Challenges from the Left & Right, 1919–23 (Edexcel IGCSE History: Paper 1: Depth Studies): Revision Note
Exam code: 4HI1
Summary
Both political extremes attacked the Republic
The communist left wanted a workers' revolution
The nationalist right wanted an authoritarian leader
In January 1919, the Spartacist Uprising, led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, tried to seize power in Berlin
The Freikorps crushed it within two weeks
In March 1920, the Kapp Putsch, led by Wolfgang Kapp with Freikorps units, drove the government out of Berlin
A general strike defeated it within days
Neither revolt succeeded, but both showed that the Republic was weak
Ebert had to rely on the state's enemies to crush threats
He could not trust the German army
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Students often struggle to understand political left and right. People’s political opinions fall on a spectrum. They assess their belief in freedom and equality to judge if they are politically "left" - closer to communism - or politically "right" - closer to fascism.
The Weimar political spectrum:
It is important to use the phrases "extreme" and "moderate" when describing where a political belief fits on this spectrum. It shows the examiner that you understand the variations of political left and right
The Spartacist Uprising, 1919: A challenge from the left
Who were the Spartacists?
The Spartacus League was Germany's communist party
They were also known by the abbreviation KPD
Rosa Luxemburg ("Red Rosa") and Karl Liebknecht led it
The Spartacists wanted a communist revolution and a workers' state like Soviet Russia
The revolt
On 5 January 1919, the Spartacists launched a rising in Berlin
They seized the offices of the government newspaper and telegraph exchanges
They called for a general strike
How did the government crush the Spartacist Uprising?
The First World War had depleted the army, so the government turned to the Freikorps
The Freikorps were armed units of demobilised ex-soldiers; by 1919 around 250,000 men had joined them
They kept their weapons, used street violence for political ends, and hated communism
The Freikorps ended the revolt within about two weeks
On 15 January 1919, they murdered Luxemburg and Liebknecht
The communist threat did not go away
The KPD remained the largest communist party in Europe outside Russia throughout the 1920s
It regularly won more than 10% of the vote
It took 100 seats in the Reichstag in November 1932
The Kapp Putsch, 1920: A challenge from the right
What caused the Kapp Putsch?
The government began cutting the army from 650,000 men to 100,000
They tried to disband two Freikorps units
Many ex-soldiers resented these cuts and could not settle into civilian life
The putsch
In March 1920, Freikorps units marched on Berlin
They declared Dr Wolfgang Kapp, an extreme nationalist supported by army officers, to be Germany's new leader
The regular army refused to fire on the Freikorps
How did the Kapp Putsch collapse?
Ebert's government fled Berlin and called on the people to stop the revolt with a general strike
The strike brought Berlin to a standstill, cutting off gas, water, electricity and transport
Kapp found that he had no support with which to govern
He fled to Sweden, leaving the putsch with no leader
The government regained power and officially disbanded the Freikorps, although many members joined other right-wing groups or the army
Impact of the Kapp Putsch
The putsch showed that the government had little military power and could not even control its own capital
It also showed that the people of Berlin preferred the Republic to the far right
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Notice that the Freikorps appear on both sides of this story: they save the Republic from the left in 1919 and then turn on the Republic in 1920. That switch is a strong point to use in an essay about how weak the Republic was.
How serious a threat were the challenges from the left and right?
The threat from the left (the Spartacists)
The Spartacist Uprising was serious in some ways
It aimed to overthrow the state completely
It seized important buildings in the capital
It came just after the Russian Revolution, when communism seemed to be spreading
The Spartacist Uprising was limited in other ways
It was poorly organised and had little support
The Freikorps crushed it within two weeks and killed its leaders
In the longer term, the KPD remained an influential party in German politics
The threat from the right (the Kapp Putsch)
The Kapp Putsch was serious in some ways
It forced the government to flee its own capital
The army did not defend the Republic
The far right had powerful sympathisers among officers and judges
The Kapp Putsch was limited in other ways
It collapsed within days once the workers went on strike
Kapp had no plan for how to govern
The people of Berlin sided with the Republic
Beyond the Kapp Putsch, right-wing groups carried out over 300 political murders in 1919–22
These included the killings of Matthias Erzberger (1921) and Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau (1922)
Conclusions
The government managed to end both revolts
However, they revealed that:
the Republic had to use the anti-democratic Freikorps against the left
Weimar politicians could not trust the army against the right
political violence was now a normal part of life in Weimar Germany
The right posed the greater long-term danger to the Republic
It would strike again at the Munich Putsch in 1923
Worked Example
'The Weimar Republic faced a more serious threat from the political left than from the political right in the years 1919–1923.'
How far do you agree? Explain your answer.
You may use the following in your answer:
the Spartacist Uprising (1919)
the Kapp Putsch (1920).
You must also use information of your own
(16)
Partial answer:
I disagree with this statement. Overall, I think the Weimar Republic faced a more serious threat from the political right, because the right had the sympathy of the army and other powerful groups, while the left never did.
Examiner Tips and Tricks
The statement compares two threats, so weigh the threat from the left against the threat from the right and reach a judgement. Only use evidence from the years in the question.
If you state a clear view, as this answer does, carry that line of judgement through your answer, and explain the criterion you used, for example how close each threat came to overthrowing the Republic. Examiners reward judgements based on explained criteria. This does not mean that you ignore the threat of the left, but continue to argue why it was not as serious as the threat from the right.
Unlock more, it's free!
Join the 100,000+ Students that ❤️ Save My Exams
the (exam) results speak for themselves:
Was this revision note helpful?
