The Kapp Putsch:

In March 1920, 5,000 Free Corps marched into Berlin. When the government heard this, they fled from the city. Doctor Kapp, an extreme German nationalist set himself up as head of the new government. His aims were to recover the land taken from Germany by the Treaty of Versailles, and to re-build Germany’s military strength.

However, Kapp was to be defeated by the people of Berlin.

Workers in the city organized a general strike. Without running water, electricity, gas, buses and trains, Berlin life ground to a halt.

Civil servants refused to give Doctor Kapp money. With all this happening, Kapp had to abandon his plans.

On the 18^th of March, he and his supporters fled to Sweden and the government returned to Berlin.

Communist uprising in the Ruhr:

Immediately after Kapp had fled workers in several parts of Germany attempted a Communist Revolution. In the industrial area of the Ruhr the workers formed a “Red Army” and took control of many towns. To restore order, the government sent Free Corps as well as regular army units into areas of the insurrection. Brutal fighting ensued, leaving approximately 1,000 workers dead.