View source for Kapp Putsch

{{Short description|1920 failed coup in the Weimar Republic}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Kapp Putsch
| partof            = [[political violence in Germany (1918–1933)]]
| image             = Bundesarchiv Bild 119-1983-0007, Kapp-Putsch, Marinebrigade Erhardt in Berlin.jpg
| caption           = [[Marinebrigade Ehrhardt]] entering Berlin during the Putsch
| date              = 13–18 March 1920 (5 days)
| place             = [[Weimar Republic]]
| territory         =
| result            = Collapse of the putsch
* General strike in opposition of the putsch
* Order restored and elections held
* Amnesty for putschists
* Beginning of the [[Ruhr uprising]]
| status            =
| combatants_header =
| combatant1        = {{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1903–1919).svg}}  '''Putschists'''
* {{nowrap|[[Marinebrigade Ehrhardt]]}}
| combatant2        = '''{{flag|Weimar Republic|name=Weimar Republic}}'''
* Striking workers
| commander1        = {{nowrap|{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1903–1919).svg}} [[Walther von Lüttwitz]]<br />{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1903–1919).svg}} [[Wolfgang Kapp]]<br />{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1903–1919).svg}} [[Hermann Ehrhardt]]<br />{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1903–1919).svg}} [[Erich Ludendorff]]<br />{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1903–1919).svg}} [[Waldemar Pabst]]<br />{{flagicon image|War Ensign of Germany (1903–1919).svg}} {{ill|Traugott von Jagow|de|Traugott von Jagow}}}}
| commander2        = {{nowrap|{{flagicon image|Flag of Germany (3-2 aspect ratio).svg}} [[Friedrich Ebert]]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of Germany (3-2 aspect ratio).svg}} [[Gustav Bauer]]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of Germany (3-2 aspect ratio).svg}} [[Gustav Noske]]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of Germany (3-2 aspect ratio).svg}} [[Eugen Schiffer]]}}
| strength1         =
| strength2         =
| casualties3       =
| notes             =
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox Political violence in Germany}}
}}
The '''Kapp Putsch''' ({{IPA|de|ˈkapˌpʊt͡ʃ|-|De-Kapp-Putsch.ogg}}), also known as the '''Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch''' ({{IPA|de|kapˈlʏtvɪt͡sˌpʊt͡ʃ|-|De-Kapp-Lüttwitz-Putsch.ogg}}), was an abortive [[coup d'état]] against the German national government in [[Berlin]] on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders [[Wolfgang Kapp]] and [[Walther von Lüttwitz]], its goal was to undo the [[German Revolution of 1918–1919]], overthrow the [[Weimar Republic]], and establish an [[autocratic]] government. It was supported by parts of the ''[[Reichswehr]]'', as well as nationalist and monarchist factions.

Although the legitimate German government was forced to flee the city, the coup failed after a few days, when large sections of the German population joined a [[general strike]] called by the government. Most civil servants refused to cooperate with Kapp and his allies. Despite its failure, the Putsch had significant consequences for the future of the Weimar Republic. It was also one of the direct causes of the [[Ruhr uprising]] a few weeks later, which the government suppressed by military force, after having dealt leniently with leaders of the Kapp Putsch. These events polarized the German electorate, resulting in a shift in the majority after the June 1920 [[German federal election, 1920|Reichstag election]].

==Background==
[[Image:Plakat der Reichsregierung gegen den Kapp-Putsch 1920.jpg|thumb|upright|Government poster against the Kapp Putsch, 13 March 1920.{{efn|''Translation of the poster's text:''
<blockquote><poem>'''To the German people!'''

As a result of a lunatic ''coup de main'', the government buildings of Berlin have fallen into the hands of mutineers. No political party, no man of sober-minded thought is behind these events. They are to be deplored. Since troops that are destined for discharge in Döberitz, namely [troops] from the [[Baltic states|Baltic]], have supported this act of madness, the government—in order to avoid the spilling of blood—has spared the lives of the few regular troops located in Berlin and has departed Berlin.  For enough blood has flowed since 1914. And this adventure will collapse in a few days from its intrinsic impracticality.  The government has transferred its seat to [[Dresden]]. Everyone remains bound in obedience to the constitutional government. Only it can issue orders and payments. Any decree from another place is legally null. The soldiers of the national army have to defend the constitution, protect the president and government, and be obedient.  To emulate the breaking of their oath by a number of officers is prohibited by duty and law. The dissolution of the national assembly is unconstitutional.  The President of the National assembly has been requested to convene the National assembly again at once.  Only a government based on the Constitution can save Germany from sinking into darkness and blood. If Germany is led from one coup to another, then it is lost. A government resting on an act of violence lacks authority domestically and abroad. The people will starve if new troubles interrupt the economy and commerce and undermine the trust of the father land, which only a constitutional government earns. Colossal dangers loom internally and externally if the people lose their prudence.

