the general strike. The civilian government sought to implement the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, ordering reductions in Reichswehr numbers. [2]:26 The government then tried to negotiate with workers who refused to lay down their arms, after the unions called off the strike on 22 March. Kapp Putsch Birth of the USA American Independence War Causes of the American Revolution General Thomas Gage biography Intolerable Acts Loyalists Quebec Act Stamp Act Tea Party Cold War Battle of Dien Bin Phu Brezhnev Doctrine Brezhnev Era Cold War Alliances Cominform Cominform and Comecon Cuban Missile Crisis Dtente Global Cold War Ho Chi Minh Those who fought for Kapp and Luttwitz were obvious future supporters of the fledgling Nazi Party. The rising was crushed and over 1,000 workers were killed. [3]:229230, The four parties, supported by some Social Democrats who had remained in Berlin, offered fresh elections, a cabinet reshuffle and an amnesty for all participants in the Putsch, if Kapp and Lttwitz were to resign. [3]:216 Some senior military commanders had started discussing the possibility of a coup as early as July 1919. The abortive putsch failed to produce a reaction against the Right. Seen as traitors by many for signing the Treaty of Versailles, it was only natural that 'some' even tried to revert this act. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. How will we avoid external and internal collapse? In some quarters, the Freikorps was known as the Black Reichswehr. Ebert had ordered to disband of several units of the Freikorps. They suggested to Schiffer, in the absence of Ebert in charge of the government's affairs, that he appoint Seeckt as head of the Reichswehr, which Schiffer did in the name of Ebert. Kapp was a mid-level army officer, who in march 1920 tried to overthrow the Weimar republic. For two days, Kapp attempted to justify the putsch and whip up support. General Hans von Seeckt, for instance, viewed the Freikorps an important reserve army. History Learning Site Copyright 2000 - 2022. The general strike called for by Ebert ensured that those who supported Kapp could not move around and such paralysis doomed the putsch to failure. An hour later the Gruppenkommando knew about it and informed Noske. It was supported by parts of the Reichswehr (military) and other conservative . Kapp was assisted by General Luttwitz and a brigade of Freikorps soldiers, who on 13th March 1920 seized Berlin and proclaimed a new right-wing government, declaring Kapp to be the new Chancellor. Create the most beautiful study materials using our templates. How big could the German Army be according to the Treaty of Versailles? 13th-17th March 1920 What caused the Kapp Putsch? URL: https://alphahistory.com/weimarrepublic/kapp-putsch/ However, in March 1920 the Government attempted to disband the Freikorps and consequently the Ebert government lost control of the Freikorps. When they were heckled by an unfriendly crowd of bystanders, they opened fire with machine guns, leaving twelve civilians dead and thirty severely wounded. This time, however, his adversaries were the Freikorps, ex-soldiers who had retained their weapons from the war. The end of the First World War saw Germany demobilised and depressed as a state. But the main officer corps of the German Army failed to follow Luderndorffs lead. Outraged, von Lttwitz decided to launch the coup detat he had been contemplating for several months. This was broadly supported by the Independent Social Democrat Party (USPD), other left-wing and centrist parties and the trade unions, who provided leadership and organisation for these strikes. The attempted coup was thwarted by public opposition, divisions within the military and misjudgements by those who initiated it. answer choices . The Weimar government fled to Stuttgart but ordered a general strike from the workers in Berlin. [3]:217[5]:50 On 29 February 1920, the Defence Minister Noske ordered the disbandment of two of the most powerful Freikorps, the Marinebrigade Loewenfeld and Marinebrigade Ehrhardt. After the Spartacist Uprising was quelled, tensions began to arise between the Freikorps and Chancellor Ebert. This resource would provide a good opportunity for consolidation or for flipped learning. Challenges and Threats to the Weimar Republic. Defeat suppressed the nations affection for monarchism and ultra-nationalism but only in some circles. It was only at this point that Lttwitz brought the group known as Nationale Vereinigung into the plot. And this adventure will collapse in a few days from its intrinsic