The failed 1920 coup against the Weimar Republic exposed deep military disloyalty and triggered a general strike and the Ruhr uprising, reshaping German politics.
Key Facts
- Date of coup attempt
- 13 March 1920
- Duration before collapse
- A few days
- Key leaders
- Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz
- Response method
- General strike called by the government
- Subsequent event
- Ruhr uprising, weeks later
- Political consequence
- Shift in majority after June 1920 Reichstag election
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Opposition to the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the Weimar Republic grew among nationalist, monarchist, and military factions. Parts of the Reichswehr, unwilling to accept the new democratic order, aligned with Wolfgang Kapp and General Walther von Lüttwitz, who sought to restore an autocratic government and undo the revolutionary changes that had ended the German Empire.
On 13 March 1920, Kapp, Lüttwitz, and their supporters seized Berlin, forcing the legitimate government to flee. The coup quickly collapsed within days as large segments of the population responded to the government's call for a general strike, and most civil servants refused to cooperate with the putschists, denying them the administrative control needed to govern.
Although the coup failed, it produced lasting effects on the Weimar Republic. The government's lenient treatment of the Kapp Putsch leaders contrasted sharply with its military suppression of the subsequent Ruhr uprising, polarizing the electorate. The June 1920 Reichstag election saw a significant shift in the parliamentary majority, weakening the republic's founding coalition.