the kapp putsch

What was the Kapp Putsch?

a right wing attempt to overthrow the Weimar government

What did the leaders of the Kapp Putsch want to do?

they wanted to establish an autocratic government and abolish the Weimar one. (go back to how things were before 1918)

How was the Kapp Putsch partially caused by the TOV?

• in the TOV, the army was reduced to just 100,000 troops

• so the over 500,000 people who were made ex-soldiers joined paramiliary groups like the Freikorps

• after the freikorps had aided Ebert in crushing the Spartacist Uprising, they were forced to be disbanded in alignment with the treaty and because of pressure put on Ebert by the Allies

• it is this which ultimately triggered the Freikorps to begin the Kapp Putsch

what was the overall political stance of the Freikorps?

they were mostly right-wing nationalists who hated communism and the TOV

When did the Kapp Putsch begin?

March 1920

What two things happened when the government tried to disband the Freikorps?

• the Freikorps occupied Berlin

• an alternate government was formed

who was part of the alternate government formed in Berlin?

• Wolfgang Kapp

• Erich Ludendorff

what was Erich Ludendorff during WW1?

head of the German army

Who was the commander in chief of the regular German army?

General Von Seeckt

What did the commander in chief of the regular german army say when Ebert asked him to take back control of Berlin?

he said that ‘Reichswehr does not fire on Reichswehr’ meaning the army would not attack the army. He meant that he would not attack the Freikorps as he considered them still the army.

what did Ebert order workers in Berlin to do during the Putsch?

he ordered them to not work (go on strike).

how many civilians went on strike in Berlin during the Kapp Putsch?

1.2 million

was the coup successful overall?

no - they were defeated and the leader, Kapp, fled abroad.

what weaknesses did the Kapp Putsch reveal regarding the Weimar government?

it revealed their weaknesses in the loyalty of their people - the commander in chief of the army and many right-wing aristocrats supported the Kapp Putsch.

What happened to most of the conspirators in the Kapp Putsch?

they faced no criminal punishment and were let off by the government

why was only one person punished after the Kapp Putsch?

The judges were known to be right-leaning and favouring of those who held similar views. Additionally, giving many conspirators sentences would upset the right-wing aristocracy, which would have caused further conflict in an already politically unstable country. It was also difficult to punish that many people.

how many political murders occured from 1919-22?

376