impracticality. Wolfgang Kapp would also join and lead the putsch. The Freikorps, a group the civilian government encouraged and relied on January 1919, seemed to turn against it. Ebert and Noske rejected these demands and Noske told Lttwitz that he expected his resignation the next day. However, the military did nothing to stop the putsch and give active support to Ebert. Handing over a person to a country where they have committed the crime. What Was the "Stab in the Back" During WWI. Only a government based on the constitution can save Germany from sinking into darkness and blood. Ebert had also asked Noske to attend. Kapp and Luttwitz fled Berlin on March 17th. By 22 March, the Ruhr was under the control of the revolutionary workers. Student activity. The Kapp Putsch happened in Berlin. In some parts of the country, the strike had turned into an armed revolt. The mobilisation of KPD, USPD and radical union groups in response to the putsch led to several communist insurrections around Germany. When Reichswehr fires on Reichswehr all comradeship within the officers' corps will have vanished". The workers were mostly left-leaning and generally enjoyed a more socialist-prone government. Certainly, Ebert could not have been seen as being anti-military. Wolfgang Kapp: and a failed leader of the so-called Kapp Putsch. To do so, Ebert called on Hans von Seeckt, chief of staff of the Reichswehr to fight the rebellious Freikorps. Weimar Republic memory quiz: concepts (I), Weimar Republic memory quiz: concepts (II), Weimar Republic memory quiz: concepts (III), Weimar Republic memory quiz: dates 1918-19, Weimar Republic memory quiz: dates 1920-22, Weimar Republic memory quiz: dates 1923-24, Weimar Republic memory quiz: dates 1925-28, Weimar Republic memory quiz: dates 1929-32. In Berlin the gas, water and power supply stopped. Their only choice was to flee and flee they did, first to Dresden and then to Stuttgart. The Freikorps did just that and so the Kapp Putsch ended. The Kapp Putsch took place during a period of distrust and dislike of the Weimar government. This only panicked the German military and paramilitary forces. A century ago, on 13 March 1920, a far-right coup d'etat was implemented against the nascent Weimar Republic, known as the Kapp Putsch, which stood as an early warning signal for the Nazi Party's rise with General Erich Ludendorff being the playmaker. [3]:220, The reluctance to shed blood was one-sided. In 1919, the Weimar government attempted to downsize the military, in line with the Versailles treaty, and reform the officer corps to ensure its loyalty. [3]:222 At a confused meeting at the Reichskanzlei, the undefended cabinet took two decisions: to flee the city and to issue a call for a general strike. At 6:15am they had to interrupt the meeting and flee. With the Treaty of Versailles restricting millions of men from serving their country the only way, they knew how most found themselves unemployed. Although Gropius had said that the Bauhaus should remain politically neutral, he agreed to participate in the competition of Weimar artists at the end of 1920. A video about the failed rising in Germany (1920) led by Wolfgang Kapp The most senior officer of the land forces was called Chef der Heeresleitung, a post held in early 1920 by General Walther Reinhardt. They were all killed. The difficult political realities of the young republic had been painfully exposed. According to the constitution, the president was the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, represented in peace time by the Minister of Defence. On 7 December 2022, 25 members of a far-right terrorist group were arrested for allegedly planning a coup d'tat in Germany. Due to the Treaty of Versailles, a reduction of the German army from 650,000 to 200,000 angered he right wing nationalists who rejected it and wanted to overthrow the Weimar state. In Thuringia and Saxony the military defeated the workers after bloody fights. [3]:226[14], Adolf Hitler, who had been in contact with the members of the Nationale Vereinigung and was eager to help the coup along, was flown into Berlin from Munich by the Army. The Kapp Putsch failed because the legitimate government of Germany, the Weimar government, called for a general strike in Berlin, paralysing the capital. 