Weimar Germany: Kapp Putsch 1920 May 2026

: Many right-wing nationalists believed the military had been "stabbed in the back" by socialist and Jewish politicians at home.

: 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. WEIMAR GERMANY: Kapp Putsch 1920

: The Weimar government, including President Friedrich Ebert and Chancellor Gustav Bauer, fled the city to Dresden and then Stuttgart. : Many right-wing nationalists believed the military had

: The event highlighted that the Republic could not rely on its own army to defend it against right-wing threats, a weakness that would persist throughout the 1920s. Wolfgang Kapp died before he could be tried,

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,

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 .

: Public transport, electricity, water, and postal services in Berlin and other major cities ground to a halt.