Challenges to the Republic From the Kapp Putsch

• What event triggered the actions of the Freikorps in Berlin?

  The government tried to shut down the Freikorps.
• Why did the Freikorps march on Berlin?

  They feared unemployment.
• How many Freikorps members marched on Berlin?

  5000 Freikorps members.
• What was General Seeckt's stance on the rebellion?

  He refused to put the rebellion down, stating ‘Reichswehr does not fire on Reichswehr’.
• How did local military leaders respond to the Freikorps rebellion?

  They remained either neutral or openly sympathetic to the rebels.
• Who led the rebels in Berlin?

  Wolfgang Kapp.
• What action did the government take in response to the rebellion?


  They called on the workers of Berlin to strike.
• What was the effect of the workers' strike in Berlin?

  It stopped essential services, forcing the Freikorps to abandon the city.
• What did the rebellion reveal about the government?

  It showed how weak the government was and its dependence on the workers.
• Where did Kapp flee after the rebellion?

  Kapp fled abroad.
• How did Kapp manage to flee abroad?

  He was helped along with a false passport provided by the police.
• This began after the government tried to shut down the Freikorps.
• Fearing unemployment, 5000 Freikorps marched on Berlin.
• General Seeckt, the head of the Reichswehr, refused to put the rebellion down, saying ‘Reichswehr does not fire on Reichswehr’. Other local military leaders remained either neutral, or openly sympathetic, to the rebels.
• Soon the rebels controlled Berlin, under the right wing politician Wolfgang Kapp.
• The government called on the workers of Berlin to strike. They did so, stopping essential services (gas, electricity, water, transport) which meant that the Freikorps had to abandon the city.
• However, it did show how weak the government was, and how it had depended on the workers to help put down the rebellion.
• Kapp fled abroad, helped along with a false passport provided by the police
• When was the Kapp Putsch?

  13th - 18th March 1920