Unrest between 1919 and 1923

When was the Spartacist revolution?

January 1919

Which side are the Spartacists on politically?

Extreme left wing (communist party)

What was the aim of the Spartacists?

To overthrow the Weimar Republic and remove Ebert from power by starting a revolution

How did Ebert crush the revolution?

He used the Freikorps to kill many of his opponents, including the Spartacist leaders Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebnecht

Who were the Freikorps?

Ex-soldiers who fought in World War One paid to help the government keep order

How successful was Ebert?

He successfully managed to prevent the revolt, but using the Freikorps made him look weak, and the newfound power that the Freikorps had might mean that they could try to seize power

What happened in March 1920?

The Freikorps took over Berlin

What political allegiance do the Freikorps have?

They are extreme right wing (capitalists, conservatives)

How did the Freikorps seize power?

They marched into Berlin and overthrew the government (Weimar Prepulic) there

Why were the Freikorps not challenged by anyone?

The army didn’t overthrow of arrack the Freikorps

When did the Kapp Putsch end?

When the workers in Berlin staged a general strike since many of them opposed the extremist group from taking over the city. Berlin was paralysed, and Kapp was forced to give up only four days after taking over the city and restore the Weimar Republic

What other violence did the Weimar Republic face?

National terrorists assassinated 356 politicians in the early years of the Republic

What punishments did the terrorists face?

Very light sentences or no sentence at all, since many judges supported the Kaiser’s government over the Weimar Republic

When was the Munich Putsch?

November 1923

Who led the Munich Putsch?

Hitler led the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) which later became the Nazi Party

What were the events of the Munich Putsch?

Hitler and 600 Nazis seized a beer hall where a meeting between Bavarian leaders was taking place. These leaders were arrested and made to swear their support to Hitler’s takeover before being locked in a room. However, they escaped and called the police, who arrested Hitler after a short gunfight (during which Hitler was shot in the shoulder). This stopped the Putsch

What were the benefits of staging the Putsch?

Hitler got useful publicity from the attempted takeover and the subsequent trial, which gave him an audience to explain his ideas about Germany. Their failure also changed the party’s tactics to become legal, which in turn gained him more popularity

What happened during Hitler’s trial and time in prison?

Hitler was sentenced to 9 months in prison (from a possible 3 years) since the judge sympathised with his cause and agreed with Hitler’s ambitions. While he was in prison, Hitler wrote ‘Mein Kampf’, which explained his ideas for Germany if he became Chancellor

What were the consequences of the Munich Putsch?

The Nazi party was banned until 1927, and Hitler was banned from publicly speaking also until 1927

What led Hitler to join the Nazi party (as it later became known)?

He was initially sent to investigate new political groups by the army, but started to attend meetings in beer halls regularly and agreed with many of their speeches. He joined them with the focus of attracting new members in newspaper advertisements, but soon made public speeches across Munich. Eventually, Hitler led the party.

What did Hitler do once he was leader?

Designed a new flag and symbol, set up a private army, and renamed the party

What was the purpose of designing a new flag?

It attracted attention

What were Hitler’s new army?

Stormtroopers (SS)

What did the SS do?

Beat up anyone who criticised the party or Hitler, guarded Hitler’s meetings and disrupted the meetings of other parties. The SS wore brown uniforms and a swastika armband, and were mostly ex-soldiers