: 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.
: Post-war inflation and social unrest created a volatile environment where radical groups on both the left and right felt the republic was weak and illegitimate. 2. The Events of March 1920 WEIMAR GERMANY: Kapp Putsch 1920
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, : Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was
: A civil servant and nationalist politician, Kapp was declared the new Chancellor. He was supported by General Walther von Lüttwitz, the military mastermind behind the coup. He was supported by General Walther von Lüttwitz,
: The aftermath showed a clear bias in the legal system. While left-wing rebels were often executed or given long sentences, Kapp Putsch participants received remarkably light punishments. Wolfgang Kapp died before he could be tried, and most others were granted amnesty.
: Many right-wing nationalists believed the military had been "stabbed in the back" by socialist and Jewish politicians at home.
The Putsch was rooted in the deep resentment following Germany’s defeat in World War I and the perceived betrayal of the Treaty of Versailles .
