1. Who challenged the Weimar Government Part One: Political threats
Learning Objective: To describe and analyse the impact of political violence on the Weimar Republic
Starter
Identify one typical policy of the ‘left’ of politics and one typical policy of the ‘right’ of politics

2. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
C: Able to identify and describe some of the threats to the new Weimar Government
B: Able explain the threats to the new Weimar Government
A-A*: Able to assess the significance of the threats to the new Weimar Government

3. Key Terms
Spartacists – German communists who wanted to destroy the Weimar republic and set up a country controlled by the Workers
Kapp – Wolfgang Kapp, a Right Wing Nationalist and leader of the Kapp Putsch
Friekorps – German Nationalists who hated the communists but also disliked the Weimar republic. This group wanted a return of the Kaiser
Putsch – A rebellion or uprising to seize control

4. Spartacist Uprising
The Spartacus League, led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht wanted to make Germany a communist state like Russia
Jan – they tried to seize power in Berlin – they were seen as a threat by the Social Democrat Government
The President, Friedrich Ebert organised returning soldiers who opposed communist ideas into the Friekorps.
5th Jan 1919 – Spartacists captured the office of the government newspaper and the telephone exchange – attempting to stage an armed revolution against Ebert’s government
Other left-wing groups did not support the Spartacists, leaving them isolated
By 10th Jan – Freikorps units had taken the Spartacists’ headquarters
15th Jan – the revolt was over, about 100 Spartacists were killed, and the leaders were brutally murdered

5. What happened to Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebnecht ?
Both were arrested, interrogated by the Freikorps, then taken away.
Liebknecht was forced out of a car in the Tiergarten (Berlin) and shot while ‘trying to escape’
Luxemburg was shot and her body thrown in a canal where it remained until discovered in May 1919
Ebert was shocked by the murders and ordered an investigation – punishments did not fit the crimes

6. Task 1: Complete the summary diagram. Part 1
Key issues
 What have I learned?
What was the Spartacist Revolt of January 1919?
How did Ebert’s government deal with the Spartacist Revolt?

7. Who were the Freikorps ?
When the war ended in November 1919, many junior officers and lower ranks had formed themselves into paramilitary bodies known as the Freikorps
Often they were units that had not wanted to be demobilised after the war
Often they were named after their commanders
In 1919 and 1920 they were armed and used by Ebert’s government to put down uprisings

8. The Kapp Putsch, March 1920
The units had to be disbanded – under the terms of Versailles – also the government had little use for the Freikorps now the communist threat was over
Several units tried to seize power, angry that a government they despised was trying to disband them
They marched on Berlin, unhindered by the regular army
The government was forced to flee to Dresden, calling on the people of Berlin to strike to cripple the Kapp putsch
The coup collapsed within days as public services stopped working

9. Task 1: Complete the summary diagram. Part 2
Key issues
 What have I learned?
What was the Kapp putsch of March 1920?
Why did the Kapp putsch fail?

10. Task : What were the aims of the different groups between 1918 – 1922
Task : What were the aims of the different groups between 1918 – 1922? Place the aims below in the Venn diagram.
Kapp and the Freikorps
Spartacists
Social Democrats

11. The Spartacist Revolt, 1919 The Kapp Putsch, 1920
The boxes below show two events. Choose one and explain the importance of that event to the new Weimar republic in the years
The Spartacist Revolt, The Kapp Putsch, 1920
Link to focus of the question eg what was X
Supporting detail (3/4 distinctive points)
What was the impact of, why was it important?

13. Level
Mark
Descriptor 1
1-2
Generalised statements with little specific content.
Comments are unsupported statements about importance of event OR could apply to either event.
E.g. Spartacists – wanted a revolution in Germany; leaders killed
Kapp Putsch – ex-soldiers wanting power; did not last long.
Both – showed Weimar government was not liked. 2
3-4
Descriptive answer which will explain the event’s importance in challenging the Weimar Republic.
Student describes or gives a narrative of the event.
E.g. Spartacists – left-wing; role of Rosa Luxemburg; attempted
revolution in 1919; its leaders murdered, Ebert’s enquiry
Kapp Putsch – right-wing; members included Freikorps; declared a new government; Ebert’s government had to leave and ask for public support; strike led to collapse of Kapp Putsch.