'''German people, rally to your constitutional government!'''

Dresden, 13th of March 1920

National president:  Ebert<br>
National government:  Bauer, Noske, Giesberts, Müller, Koch, Gessler</poem></blockquote>}}]]
After Germany had lost the [[First World War]] (1914–1918), the [[German Revolution of 1918–1919]] ended the monarchy. The [[German Empire]] was abolished and a democratic system, the [[Weimar Republic]], was established in 1919 by the [[Weimar National Assembly]]. Right-wing nationalist and militarist circles opposed the new republic and promoted the [[stab-in-the-back myth]], claiming that the war had been lost only because the efforts of the undefeated German military had been undermined by civilians at home.<ref name=wg>{{cite book |first=Anthony |last=McElligott|title=Weimar Germany|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2009}}</ref>

In 1919–1920, the government of Germany was formed by the [[Weimar Coalition]], consisting of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]] (SPD), [[German Democratic Party]] (DDP, left-of-centre liberals), and [[Centre Party (Germany)|Zentrum]] (Catholics). [[President of Germany (1919–1945)|President]] [[Friedrich Ebert]], [[Chancellor of Germany#First German Republic (Weimar Republic, 1919–1933)|Chancellor]] [[Gustav Bauer]], and [[Ministry of the Reichswehr|Defence Minister]] [[Gustav Noske]] were all members of the SPD. According to the constitution, the president was the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, represented in peace time by the Minister of Defence. The most senior officer of the land forces was called ''Chef der Heeresleitung'', a post held in early 1920 by General [[Walther Reinhardt]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thoß |first=Bruno |date= 2003 |title=Reinhardt, Walther |url=https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd118744291.html#ndbcontent |access-date=29 September 2023 |website=Neue Deutsche Biographie 21 [Online-Version] |page=363 |language=de}}</ref>

Chancellor Bauer was obliged to sign the [[Treaty of Versailles]] in 1919, even though he disagreed with it. The treaty had been dictated by the victorious [[Allies of World War I]]; it forced Germany to assume responsibility for the war, reduced the area of Germany and imposed huge reparation payments and military restrictions on the nation.<ref name=wg/>{{Page needed |date=August 2024}} In early 1919, the strength of the ''[[Reichswehr]]'', the regular German army, was estimated at 350, 000, with more than 250, 000 men enlisted in the various ''[[Freikorps]]'' ("free corps"), volunteer paramilitary units, largely consisting of returning soldiers from the war. The German government had repeatedly used ''Freikorps'' troops to put down Communist uprisings after the war. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which came into effect on 10 January 1920, Germany was required to reduce its land forces to a maximum of 100,000 men, who were to be only professional soldiers, not conscripts. The initial deadline was set for 31 March 1920 (later extended to the end of the year).<ref name="BPB">{{cite journal |last=Sturm |first= Reinhard |title=Weimarer Republik, Informationen zur politischen Bildung |journal=Informationen zur Politischen Bildung |number= 261 |language= de |url=http://www.bpb.de/shop/zeitschriften/informationen-zur-politischen-bildung/55943/weimarer-republik |access-date= 17 June 2013 |year=2011 |publisher=Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung |location=Bonn |issn= 0046-9408}}</ref>{{rp |25}} ''Freikorps'' units were expected to be disbanded. Since the reason for their creation—internal repression—had become obsolete with the crushing of the leftist uprisings, they were becoming a threat to the government.<ref name="Haffner">{{cite book |last= Haffner |first=Sebastian |title=Die deutsche Revolution 1918/19 |language=de |publisher=Kindler |year=2002 |isbn=3-463-40423-0}}</ref>{{rp |216}} Some senior military commanders had started discussing the possibility of a coup as early as July 1919.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Review: Der Kapp-Lüttwitz-Ludendorff Putsch. Dokumente by Erwin Könnemann, Gerhard Schulze |language= de |author= Eric D. Weitz |journal=Central European History |volume=38 |number=3 |year=2005 |pages=493–96 |doi= 10.1017/s0008938900005410 |s2cid=145619637 }}</ref>

