Threats from the right Flashcards
Kapp Putsch
1920
led by Wolfgang Kapp - Prussian civil servant, nationalist and monarchist - and General von Luttwitz - serving army officer
12000 Freikorps marched on Berlin
the army refused to fire on them
Ebert’s government fled from Berlin
New government led by Kapp was announced
However, there was a lack of support for the putsch
SPD and trade unionists held a strike in Berlin, and an uprising in the Ruhr
Consequences of the Kapp Putsch
No action was taken against any of the leaders or Von Seeckt, who refused to do as ordered by the government
Putsch participants were treated with lenience, only one being punished
more than half granted amnesty
Kapp died before he could be punished
Ruhr uprising participants were illegally executed by the Freikorps, with the leaders being tried and given death sentences
OC assassinations
OC - Organisation Consul - very nationalist, anti-Semitic, anti-communist right wing party
OC assassinated Erzberger in 1921
he had been attacked by right-wing press for signing the armistice and introducing tax reforms
Walther Rathenau was assassinated in 1922 - Jewish-German, wealthy, nationalist, but also a liberal and pro-Republic - founded DDP
Treaty of Rapallo with USSR was negotiated by Rathenau in 1922
Hated by right wing press
Küstrin Putsch
1923
attempted putsch as Stresemann brought an end to passive resistance
Black Reichswehr, illegal paramilitary groups in the army, aimed to replace the current government with a dictatorship
the putsch was prevented by other Reichswehr units
leaders were arrested and tried for high treason, and imprisoned
no-one else who took part was prosecuted
Munich Putsch - context
Bavaria - independent-minded, culturally distinct state - disliked Prussia and the Weimar Republic
1923 - Bavaria has right wing, nationalist, monarchist and anti-weimar government
Stresseman ending passive resistance in the Ruhr was opposed by the Bavarian government
it also believed that his govt. was too weak to tackle the threats of the left
Bavarian state government declared martial law in September 1923 due to upheavals in Germany
Munich Putsch - plans
leaders - Adolf Hitler and General von Ludendorff
they planned to march on Berlin, overthrow the Republic and impose a new government
Munich Putsch - 8 November 1923 - Munich beer hall
Hitler and the SA took control of a right wing meeting on this night
It was run by Otto von Lossow and Gustav von Kahr in a Munich beer hall
The two of them promised loyalty to the Putsch under pressure from the SA, and Ludendorff let them go
However, the SA failed to seize the Munich army barracks
Munich Putsch - 9 November 1929 - state of emergency
Ebert called state of emergency
Lossow and Kahr denounced the Putsch and warned of it
Hitler was persuaded by Ludendorff to march on Munich
he though that the army would support them due to Ludendorff reputation and status
the march went ahead but Hitler, Ludendorff and the 2000 Nazis were met by army and police
16 Nazis and 4 police were killed
Hitler and Ludendorff were arrested
Munich Putsch - consequences
putsch leaders were tried in February 1924 for treason
Ludendorff - acquitted
Hitler - given 5 years (light sentence), but released in December 1924
This and other instances of persecution following right wing uprising shows the support in Germany for right wing government, by jury and judges
NSDAP banned and Hitler was banned from public speaking
However, in 1924 the NSDAP was the 3rd largest party in Bavaria
Hitler’s trial and prison time
Hitler was given a public platform from his trial which. he used to expound his views and gain national fame
He wrote Mein Kampf while in prison, which would become a bestseller