4. The Marinebrigade Ehrhardt had itself been resisting government orders to disband. They are to be deplored. The group, called Patriotic Union (German: Patriotische Union)(de), which is led by a Council (German: Rat), is a German far-right extremist Reichsbrger movement. The Kapp putsch exposed the critical weakness of the Weimar government and highlighted both the Reichswehr and Freikorps as forces of considerable political influence. Freikorps were military units that were made up of volunteering soldiers that formerly served in the German Imperial Army during the First World War. It was considered undesirable that Kapp and Lttwitz should be toppled, they must be seen to resign voluntarily. In March 1920, a large Freikorps brigade seized control of Berlin and a public servant named Wolfgang Kapp claimed the chancellorship. But, it failed only four days later. Only Ebert and the SPD ministers signed the call for a general strike. The pilot was Robert von Greim, whom Hitler later appointed as the last commander of the Luftwaffe. [9] International con-man Ignaz Trebitsch-Lincoln became Kapp's press censor. No political party, no man of sober-minded thought is behind these events. Essentially, the collapse of Weimar cannot be understood without understanding the Kapp Putsch and its consequences. What month did the Kapp Putsch occur in? If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page. What was the response of von Luttwitz, What did Luttwitz decide to do in protest? The Freikorps grew in strength after the Spartacist Revolt in 1919. simply called the Lttwitz Putsch. Treaty of Versailles reduced army to 100,000 - and the Freikorps units were ordered to disband. Had the conflict not erupted, it is unlikely that Adolf Hitler and his henchmen would have ever risen to prominence.The Nazi fervor did not emerge out of thin air following the end of World War I in November 1918. [3]:224 The upper echelons of the bureaucracy were still dominated by those who had risen to their positions under the Empire and most were sympathetic to the coup, whilst remaining outwardly neutral and biding their time. Shortly thereafter, Kapp's men moved into the Reichskanzlei. As a result of a lunatic coup de main, the government buildings of Berlin have fallen into the hands of mutineers. Create beautiful notes faster than ever before. Noske and Ebert refused and ordered Lttwitzs resignation. This was reported to Noske who met with Ebert. Ebert and his government had been effectively backed into a corner. This in turn only made their situation worse. On March 13th, 1920, Luttwitz seized Berlin and proclaimed that a new right of centre nationalist government was being established with Kapp as chancellor. The government fled to Stuttgart, but passively encouraged the workers of Berlin to go on strike. The putschists sought to bring back Kaiser Wilhelm II to power. When around 5,000 Freikorps marched on Berlin, Ebert initially ordered the German Army to stop the rebellion. With these in mind, German military officials took it upon themselves to overthrow the Weimar government and establish a military autocracy, with which they would prepare the grounds for bringing the Kaiser back. They objected to it politically and considered it an example of "degenerate art", as Hitler characterized modern works. In the six days of crisis, it had retained the backing of the people of Berlin and had effectively withstood a major threat from the extreme right. Almost. A military/armed force that operates as an unofficial organisation. Nothing reactionary, instead, a further free development of the German state, restoration of order, and the sanctity of law. As a right wing putsch which lasted several weeks until defeated by a general strike, the Kapp Putsch encouraged right wing extremists such as Hitler . The vast majority of the Freikorps were vehemently anti-Communist ideals and were violent in their crackdown on all those who were seen as Communist sympathisers. [23], The monument was arranged around an inner space, in which visitors could stand. Only the mass power of a general strike could re-establish Eberts authority. Two general officers met Ehrhardt and convinced him to give the government a chance to surrender before being taken into custody, assuming that all of Lttwitz's demands were accepted by 7:00am. The group was unprepared but agreed to the schedule set by Lttwitz. 