1.  starter activity
Read about the Freikorps on p.9 (Wilkes) and note down the characteristics of the Freikorps. Imagine you had to write a caption for this photograph. What would you say about this organisation if your were a Spartacist or a Social Democrat?

2. Key characteristics of Freikorps
Former soldiers in the German army
Right-wing, conservative organisation
Hated Treaty of Versailles (1919) - many had been forced to leave the army
Helped President Ebert put down Spartacist Uprising (1919)

3. Why did the Kapp Putsch (1920) fail?
 Aims
To define what is meant by ‘Putsch’
To list identify key characteristics of the Freikorps
To evaluate reasons why the Kapp Putsch failed?

4. Wolfgang Kapp

5.  Your task
Read about the Kapp Putsch from the History Learning website.
Who was Kapp?
Why did he stage an uprising?
Why did it fail?
What does it reveal about the Weimar Government?
 How similar / different was it to the Spartacist Uprising?

6. Reasons for failure of Kapp Putsch
Kapp: right-wing journalist, hated Ebert
Aims: establish strong leadership & opposed Versailles
Reasons for failure:
lack of leadership - General Ludendorff supported Kapp, but other army leaders did not
putsch centred on Berlin – didn’t spread to rest of Germany
Weimar Government continued - able to relocate to Dresden
people tired of revolution - Spartacist Uprising occurred 1919
general strike

7.  Extension
Can you list any similarities between the Spartacist Uprising and the Kapp Putch?
Rosa Luxemburg
Wolfgang Kapp

8. SIMILARITIES
Led by charismatic, political extremists
Disliked govt & aimed to overthrow it
Centred on Berlin
DIFFERENCES
Spartacists were anti-War, Kapp Putsch supported the army
Kapp was a monarchist, Spartacists wanted a Communist revolution
Kapp enjoyed support of Freikorps

9.  Plenary Define what is meant by a Putsch
Why did the Putsch fail – 3 reasons
How similar were the Spartacist Uprising and Kapp Putsch – 2 examples

10.  Extension
Can you list any similarities between the Spartacist Uprising and the Kapp Putch?
Rosa Luxemburg
Wolfgang Kapp

11. SIMILARITIES
Led by charismatic, political extremists
Disliked govt & aimed to overthrow it
Centred on Berlin
DIFFERENCES
Spartacists were anti-War, Kapp Putsch supported the army
Kapp was a monarchist, Spartacists wanted a Communist revolution
Kapp enjoyed support of Freikorps

12.  Your task
Try to match one of the captions on p.19 (SHP) with one of the sources on p
Study the German sources and add the reasons why they felt angered by the Treaty to your list
Explain why Germans found it so hard to accept the terms of the Treaty of Versailles

13. Hold a press conference with members of Ebert’s new Social Democrat government. Try to find out whether the Treaty of Versailles really was the right solution for Germany’s woes.

14.  Your task
Work in small groups. Write a short speech to deliver to the new German Parliament explaining why you hate the terms of the Treaty of Versailles so much. You may wish to include points in your spider diagram as well as those referred to in the sources. Try to explain why you feel ‘stabbed in the back’ by the Treaty.

15.  Plenary
Why do you think the Germans felt stabbed in the back? Give 5 reasons.
 Extension. Who were these people? Can you explain the cartoon? What are some of the problems with this source?

16.  Homework
Write a speech explaining why you hate the treaty of Versailles. Refer to the key terms of the treaty, explain what is making you angry about them and refer to the reactions of ordinary Germans like Kapp. It should be one side of A4
Extension. Produce a counter-speech by a supporter of the Treaty