==Coup==

===Run-up to the coup===
[[Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1989-0718-501, Gustav Noske und Walter Lüttwitz.jpg|thumb|upright|Walther von Lüttwitz (centre) and Gustav Noske (right), c. 1920]]
Although the Putsch has been named after [[Wolfgang Kapp]], a 62-year-old nationalist [[East Prussia]]n civil servant, who had been planning a coup against the republic for a while, it was instigated by the military; Kapp played a supporting role.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|217}}<ref name="Reich">{{cite book |last=Dederke |first=Karlheinz |title=Reich und Republik, Deutschland 1917–1933 |language=de |publisher=Klett-Cotta |year=1996 |isbn=3-608-91802-7}}</ref>{{rp|50}} On 29 February 1920, the Defence Minister Noske ordered the disbandment of two of the most powerful ''Freikorps'', the {{lang|de|Marinebrigade Loewenfeld}} and {{lang|de|[[Marinebrigade Ehrhardt]]}}. The latter numbered from 5,000 to 6,000 men and had been stationed at the ''Truppenübungsplatz [[Dallgow-Döberitz|Döberitz]]'', near Berlin, since January 1920.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|217}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Brigade Ehrhardt, 1919/20 |language=de |date=25 March 2001 |work=Historisches Lexikon Bayerns |url=http://www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de/artikel/artikel_44457}}</ref> An elite force, it had been created from former Imperial Navy officers and NCOs, boosted later by {{lang|de|Baltikumer}} (those who had fought the Bolsheviks in [[Latvia]] in 1919). During the civil war in 1919, the brigade had seen action in Munich and Berlin. It was extremely opposed to the democratic government of Friedrich Ebert.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|217}}

Its commander, ''Korvettenkapitän'' [[Hermann Ehrhardt]], declared that the unit would refuse its dissolution.<ref name="Reich"/>{{rp|51}} On 1 March, it staged a parade without inviting Noske.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|218}} General [[Walther von Lüttwitz]], in command of all the regular troops in and around Berlin (''Gruppenkommando I''), the highest ranking general in the army at the time and in command of many ''Freikorps'', said at the parade that he would "not accept" the loss of such an important unit. Several of Lüttwitz's officers were horrified at this open rejection of the government's authority and tried to mediate, by setting up a meeting between Lüttwitz and the leaders of the two major right-wing parties. Lüttwitz listened to and remembered their ideas but was not dissuaded from his course of action.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|218}} Noske then removed the ''Marinebrigade'' from Lüttwitz's command and assigned it to the leadership of the Navy, hoping that they would disband the unit. Lüttwitz ignored the order but agreed to a meeting with President Ebert, suggested by his staff.

[[Image:Wolfgang Kapp.jpeg|thumb|left|upright|Wolfgang Kapp, the leader of the Putsch]]
In the evening of 10 March, Lüttwitz came with his staff to Ebert's office. Ebert had also asked Noske to attend. Lüttwitz, drawing on demands by the right-wing parties and adding his own, now demanded the immediate dissolution of the National Assembly, new elections for the Reichstag, the appointment of technocrats (''Fachminister'') as Secretaries for Foreign Affairs, Economic Affairs and Finance, the dismissal of General Reinhardt, appointment of himself as supreme commander of the regular army and the revocation of the orders of dissolution for the ''Marinebrigaden''. Ebert and Noske rejected these demands and Noske told Lüttwitz that he expected his resignation the next day.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|219}}

Lüttwitz went to Döberitz on 11 March and asked Ehrhardt whether he would be able to occupy Berlin that evening. Ehrhardt said he needed another day but in the morning of 13 March he could be in the centre of Berlin with his men. Lüttwitz gave the order and Ehrhardt began the preparations. It was only at this point that Lüttwitz brought the group known as ''Nationale Vereinigung'' into the plot. These included [[German National People's Party]] (DNVP) member Wolfgang Kapp, retired general [[Erich Ludendorff]], [[Waldemar Pabst]] (who had been behind the murder of [[Karl Liebknecht]] and [[Rosa Luxemburg]] in January 1919), and {{Interlanguage link multi|Traugott von Jagow|de}}, the last Berlin head of police in the old Reich.<ref name="BPB"/>{{rp|25}}<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|219}}<ref name="Reich"/>{{rp|50–51}} Their goal was to establish an authoritarian regime (though not a monarchy) with a return to the federal structure of the Empire.<ref name=her>{{cite journal |title=Review: Der Kapp-Lüttwitz-Ludendorff-Putsch. Dokumente by Erwin Könnemann, Gerhard Schulz |author=Rainer Hering |journal=German Studies Review |language=de |volume=28 |number=2 |year=2005 |pages=431–432}}</ref> Lüttwitz asked them to be ready to take over the government on 13 March. The group was unprepared but agreed to the schedule set by Lüttwitz. One factor making them support quick action was that sympathetic members of the ''[[Sicherheitspolizei]]'' in Berlin informed them that warrants for their arrest had been issued that day.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|219–220}}

Lüttwitz was not dismissed but suspended from his post on 11 March.<ref name="Reich"/>{{rp|51}} To defend the government, Noske ordered two regiments of ''Sicherheitspolizei'' and one regular regiment to take position in the government quarter but doubted that a Putsch was imminent.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|220}} The regimental commanders decided not to follow orders to shoot, a decision that received the approval of ''Chef des [[Truppenamt]]s'' General [[Hans von Seeckt]].<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|220}}