5: Wolfgang Kapp (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wolfgang_Kapp.jpeg) by Bieber, licenced as public domain, Fig. Although a military man, the army refused to get involved, neither supporting or opposing him. Ironically, the Erhardt Brigade, one of Luttwitzs main fighting force, put a sign on their helmets to identify who they were: the swastika. In addition, he ordered Walther von Lttwitz to oversee the disbandment. The Kapp putsch exposed ongoing tensions between civilian and military authority in Germany, as well as the weakness of the new Weimar republican government. A rebellion staged by both the far-left and the far-right? Several of Lttwitz's officers were horrified at this open rejection of the government's authority and tried to mediate, by setting up a meeting between Lttwitz and the leaders of the two major right-wing parties. Rumours that German soldiers would be extradited to the Allies to face charges of war crimes began to emerge. [citation needed] The group aims to reestablish a monarchist government in Germany in the tradition of . Lttwitz used the Freikorps to occupy Berlin in response. On the fourth day after the putsch began, Kapp fled to Sweden while Lttwitz went to Hungary. It was supported by parts of the Reichswehr, as well as nationalist and monarchist factions. The Kapp Putsch was led by two men disgruntled with the Weimar Government, Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lttwitz. The Putsch soon ended after this incident. Why was the munich putsch a success? [2]:25[3]:219[5]:5051 Their goal was to establish an authoritarian regime (though not a monarchy) with a return to the federal structure of the Empire. Stop procrastinating with our study reminders. By the middle of the year, Freikorps membership was estimated at around 300,000 men. The violence came from local military commanders who supported the new government and arrested pickets, which the workers resisted. Ironically, the Kapp putsch almost triggered the communist revolution it was fomented to prevent. The Kapp Putsch also known as the Kapp-Lttwitz Putsch, after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lttwitz was a coup attempt in March 1920 aimed at undoing the results of the German Revolution of 1918-1919, overthrowing the Weimar Republic and establishing a right-wing autocratic government. The Putsch was a badly organised fiasco which was easily put down and showed how weak the Nazis . [3]:221222, Noske asked the commanders to defend the government buildings but was turned down. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which came into effect on 10 January 1920, Germany was required to reduce its land forces to a maximum of 100,000 men, who were to be only professional soldiers, not conscripts. Aftermath. After its failure, Noske resigned. Leading the Kapp Putsch into Berlin, on the morning of 13 March 1920, was the Marine Brigade of Lieutenant-Commander Hermann Ehrhardt, whose soldiers had served in the German . [3]:224225, The government moved to Dresden, where they hoped to get support from Generalmajor Maercker but he had been ordered by Berlin to take them into "protective custody" and they moved on to Stuttgart. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device.We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development.An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. During this surrender, an enraged crowd of onlookers mobbed the Iron Troop, and Berthold was murdered. The putschists sought to bring back Kaiser Wilhelm II to power. However, the success of this strike does indicate that the people of Berlin were willing to support Eberts government rather than a right-wing government lead by Kapp. Five days after it had begun, Kapp and von Lttwitzs attempted coup fizzled, forcing both men to flee Berlin. The disarmed Iron Troop was taken to a nearby military base. The Kapp Putsch took place in Weimar Germany in March 1920. He began mobilising his own officers and connected with the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt, a 6,000-strong Freikorps unit located in Berlin. Representatives of the democratic right, Oskar Hergt and Gustav Stresemann also participated. The Reichswehr, which should have come to the governments assistance, had failed to do so and left the government to its own fate. The majority unions, sympathetic to the government dominated by social democrats, joined the call for a strike on the same day, as did the Independent Social Democratic Party (USPD) and the Democratic Party; the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) followed one day later. [5]:54, Former Ottoman grand vizier Talat Pasha, the main perpetrator of the Armenian genocide, was hiding in Berlin after the war and appeared at the press conference to criticize the putschists for dilettantism. In Berlin, the strike started on 14 March and by the next day it had spread all over the Reich. Lttwitz listened to and remembered their ideas but was not dissuaded from his course of action. But what made this rebellion, the Kapp Putsch, so different? The SPD sent the Freikorps to deal with the rebellion. The Treaty of Versailles was effectively the most obvious trigger of the putsch. The leaders fled Germany and the Freikorps were forced to leave Berlin. The Kapp Putsch was an attempted right-wing revolution that took place in Weimar Germany on 13 March 1920. There, they discovered the insurrection was in progress. When the Weimar government fled to Stuttgart, they called for passive resistance against the far-right takeover. In many instances, some Freikorps members had entire arsenals consisting of submachine guns, grenades and in some rare cases even artillery at their disposal. What did the Kapp Putsch reveal? 