On March 13, 1920, the Ehrhardt Brigade marched into Berlin. The regular army ( Reichswehr ) refused to fire on the rebels, with General Hans von Seeckt famously stating,
The Kapp Putsch remains a critical case study in how can defeat a military coup, yet it also served as a warning of the internal enemies that would eventually facilitate the rise of the Nazi party.
: The aftermath showed a clear bias in the legal system. While left-wing rebels were often executed or given long sentences, Kapp Putsch participants received remarkably light punishments. Wolfgang Kapp died before he could be tried, and most others were granted amnesty. WEIMAR GERMANY: Kapp Putsch 1920
: The event highlighted that the Republic could not rely on its own army to defend it against right-wing threats, a weakness that would persist throughout the 1920s.
The Putsch was rooted in the deep resentment following Germany’s defeat in World War I and the perceived betrayal of the Treaty of Versailles . On March 13, 1920, the Ehrhardt Brigade marched into Berlin
: The strike led to a brief communist uprising in the Ruhr region (the Ruhr Red Army), which the government—ironically—used the Reichswehr to suppress violently.
: Public transport, electricity, water, and postal services in Berlin and other major cities ground to a halt. While left-wing rebels were often executed or given
: Kapp struggled to exert authority. The civil service refused to follow his orders, and he was unable to secure the finances necessary to run the state. 3. The General Strike