The Kapp Putsch is followed by the largest general strike in German history
The Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919 limited Germany to a relatively small army and navy. Seeking to maintain much larger number of men under arms in the immediate post-war period, the German government tolerated the existence of organized groups of ex-servicemen known as Freikorps units. When it began dissolving such groups in 1920, the commander of the elite Ehrhardt Brigade refused to follow orders and marched on Berlin in an attempt to install a new government under the nationalist civil servant Wolfgang Kapp.
After the regular army refused to fire on those they viewed as their comrades, the SPD government called on the trade unions and government officials to organize a general strike before fleeing to the safety of Stuttgart together with President Ebert. The unlikely alliance of worker and functionary proved effective, and the coup failed after five days.
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