Kapp Putsch

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.