: The Weimar government, including President Friedrich Ebert and Chancellor Gustav Bauer, fled the city to Dresden and then Stuttgart.
The Putsch exposed the fragile nature of the Weimar Republic and the deep-seated divisions within German society. WEIMAR GERMANY: Kapp Putsch 1920
: Many right-wing nationalists believed the military had been "stabbed in the back" by socialist and Jewish politicians at home. : The Weimar government, including President Friedrich Ebert
Weimar Germany: The Kapp Putsch of 1920 The of March 1920 was a right-wing coup attempt aimed at overthrowing the fledgling Weimar Republic and establishing an autocratic government. While the coup successfully seized control of Berlin for several days, it ultimately collapsed due to a massive general strike and the refusal of the civil service to cooperate. 1. Origins and Causes Weimar Germany: The Kapp Putsch of 1920 The
: 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.
: Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was forced to reduce its army to 100,000 men. When the government ordered the disbandment of the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt , a powerful Freikorps (paramilitary) unit, its leaders rebelled.
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,