===Occupation of Berlin===
[[Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1971-037-42, Kapp-Putsch, Berlin crop.jpg|thumb|upright|Hermann Ehrhardt during the Putsch]]
The reluctance to shed blood was one-sided. On the evening of 12 March, Ehrhardt ordered his brigade to march into Berlin, to "ruthlessly break any resistance" (''jeden Widerstand rücksichtslos zu brechen'') and to occupy the centre of the city with the government buildings. The Brigade, sporting [[Western use of the swastika in the early 20th century|swastika]]s on their helmets and vehicles, started off towards Berlin at around 10:00&nbsp;pm. An hour later the ''Gruppenkommando'' knew about it and informed Noske. Two general officers met Ehrhardt and convinced him to give the government a chance to surrender before being taken into custody, assuming that all of Lüttwitz's demands were accepted by 7:00&nbsp;am. This was reported to Noske who met with Ebert. Ebert then called a cabinet meeting for 4:00&nbsp;am. At 1:00&nbsp;am Noske asked the senior commanders to his office in the [[Bendlerblock]].<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|221–222}}

Noske asked the commanders to defend the government buildings but was turned down. All but two of the officers (one of them was Reinhardt, ''Chef der Heeresleitung'') refused to follow an order to shoot at the rebel troops. Some suggested negotiations, others claimed that the troops would not understand an order to fire, some argued that the regular units would not be able to defeat the elite ''Marinebrigade''. Seeckt spoke about comradeship.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|222}} His exact words were not recorded, but have been reported as: "troops do not fire on troops. So, you perhaps intend, Herr Minister, that a battle be fought before the ''[[Brandenburger Tor]]'' between troops that have fought side by side against a common enemy? When Reichswehr fires on Reichswehr all comradeship within the officers' corps will have vanished".<ref name=gl/>{{page number|date=March 2022}} Others have quoted Seeckt's words as the even more succinct: "Reichswehr does not fire on Reichswehr!"<ref name="BPB"/>{{rp|26}}

Noske, depressed enough by the disloyalty of the military to speak about suicide to an aide, reported to the cabinet at 4:00&nbsp;am.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|222}} At a confused meeting at the [[Reichskanzlei]], the undefended cabinet took two decisions: to flee the city and to issue a call for a general strike. These were not unanimous, the Vice-Chancellor [[Eugen Schiffer]] and some of the other non-SPD ministers refused to leave the city, to preserve the opportunity to negotiate with the putschists. Only Ebert and the SPD ministers signed the call for a general strike. At 6:15&nbsp;am they had to interrupt the meeting and flee. Within ten minutes of their departure, the ''Marinebrigade'' reached the ''Brandenburger Tor'', where it was met by Lüttwitz, Ludendorff, Kapp and their followers. Shortly thereafter, Kapp's men moved into the Reichskanzlei.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|222}} Supported by a battalion of regular Reichswehr, they occupied the government quarter.<ref name="BPB"/>{{rp|26}}

Kapp declared himself [[Chancellor of Germany|Chancellor]] (''Reichskanzler'') and formed a provisional government.<ref name="BPB"/>{{rp|26}} Lüttwitz served as commander of the armed forces and Minister of Defence. Several well-known conservatives and former secretaries of state were invited to assume government positions but declined.<ref name="eb">{{Cite EB1922|wstitle=Kapp, Wolfgang}}</ref> International con-man [[Ignaz Trebitsch-Lincoln]] became Kapp's press censor.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wasserstein |first=Bernard |author-link=Bernard Wasserstein |title=The Secret Lives of Trebitsch Lincoln |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |year=1988 |isbn=0-300-04076-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/secretlivesoftre00wass }}</ref>

===Bloodshed in Harburg===

Since 1 January, [[Rudolf Berthold]]'s Iron Troop ''Freikorps'' had been returning to Germany from fighting in Lithuania. Their eventual destination was [[Zossen]], where they would disarm. By 13 March, they had gotten as far as [[Stade]]. There, they discovered the insurrection was in progress. Balked from boarding a train there by striking rail workers, Berthold had his men occupy the train station, city hall, telegraph office, and post office. He then bedded his troops for the night in the local girls' high school. The following day, the Iron Troop commandeered a train, which crept along unsafe tracks into [[Harburg, Hamburg]]. Before the Iron Troop's arrival, [[Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany|Independent Socialist]] city officials had quietly arrested the commanding officer of the local ''Reichswehr'' battalion, leaving the soldiers leaderless. Upon the train's arrival, the officials directed the ''Freikorps'' to the local middle school for shelter.{{sfnp|Kilduff|2012|pp=130–34}}

On the following morning, 15 March 1920, a citizen [[militia]] began to coalesce around the school. At about noon, a ''Freikorps'' machine-gunner fired a burst over the gathering crowd to disperse them. A firefight ensued, with 13 civilian casualties. Three Iron Troop soldiers were also killed, and eight others captured and executed. With neither police nor ''Reichswehr'' troops to restrain the gathering militia, and little ammunition among his troops, Berthold realized he had to negotiate a surrender. He agreed to let his unarmed men exit the school at 6:00 pm upon assurance the militia would not harm them. During this surrender, an enraged crowd of onlookers mobbed the Iron Troop, and Berthold was murdered. The disarmed Iron Troop was taken to a nearby military base.{{sfnp |Kilduff|2012|pp=130–34}}

