Long ago, some leaders in Germany tried to take power.
They wanted to change how the country was run. But the people did not want this change. Many people went on strike to help. This helped the real leaders stay in charge.
Do you think it is good to work together?
Long ago, Germany had a new way to rule.
Some leaders did not like this way. They wanted to take control. Two men led a plan to change the government.
They used soldiers to try to take over the city. The real leaders had to leave the city to stay safe.
But the people did not want the new leaders. Many workers stopped working to show they were unhappy. This was called a strike. Because the people did not help, the plan failed.
The real leaders could come back to the city. It was a big moment for the country.
In 1920, Germany had a new government. This was called the Weimar Republic. It was a democracy. Some people did not like this new way of ruling. They wanted a strong leader to take control.
Two men led a plan to take over the government. Their names were Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz. They used a group of soldiers to march into Berlin. This plan was called a coup.
The real leaders of Germany had to flee the city. Kapp took over the government buildings. He even named himself the leader.
But the plan did not work. The German people were very unhappy. They joined a general strike. This means many workers stopped working at the same time. Most workers also refused to help the new leaders. Without help, the coup failed after a few days.
This event changed Germany. It made the country feel divided. It also led to more protests in other parts of the country.
In 1920, Germany was a country going through big changes. After World War I ended, the old monarchy was gone. A new democratic government called the Weimar Republic was formed in 1919. Many people did not like this new system. Some wanted a strong, single leader instead of a democracy. This tension led to a famous event called the Kapp Putsch.
The plan for the coup involved a few key people. Wolfgang Kapp was a nationalist civil servant who helped plan it. Walther von Lüttwitz was a high-ranking general in the army. They wanted to undo the changes from the German Revolution. Their goal was to create an autocratic government. This means a government where one person holds most of the power.
The trouble started when the government tried to change the military. A treaty called the Treaty of Versailles required Germany to have a smaller army. The government ordered certain volunteer units, called Freikorps, to disband. One group was the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt. Their leader, Hermann Ehrhardt, refused to follow the order. General Lüttwitz supported these soldiers instead of the government.
On March 13, 1920, the coup began in Berlin. The Marinebrigade marched into the center of the city. The real government leaders, like President Friedrich Ebert, had to flee. Kapp moved into the government buildings and named himself Chancellor. However, the regular army did not help him. Many officers said that troops should not fire on other troops.
The coup failed because the people of Germany stood up. The government called for a general strike. This meant that many workers stopped their jobs at once. Most civil servants also refused to work for Kapp. Because of this, the new leaders could not run the country. The event left the nation divided and led to more protests later that year.
The Kapp Putsch was an abortive coup d'état against the German national government in Berlin. This event took place on 13 March 1920. A coup d'état is an attempt to overthrow a government by force. The leaders of this movement were Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz. Their primary goal was to undo the changes from the German Revolution of 1918–1919. They wanted to overthrow the Weimar Republic. They sought to establish an autocratic government, which is a system with a single, powerful ruler.
The tension began with the aftermath of World War I. After the war ended, the German monarchy was abolished. In 1919, the Weimar National Assembly established a new democratic system called the Weimar Republic. This new government was led by a coalition of three groups. These were the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the German Democratic Party (DDP), and the Zentrum party. Many nationalist and militarist groups strongly opposed this democratic republic. They promoted the "stab-in-the-back" myth. This myth claimed that the German military was undefeated but was undermined by civilians at home.
International pressure also played a major role in the conflict. Following the war, the Allies forced Germany to sign the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. This treaty imposed heavy military restrictions on the nation. It required Germany to reduce its regular army, known as the Reichswehr, to a maximum of 100,000 professional soldiers. This meant that volunteer paramilitary units, called Freikorps, were supposed to be disbanded. The Freikorps were largely made up of returning soldiers from the war. These units had previously been used by the government to stop internal uprisings. However, the government now saw them as a potential threat.
The immediate cause of the coup involved the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt. This was an elite Freikorps unit of about 5,000 to 6,000 men. On 29 February 1920, Defence Minister Gustav Noske ordered the unit to disband. The commander, Hermann Ehrhardt, refused to follow this order. General Walther von Lüttwitz, who commanded the regular troops near Berlin, supported the unit. He stated that he would not accept the loss of such an important force.
Lüttwitz met with President Friedrich Ebert to demand changes to the government. When the government rejected his demands, the plan for a coup moved forward.
The coup began in earnest on the morning of 13 March 1920. Ehrhardt's Marinebrigade marched into the center of Berlin to occupy government buildings. They wore swastikas on their helmets and vehicles. As the rebels moved in, the legitimate government leaders were forced to flee the city. Wolfgang Kapp moved into the Reichskanzlei, the government headquarters. He declared himself the new Chancellor. Lüttwitz took control as the Minister of Defence and supreme commander of the armed forces.
Despite their military presence, the putschists could not maintain control. The regular Reichswehr refused to support the coup. General Hans von Seeckt famously stated that "Reichswehr does not fire on Reichswehr." This meant the professional army would not fight against its own comrades. Additionally, the German population launched a massive general strike. This strike was called by the fleeing government. Most civil servants also refused to cooperate with Kapp's provisional government. Without workers or officials, the new regime could not function.
The violence of the era was also seen in other locations. In Harburg, a group called the Iron Troop Freikorps arrived by train. They occupied several local buildings, including the city hall. On 15 March 1920, a citizen militia formed to oppose them. A firefight broke out between the groups. This clash resulted in 13 civilian casualties. While the Kapp Putsch failed quickly, it left Germany deeply divided. It led to the Ruhr uprising just a few weeks later. These events changed the political landscape of the Weimar Republic for years to come.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (7)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🔬 Go deeper
More advanced topics to explore
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.