The Kapp Putsch March 1920. Flashcards
why did the army dislike the tov?
hated the restrictions placed on it and blamed the government for having agreed to them. The army was reduced to 100,000 men; the army was not allowed tanks but many of the demobbed soldiers simply joined the Freikorps.
how did the rebellion start?
12th March 1920, the Ehrhardt brigade went into action. He marched 5,000 of his men twelve miles from their military barracks to Berlin including police and security officers. This was the first right-wing move on the republic. The Minister of Defence, Gustav Noske, had only 2,000 men to oppose the rebels.
why did the leaders of the German Army refuse to put down the rebellion?
“Reichswehr does not fire on Reichswehr.”
how did Kapp take over the gov?
Captain Herman Ehrhardt met no resistance as they took over the ministries and proclaimed a new government headed by Wolfgang Kapp, a right-wing politician. Berlin had been seized from the German Social Democrat government.
where did Gustav Noske flee to escape the Putsch?
fled to Dresden with Friedrich Ebert. However, the local military commander, General George Maercker refused to protect them, and they were forced to travel to Stuttgart.
how did the trade union leaders stop the putsch?
Carl Legien called for a general strike to take place. Its effects could be felt everywhere in the capital within 24 hours, despite it being a Sunday. There were no trains running, no electricity and no gas. Kapp issued a decree threatening to shoot strikers. It had no effect. Five days after the putsch began; Wolfgang Kapp announced his resignation and fled to Sweden.
how did Chris Harman interpret the putsch in 1982?
“workers turned the strike into and armed assault on the power behind the putsch … the armed working class took power into their own hands.”
Richard M. Watt in 1973?