48 officers were removed from their posts, six resigned, the others were subject to mild disciplinary actions. What happened to the Freikorp after the Kapp Putsh? However, the Army refused to do anything as they did not wish to act against former soldiers. The people will starve if new troubles interrupt the economy and commerce and undermine the trust of the father land, which only a constitutional government earns. If you were a German in the years following the First World War, one rebellion after might have seemed like the new normal. Ebert then called a cabinet meeting for 4:00am. Create flashcards in notes completely automatically. German honour and honesty are to be restored.. The initial deadline was set for 31 March 1920 (later extended to the end of the year). 5. Who was the Chief of Staff of the Reichswehr? Proclamations asking the workers to return to their jobs, promises of new elections and even the threat of capital punishment for strikers remained without results and the Putsch collapsed on 17 March, four days after it had begun. Free and expert-verified textbook solutions. Traditional political ideas took refuge in a number of political parties and fringe groups, who clung to theories like theDolchstosslegende (stab-in-the-back legend), a baseless conspiracy theory that Germany had surrendered because of weak or treacherous elements in the civilian government. Dresden, 13th of March 1920 What concept should lead us in this endeavour? [4], Although the Putsch has been named after Wolfgang Kapp, a 62-year-old nationalist East Prussian civil servant, who had been planning a coup against the republic for a while, it was instigated by the military; Kapp played a supporting role. "[8][pageneeded] Among the grievances which Kapp and his followers had against the government were that the national assembly, which had been elected to serve temporarily, was beginning to act as a permanent Reichstag and that it seemed this assembly might revise the constitution with respect to the election of the President of the Republic, which would make the Reichstag, rather than the electorate, responsible for the Presidential election. Hindenburg, Ludendorff and other prominent military commanders continued to be seen as heroes and were able to maintain their political influence. [3]:226 Kapp had put Vice-Chancellor Schiffer and the members of the Prussian state government into protective custody on 13 March but they were released the next day and on 15 March, negotiations began. On March 13th, 1920, Luttwitz seized Berlin and proclaimed that a new right of centre nationalist government was being established with Kapp as chancellor. Due to this conflict, Lttwitz launched the coup d'tat and with him mobilised the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt, a unit of the Freikorps about 6,000 strong. Berlin fell to the Freikorps ledby Lttwitz and Kapp. [14] Lttwitz returned to Germany as part of an amnesty in 1924. A historians view: With the failure of the Putschists. Two rebellions in just one year? Several well-known conservatives and former secretaries of state were invited to assume government positions but declined. The Kapp Putsch was an attempted coup d'tat by the Freikorps group of Marinebrigade Ehrhardt. They were mainly a paramilitary militia that could be best described as somewhere between the police force and the army. [14] He voluntarily returned to Germany in April 1922 and died the same year in prison while awaiting trial. When Lttwitz offered his resignation on 18 March, Schiffer acceptedagain in Ebert's namewhile granting him full pension rights. In this sense, it can be argued that Ebert had the support of Berliners. What happened? April. The putschists offered only the resignation of Kapp, and Lttwitz tried to hold on for another day as head of a military dictatorship but his commanders deserted him. [9] In the Reichstag elections of 6 June, the number of votes