===Reactions===
[[Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R16976, Kapp-Putsch, Berlin.jpg|thumb|upright|Members of the ''Marinebrigade Ehrhardt'', with swastikas on their helmets, distributing leaflets on 13 March]]
There was no military resistance to the Putsch; the regular troops in Berlin, ''Sicherheitspolizei'', navy, the army commands of [[East-Prussia]], [[Pomerania]], [[Province of Brandenburg|Brandenburg]] and [[Silesia]], formally accepted the new minister of defence and Reichskanzler.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|224}}<ref>Nicholls, A. J. ''Weimar and the Rise of Hitler'', London: Macmillan 2000 p. 70.</ref> Admiral [[Adolf von Trotha]], the navy commander, came out in support of the coup as soon as he learned of it.<ref>Bird, Keith ''Weimar, the German Naval Officer Corps and the Rise of National Socialism'', Grüner, 1977 p. 69.</ref> In [[Free State of Bavaria (Weimar Republic)|Bavaria]], the Social Democratic state government resigned after refusing to install an emergency regime as demanded by Reichswehr General Arnold von Möhl, [[Georg Escherich]] and [[Gustav Ritter von Kahr]]. The Bavarian Parliament then elected Kahr, a right-wing politician associated with the [[Bavarian People's Party]], as Minister President of Bavaria.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Koepp |first=Roy G. |date=2015 |title=Gustav von Kahr and the Emergence of the Radical Right in Bavaria |journal=[[The Historian (journal)|The Historian]] |volume=77 |issue=4 |pages=747 |doi=10.1111/hisn.12076|s2cid=146135148 }}</ref> In the rest of the Reich, the commanders of the ''Wehrkreise'' (military districts) did not declare for or against Kapp but were not neutral and most sympathised more or less openly with the putschists.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|224}} The upper echelons of the bureaucracy were still dominated by those who had risen to their positions under the Empire and most were sympathetic to the coup, whilst remaining outwardly neutral and biding their time. In the eastern provinces, the bureaucracy fell in line behind Kapp and Lüttwitz.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|224–225}}

==== General Strike against the Coup ====
The government moved to [[Dresden]], where they hoped to get support from Generalmajor [[Georg Ludwig Rudolf Maercker|Maercker]] but he had been ordered by Berlin to take them into "protective custody" and they moved on to [[Stuttgart]].<ref name="Haffner" />{{rp|225–226}} The cabinet proclamation on {{awrap|13 March,}} calling on German workers to defeat the Putsch by means of a [[general strike]] met with enormous success and received massive support from the [[working class]]. The majority unions, sympathetic to the government dominated by [[SPD|social democrats]], joined the call for a strike on the same day, as did the [[Independent Social Democratic Party]] (USPD) and the Democratic Party; the [[Communist Party of Germany]] (KPD) followed one day later.

In Berlin, the strike started on 14 March and by the next day it had spread all over the Reich. It was the most powerful strike in the history of Germany, involving up to 12&nbsp;million workers. The country was paralysed. In Berlin the gas, water and power supply stopped.<ref name="Haffner" />{{rp|226}}<ref name="Chronik">{{cite web |url=http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/1920/index.html |title=Chronik 1920 |language=de |publisher=Deutsches Historisches Museum |access-date=12 June 2013}}</ref>

[[Adolf Hitler]], who had been in contact with the members of the ''Nationale Vereinigung'' and was eager to help the coup along, was flown into Berlin from Munich by the Army. The pilot was [[Robert von Greim]], whom Hitler later appointed as the last commander of the Luftwaffe. He was met by striking workers at an airfield outside of Berlin, where he landed by mistake, and had to disguise himself.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Life and Death of a Capital |author=Richard J. Evans |date=27 September 2012 |magazine=The New Republic |url=http://www.tnr.com/book/review/abused-city-hitlers-berlin-thomas-friedrich}}</ref> Eventually Hitler was able to continue his flight together with [[Dietrich Eckart]] to Berlin, where they immediately went to the Reichskanzlei to meet Wolfgang Kapp. Hitler and Eckart were approached by Ignaz Trebitsch-Lincoln, who told them that Kapp had fled and the coup failed.<ref>[[Werner Maser]]: ''Der Sturm auf die Republik. Frühgeschichte der NSDAP''. ECON Verlag, 1994. p. 217</ref>

