Kapp Putsch

What was the Kapp Putsch?

• Right-wing military coup against the Weimar government

When was the Kapp Putsch?

13-17th March 1920

Causes of the Kapp Putsch (brief)

• Disbandment of the Freikorps

• Anger at the government

Why did the Freikorps have to disband?

• Under the ToV, the German army had to be reduced in size, and this came into effect in March 1920

Why were the Freikorps and right-wing nationalists angry at the government?

• They blamed the Weimar government for signing the ‘humiliating’ ToV

• ‘Stab in the back’ myth

What was the ‘stab in the back’ myth?

• Right-wing conspiracy theory

• Blamed the failure of the German army in WWI on those who signed the armistice

  • especially blamed socialists, communists and Jews

Who were the ‘November Criminals’?

• Right-wing derogatory term

• Used to refer to the politicians who signed the Armistice and accepted the ToV

Who were the key leaders of the Kapp Putsch?

• Wolfgang Kapp (put forward for Chancellor)

• General von Lüttwitz (leader of Freikorps)

How did the German army react to the Kapp Putsch?

• Refused to defend the government

  • “Reichswehr does not fire on Reichswehr”

  • They considered the Freikorps to still be part of the German army

How did Ebert defeat the Kapp Putsch?

• Fled Berlin

• Called a general strike

  • 12 million workers stopped working

  • brought Germany to a halt

What did the Kapp Putsch reveal about the Weimar Republic?

• Government was politically fragile and lacked control

• Many people with power in government were right-wing sympathisers and supported the Putsch