It’s 1920 and Friedrich Ebert’s government are struggling to control the Freikorps. The year before, the Freikorps had saved the government, crushing a communist uprising known as the Spartacist Revolt, but now the Freikorps are becoming a growing problem for the German government, which is still weak and facing opposition from both the left and right.
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Revision Notes:
By 1920, Ebert’s government were struggling to control the Freikorps
Mar 1920, Freikorps units near Berlin were due to be disbanded
This made them fear unemployment so they turned on the Republic
5000 armed men marched on Berlin
Ebert ordered General Seeckt (head of the Reichswehr), to resist the rebels
General Seeckt told Ebert that ‘Reichswehr does not open fire upon Reichswehr’
The rebels soon gained control of the city
The rebels put forward right-wing politician, Wolfgang Kapp, as a figurehead leader, declaring a new government in Germany & inviting the Kaiser to return from exile
In fear of their lives, the government fled to Weimar and then to Stuttgart
The government encouraged passive resistance, urging people to go on strike and not cooperate
Many workers obliged - their socialist leanings meant they did not want to see the return of the Kaiser
Essential services, (gas, electricity, water and transport) in the city, ground to a halt
After 4 days, Kapp realised he couldn't govern and fled
Kapp was caught and put in prison, where he later died
The rebellion collapsed and the Weimar ministers returned
The challenge of ongoing political violence 1919-23:
They also faced a series of political assassinations, on top of the Spartacist & Kapp uprisings
1919, Hugo Haase, one of Ebert’s council of the People's Representatives, was murdered
Aug 1921, Matthias Erzberger, the politician who signed the armistice, was shot and killed
Jun 1922, Walther Rathenau, Weimar foreign minister, was machine gunned to death in Berlin
1919-1922, in total, there were 376 political murders
Most victims were left-wing or moderate politicians
Not a single right-wing murderer was convicted and executed, whilst 10 left wing assassins were
Judges were sympathetic to the right-wing and even undermined the Weimar Republic in courts
Most parties chose to hire armed men to guard their meetings
They often recruited unemployed ex-soldiers
The KPD’s private army were the Rotfrontkämpfer (red front fighters)
The DNVP’s were the Stahlhelm (Steel Helmets)
The SPD had the Reichsbanner Schwartz-Rot-Gold (Back Red Gold Flag)
Political armies were initially for protection, though their presence often caused violence
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