===Collapse===
[[Image:Kapp demo.jpg|thumb|left|Demonstration in Berlin against the putsch. The caption reads: "A quarter million participants"]]
With the country paralyzed, Kapp and Lüttwitz were unable to govern; in Berlin, communication between military units was by courier only. The rank and file of the bureaucracy were on strike, and there were no newspapers. Proclamations asking the workers to return to their jobs, promises of new elections and even the threat of capital punishment for strikers remained without results and the Putsch collapsed on {{awrap|17 March,}} four days after it had begun.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|226}} Kapp had put Vice-Chancellor Schiffer and the members of the Prussian state government into protective custody on 13 March but they were released the next day and on 15 March, negotiations began. Representatives of the democratic right, [[Oskar Hergt]] and [[Gustav Stresemann]] also participated. The four big centre-right parties (Democratic Party, Zentrum, [[German People's Party]] and German National People's Party) agreed that the main threat was now "bolshevism" and that they had to "win back" the officer corps. It was considered undesirable that Kapp and Lüttwitz should be toppled, they must be seen to resign voluntarily.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|229–230}}

The four parties, supported by some Social Democrats who had remained in Berlin, offered fresh elections, a cabinet reshuffle and an amnesty for all participants in the Putsch, if Kapp and Lüttwitz were to resign. The putschists offered only the resignation of Kapp, and Lüttwitz tried to hold on for another day as head of a military dictatorship but his commanders deserted him. They suggested to Schiffer, in the absence of Ebert in charge of the government's affairs, that he appoint Seeckt as head of the Reichswehr, which Schiffer did in the name of Ebert. When Lüttwitz offered his resignation on 18 March, Schiffer accepted—again in Ebert's name—while granting him full pension rights. Schiffer also suggested Pabst and Lüttwitz should leave the country, until the National Assembly had decided on the question of an amnesty and even offered them false passports and money.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|229–230}}

On 18 March, Seeckt praised the discipline of the ''Marinebrigade Ehrhardt'' and the next day provided Ehrhardt with a written promise that he would not be arrested as long as he was in command of the brigade and the brigade left Berlin. When they were heckled by an unfriendly crowd of bystanders, they opened fire with machine guns, leaving twelve civilians dead and thirty severely wounded.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|231}} Kapp remained in the country and only fled to [[Sweden]] in April.<ref name="Chronik"/> Lüttwitz first went to Saxony and only later left for [[Hungary]].<ref name="BPB"/>{{rp|26}} Both men used passports provided by supporters in the police.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|231}} Ehrhardt went into hiding in Bavaria.<ref name="BPB"/>{{rp|26}}

==Aftermath==
[[Image:Bahnhof Wetter01 crop.jpg|thumb|Memorial for the suppression of the Kapp putsch, railway station of [[Wetter (Ruhr)|Wetter]]. The sign reads: "For peace, freedom and democracy&nbsp;— in memory of the suppression of the Kapp putsch in March 1920"]]

===Weimar politics===
In 2009, Layton wrote, "At first sight the collapse of the Kapp ''Putsch'' could be viewed as a major success for the Weimar Republic. In the six days of crisis, it had retained the backing of the people of Berlin and had effectively withstood a major threat from the extreme right."<ref name=gl>{{cite book |author=Geoff Layton |title=Democracy and dictatorship in Germany 1919–1963 |year=2009 |publisher=Hodder Education}}{{page number|date=March 2022}}</ref>{{page number|date=March 2022}} Among the grievances which Kapp and his followers had against the government were that the National Assembly, which had been elected to serve temporarily, was beginning to act as a permanent Reichstag and that it seemed this assembly might revise the constitution with respect to the election of the president of the Republic, which would make the Reichstag, rather than the electorate, responsible for the presidential election. As a consequence of the political crisis that the putsch caused, the date of the general election for the first republican Reichstag was brought forward to 6 June. All attempts to change the method of election for the presidency of the Republic were abandoned.<ref name="eb"/> In the [[German federal election, 1920|Reichstag elections of 6 June]], the number of votes cast for the SPD and the Democratic Party fell by more than half compared to the January 1919 elections, while the right-wing German National People's Party (DNVP) (some of whose voters eventually switched to the Nazis) and the left-wing USPD gained substantially. The Weimar Coalition lost its majority in parliament and would never regain it.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mommsen |first=Hans |title=The Rise and Fall of Weimar Democracy |publisher=The University of North Carolina Press |year=1989 |location=Chapel Hill & London |pages=86–87 |translator-last=Forster |translator-first=Elborg |translator-last2=Jones |translator-first2=Larry Eugene}}</ref>
===Ruhr uprising===
{{Main|Ruhr uprising}}
The effects of the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch throughout Germany were more lasting than in Berlin. In some parts of the country, the strike turned into an armed revolt. The violence came from local military commanders who supported the new government and arrested pickets, which the workers resisted. In [[Thuringia]] and [[Province of Saxony|Saxony]] the military defeated the workers after bloody fights.<ref name="Haffner" />{{rp|228–229}} In the [[Ruhr]], the workers continued their protests after the Putsch in Berlin had collapsed. In the [[Ruhr uprising]], the [[Red Ruhr Army]] of about 50,000 workers went on the offensive with the goal of overthrowing the Weimar Republic and replacing it with a soviet-style council republic.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scriba |first=Arnulf |date=1 September 2014 |title=Die Märzkämpfe 1919 |trans-title=The March Battles 1919 |url=https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/revolution-191819/maerzkaempfe-1919.html |access-date=28 August 2024 |website=Deutsches Historisches Museum |language=de}}</ref> On {{awrap|17 March}} it took Dortmund, on 18 March [[Hamm, North Rhine-Westphalia|Hamm]] and [[Bochum]] and on 19 March [[Essen]], causing the local commander of the military district at [[Münster]] to order a withdrawal. By 22 March, the Ruhr was under the control of the revolutionary workers.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|228–229}}