cast for the SPD and the Democratic Party fell by more than half, compared to the January 1919 elections, while the extreme right-wing German National People's Party (DNVP) (whose voters eventually switched to the Nazis) and the extreme left-wing USPD gained substantially. These demands were impossible, including the dissolution of the National Assembly (the government) and the restoration of the old Reichstag (which would mean the return of the Kaiser). National president: Ebert Its immediate cause was the government's attempt to demobilize two Freikorps brigades. [3]:217. Sign up to highlight and take notes. February. As a consequence of the promise made to the putschists, the National Assembly was dissolved in April and the date of the general election for the first republican Reichstag was brought forward to 6 June so that the German people could express their feelings regarding the terms of the Versailles Treaty. He agreed to let his unarmed men exit the school at six pm upon assurance the militia would not harm them. The government also urged structural reforms to the officer corps, chiefly to ensure the Reichswehrs obedience to civilian authority and loyalty to the Republic. 17 June 2020. Ehrhardt said he needed another day but in the morning of 13 March he could be in the centre of Berlin with his men. Its commander, Korvettenkapitn Hermann Ehrhardt, declared that the unit would refuse its dissolution. he did during the Spartacist Uprising, he could purge Berlin with an armed organisation. The Kapp Putsch simply demonstrated to the Weimar government that their authority was not seen by many Germans to be representative of the true German need, the need for dignity. [15] Eventually Hitler could continue his flight together with Dietrich Eckart to Berlin, where they immediately went to the Reichskanzlei to meet Wolfgang Kapp. The Kapp Putsch was a direct threat to Weimar's new government. Crime and Punishment in Industrial Britain, Advantages of North and South in Civil War, African Americans in the Revolutionary War, Civil War Military Strategies of North and South, Environmental Effects of The Columbian Exchange, Native Americans in the Revolutionary War, General in the German Army, Leader and Driving Force of the Putsch, A Journalist by Profession, Leader of the Putsch. The only way the putschists could communicate with each other was through sending physical telegrams. National government: Bauer, Noske, Giesberts, Mller, Koch, Gessler, sfnp error: no target: CITEREFKilduff2012 (, Last edited on 26 November 2022, at 15:22, Political violence in Germany (19181933), "Weimarer Republik, Informationen zur politischen Bildung", "Der Militrputsch 1920 (Lttwitz-Kapp-Putsch)", "Biografie Walther Freiherr von Lttwitz", "Walter Gropius, Monument to the March Dead (1922)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kapp_Putsch&oldid=1123946093, General strike in opposition of the putsch, This page was last edited on 26 November 2022, at 15:22. Its 100% free. It contains 113,858 words in 201 pages. Appalled by his counter-demands, Ebert had ordered Lttwitz's resignation. Duty and conscience are to reign again in German lands. [3]:222 Supported by a battalion of regular Reichswehr, they occupied the government quarter. Will you pass the quiz? This site was last updated on March 6th, 2022. [9], After the Putsch Noske named Kapp, Pabst and Ehrhardt as being responsible, despite the support from much higher up in the army. If Germany is led from one coup to another, then it is lost. Hitler and Eckart were approached by Ignaz Trebitsch-Lincoln, who told them that Kapp had fled and the coup failed. Some suggested negotiations, others claimed that the troops would not understand an order to fire, some argued that the regular units would not be able to defeat the elite Marinebrigade. It also suggested German militarism was far from dead. When the negotiations failed, the revolt in the Ruhr was suppressed by Reichswehr and Freikorps in early April 1920. So, the Freikorps managed to take over Berlin and declare a new government headed up by Wolfgang Kapp who then invited the Kaiser to return from the Netherlands to retake his post as Emperor. [3]:218 General Walther von Lttwitz, in command of all the regular troops in and around Berlin (Gruppenkommando I), the highest ranking general in the army at the time and in command of many Freikorps, said at the parade that he would "not accept" the loss of such an important unit. [24], To the German people! It is possible that they felt some form of support for a president who had given them a free