Learning objectives To understand what the Kapp Putsch and the Munich Putsch were. To understand what the ideology of the Nazi Party was.

The Freikorps were central in the first attempt by the extreme right to seize power in This was due to the pressure being put on the Weimar Government to reduce the size of the German Army under the Treaty of Versailles. When it was proposed that the Erhardt Marine Brigade and the Baltikum Brigade be disbanded, Wolfgang Kapp and General Luttwitz decided to take action. They encouraged 12,000 troops to march on Berlin, take key buildings, and then form a new government. The German army did not provide any resistance to this putsch (armed takeover) despite the government asking them to help. General Seeckt, the senior officer in the Defence Ministry said: ‘Troops do not fire on troops.’ Without the help of the army, the government fled to Stuttgart. Before doing that, the SPD asked workers to go on strike. Without vital services, Berlin ground to a halt and the strike spread to other areas of the country. After four days it was apparent that Kapp’s government had no real authority and they fled Berlin Kapp fled to Sweden, then returned to Germany where he died awaiting trial. Luttwitz was granted early retirement. Only 1 of the 705 prosecuted went to prison.