The legitimate government returned to Berlin on 20 March and demanded an end to the general strike. It offered some concessions to the unions, some of them made in bad faith.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|232}} The unions ([[Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund|ADGB]], [[Allgemeiner freier Angestelltenbund|Afa-Bund]] and [[German Civil Service Federation|DBB]]) demanded the creation of a new government made up of SPD and USPD led by [[Carl Legien]], but only a new government based on the Weimar Coalition found a majority in the National Assembly. [[Hermann Müller (politician, born 1876)|Hermann Müller]] (SPD) replaced Bauer as chancellor.<ref name="BPB"/>{{rp|26}} The government then tried to negotiate with workers who refused to lay down their arms after the unions called off the strike on 22 March. When the negotiations failed, the revolt in the Ruhr was suppressed by Reichswehr and ''Freikorps'' units in early April 1920. Over 1,000 workers were killed, many in [[summary execution]]s, some committed by units that had been involved in the Putsch, including the ''Marinebrigade Loewenfeld''. Another 600 Reichswehr and Freikorps soldiers also lost their lives.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Winkler |first=Heinrich August |author-link=Heinrich August Winkler |title=Weimar 1918–1933. Die Geschichte der ersten deutschen Demokratie |title-link=Heinrich August Winkler |publisher=C.H. Beck |year=1993 |isbn=3-406-37646-0 |location=Munich |pages=133–134 |language=de |trans-title=Weimar 1918–1933. The History of the FIrst German Democracy}}</ref> As in 1918–1919, those on the left had cause to accuse the SPD and the Ebert government of siding with the enemies of the workers and of the republic.<ref name="Haffner"/>{{rp|229,233}}

===Putsch perpetrators===
The Putsch left a rump of military conspirators such as Pabst and Ehrhardt, who found refuge in Bavaria under the right-wing government of Gustav von Kahr (itself an indirect product of the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch) and there attempted to organize plots against the republican constitution and government of Germany. The crisis in the relations of Bavaria with the Reich (August–September 1921) which ended in Kahr's resignation was a further phase of the same trouble.<ref name="eb"/>

After the Putsch Noske named Kapp, Pabst and Ehrhardt as being responsible, despite the support from much higher up in the army.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Heinrich August |last1=Winkler |first2=Alexander |last2=Sager |title=Germany: The Long Road West |volume=1 |year=2006 |page=366}}</ref> Most of the participants were granted an amnesty and on 2 August 1920, the Reichstag passed a law that exculpated crimes committed during the Putsch and the subsequent Ruhr Uprising except those due to "cruelty" or "self-interest".<ref name="BPB"/>{{rp|27}} Of 705 cases brought against civilians, only the prosecution of von Jagow ended with a guilty verdict.<ref name="Reich"/>{{rp|54}} ''Freikorps'' and Reichswehr members were subject to military law and of 775 [[courts-martial]], 486 cases were closed. 48 officers were removed from their posts, six resigned, the others were subject to mild disciplinary actions. The ''Marinebrigade Ehrhardt'' was dissolved in May 1920 but most of its members were allowed to join the Reichswehr where they had successful careers.<ref name="Chronik"/> The courts were much harsher on the members of the Red Ruhr Army, many of whom were sentenced to lengthy terms of imprisonment.<ref name="BPB"/>{{rp|27}}

Kapp was arrested in Sweden on 16 April but not deported to Germany.<ref name="Chronik"/> He voluntarily returned to Germany in April 1922 and died the same year in prison while awaiting trial.<ref name="Chronik"/> Lüttwitz returned to Germany as part of an amnesty in 1924.<ref name="Lüttwitz">{{cite web |url=http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/biografien/LuettwitzWalther/index.html |title=Biografie Walther Freiherr von Lüttwitz |language=de |publisher=Deutsches Historisches Museum |access-date=12 July 2013}}</ref> Gustav Noske was forced to resign by the unions on 22 March, as a condition for ending the general strike and because some in the SPD thought that he had not been tough enough facing up to the putschists; [[Otto Gessler]] succeeded Noske as Defence Minister.<ref name="Gestalten">{{cite book |editor-last=Herzfeld |editor-first=Hans  |title=Geschichte in Gestalten:3:L-O |language=de |publisher=Fischer, Frankfurt |year=1963 |pages=231–232 }}</ref><ref name=DHM>{{cite web |url=http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/biografien/NoskeGustav/index.html |title=Biografie Gustav Noske |language=de |publisher=Deutsches Historisches Museum |access-date=12 June 2013}}</ref> General Reinhardt also resigned out of protest at Noske's dismissal. General Seeckt became his successor as ''Chef der Heeresleitung''.<ref name="Reich"/>{{rp|54}}