hand in dealing with the Communists/, The government could not enforce its authority even in its own capital, The government could not put down a challenge to its authority. The Treaty of Versailles effectively demolished Germany's ability to have a standing army. government. The Kapp Putsch. He issued a grandiose public statement, attempting to legitimise the putsch by claiming Germany was in danger of communist invasion: Militant Bolshevism threatens us with devastation and violation from the east. West Yorkshire, Right-wing nationalist and militarist circles opposed the new republic and promoted the stab-in-the-back myth, claiming that the war had been lost only because the efforts of the undefeated German military had been undermined by civilians at home. The trigger for the putsch came in March 1920 when the government ordered the disbanding of two large Freikorps units. The army did not respond to government orders to move against rebellious Freikorps units in Berlin but it also ignored Wolfgang Kapps call to arms against the government. [3]:219, Lttwitz went to Dberitz on 11 March and asked Ehrhardt whether he would be able to occupy Berlin that evening. On March 13th 1920, the Ehrhardt brigade occupied critical points around Berlin and took control of the capital, forcing Weimar ministers to flee toStuttgart. With complete demilitarisation, Germany was allowed to have a standing army of no more than 100,000 men, a far cry from the 11 million that had been mobilized by Germany by 1918. The government has transferred its seat to Dresden. At about noon, a Freikorps machinegunner fired a burst over the gathering crowd to disperse them. English. 4: Walther von Lttwitz circa 1918 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Walther_von_L%C3%BCttwitz_circa_1918.jpg) by Bain, licenced as CC BY-SA 4.0, Fig. All but two of the officers (one of them was Reinhardt, Chef der Heeresleitung) refused to follow an order to shoot at the rebel troops. The attempted coup was thwarted by public opposition, divisions within the military and misjudgements by those who initiated it. This Weimar Republic site contains articles, sources and perspectives on Germany between 1918 and 1933. Though some of these former soldiers joined the ranks of the Freikorps it was not a proper job per se, it was but a voluntary paramilitary formation. The latter numbered from 5,0006,000 men and had been stationed at the Truppenbungsplatz Dberitz, near Berlin, since January 1920. [3]:217[6] An elite force, it had been created from former Imperial Navy officers and NCOs, boosted later by Baltikumer (those who had fought the Bolsheviks in Latvia in 1919). The five days of the Kapp Putsch are of importance as they showed that: The government could not enforce its authority even in its own capital The government could not put down a challenge to its authority Only the mass power of a general strike could re-establish Eberts authority. The putsch ended with minimal casualties and was a failure for the putschists. [17] As in 19181919, those on the left had cause to accuse the SPD and the Ebert government of siding with the enemies of the workers and of the republic. The Freikorps grew in strength after the Spartacist Revolt in 1919. 214 High Street, Peace was more important than political beliefs. Those who took part in the Great War were reluctant to simply stand aside while the Weimar government completed the Allies' request to cripple the German economy as well as drastically diminish the once mighty German Army. 1. Some of these former soldiers joined the ranks of the Freikorps, the paramilitary brigades and militias formed to suppress the Spartacist revolution in early 1919. SURVEY . [16], With the country paralyzed, Kapp and Lttwitz were unable to govern; in Berlin, communication between military units was by courier only. After Germany had lost World War I (19141918), the German Revolution of 19181919 ended the monarchy. The Kapp Putsch was a direct threat to Weimar's new government. Ebert told the Army it was free to arrange its own affairs, thereby forming a state-within-a-state implacably opposed to Weimar that eventually was central to the right-wing coup against the Prussian state government (half of German territory) in 1932. In June 1920 the USPD became the second largest party in the Reichstag with 81 deputies; in the Landstags of Saxony, 'I'huringia and Brunswick it became the largest party. [3]:228229, The legitimate government returned to Berlin on 20 March and asked for the general strike to be ended. 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