Former Ottoman grand vizier [[Talat Pasha]], the main perpetrator of the [[Armenian genocide]], was hiding in Berlin after the war and appeared at the press conference to criticize the putschists for dilettantism.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ihrig|first=Stefan|author-link=Stefan Ihrig|date=2016|title=Justifying Genocide: Germany and the Armenians from Bismarck to Hitler|title-link=Justifying Genocide|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|isbn=978-0-674-50479-0|page=227}}</ref>

===Monument to the March Dead===
{{Main|Monument to the March Dead}}
[[Image:Monument to the March dead.jpg|thumb|Monument to the March Dead, by [[Walter Gropius]]]]
Between 1920 and 1922 a monument in honour of the workers who were killed in the wake of the Kapp Putsch was erected in the [[Historical Cemetery, Weimar|Weimar central cemetery]]. The memorial was commissioned by the Weimar [[:de:Gewerkschaftskartell|Gewerkschaftskartell]] (Union Cartel), which conducted a competition to select a design. It was built according to plans submitted by the architectural office of [[Walter Gropius]]. Although Gropius had said that the [[Bauhaus]] should remain politically neutral, he agreed to participate in the competition of Weimar artists at the end of 1920.<ref name="lupfer"/>

The monument was arranged around an inner space, in which visitors could stand. The repeatedly fractured and highly angular memorial rose up on three sides, as if thrust up from or rammed into the earth.<ref name="lupfer">Gilbert Lupfer & Paul Sigel, [https://books.google.com/books?id=1p2jMjQlbOEC&dq=march+putsch+gropius&pg=PA31 ''Walter Gropius, 1883–1969: the promoter of a new form'', p. 31].</ref>

The monument was destroyed by the [[Nazi Party|Nazis]] in February 1936. They objected to it politically and considered it an example of "[[degenerate art]]", as Hitler characterized modern works.<ref name="RLW">{{cite web|last1=Wolfe|first1=Ross Lawrence|title=Walter Gropius, Monument to the March Dead (1922)|url=https://thecharnelhouse.org/2015/05/07/walter-gropius-monument-to-the-march-dead-1922/|website=The Charnel-House|access-date=24 November 2017|date=8 May 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[1920 in Germany]]
* {{slink|Rudolph Berthold|Death and gravestone}}
* [[Beer Hall Putsch]]
* [[Civilian-based defense]]
* [[German Revolution]]
* [[Kornilov Affair]]
* [[Spartacist Uprising]]

== Footnotes ==
{{notelist|notes=}}

== Citations ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== References ==
* {{cite book |title=Der Kapp-Lüttwitz-Putsch: Ein Beitrag zur deutschen Innenpolitik 1919–20 |volume=35 |series=Beiträge zur Geschichte des Parlamentarismus und der politschen Parteien |first=Johannes
|last=Erger |language=de |publisher=Droste |year=1967}}
* {{cite book |title=Iron Man Rudolf Berthold: Germany's Indomitable Fighter Ace of World War I|language=en |first1=Peter |last1=Kilduff |publisher=Grub Street |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-908117-37-3}}
* {{cite book |title=Der Kapp-Lüttwitz-Ludendorff-Putsch. Dokumente |language=de |first1=Erwin |last1=Könnemann |first2=Gerhard |last2=Schulze |publisher=Olzog |year=2002 |isbn=3789293555}}
* {{cite book |first=Anthony |last=McElligott |title=Weimar Germany |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Kapp-Putsch}}
* [https://www.dhm.de/lemo/kapitel/weimarer-republik/innenpolitik/luettwitz-kapp-putsch-1920.html Der Lüttwitz-Kapp-Putsch 1920] at the [[Deutsches Historisches Museum]]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Kapp Putsch| ]]
[[Category:1920 in Germany]]
[[Category:Far-right politics in Germany]]
[[Category:1920s coups d'état]]
[[Category:20th-century Freikorps]]
[[Category:Attempted coups d'état in Germany]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1920]]
[[Category:Military of the Weimar Republic]]
[[Category:Military operations involving Germany]]
[[Category:Politics of the Weimar Republic]]
[[Category:March 1920 in Europe]]
[[Category:Monarchism in Germany]]
[[Category:Battles of the Political violence in Germany (1918–1933)]]
[[Category:Proto-Nazism]]