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Weimar paramilitary groups
Weimar paramilitary groups were militarily organized units that were formed outside of the regular German Army following the defeat of the German Empire in World War I. The most prominent of them, the Freikorps, were combat units that were supported by the German government and used to suppress uprisings from both the Left and the Right. There were also Citizens' Defense (Einwohnerwehr) groups to maintain public order and paramilitary groups associated with specific political parties or institutions to protect and promote their interests.
Most who volunteered for the paramilitary groups came from the 6 million German soldiers who returned from the war to a country in the midst of the turmoil of the German revolution, which overthrew the Hohenzollern monarchy and established the Weimar Republic. The Freikorps especially took part in significant fighting in the Baltics, Silesia, and Berlin during the Spartacist uprising and in the Ruhr during the 1920 uprising there. The paramilitary groups as a whole contributed significantly to the remilitarization of Germany between the wars.
The Citizens' Defense groups were disbanded in 1920 and the Freikorps in 1921 because the government came to see them as threats and because of pressure from the Allies, who feared that the paramilitary groups were being used to circumvent the 100,000 man limit on the German Army imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. The paramilitary groups connected with political parties or movements lasted throughout the life of the Weimar Republic and in the case of the Nazi Party's Sturmabteilung (SA), beyond its end.
In the aftermath of World War I and during the German revolution of 1918–1919, Freikorps units consisting largely of World War I veterans were raised as paramilitary militias. They were armed with the rifles they had returned with from the front; infantry and cavalry units also had machine guns and mortars. While exact numbers are difficult to determine, it is estimated that some 500,000 men were formal Freikorps members with another 1.5 million participating informally.
In the early days of the German revolution, the Council of the People's Deputies, the revolutionary government led by Friedrich Ebert of the Social Democratic Party, needed reliable troops in Berlin to protect its position. In consultation with the Army High Command (OHL), the Council reached an agreement to form the voluntary Freikorps units. Most of their members were anti-communist monarchists who saw no clear future in the revolutionary Germany that they had returned home to. They did not fight in support of the revolutionary government or the Weimar Republic after it was formed, but against its enemies from the political left, who they saw as Germany's enemies.
Freikorps units suppressed the Marxist Spartacist uprising and were responsible for the extrajudicial executions of revolutionary communist leaders Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg on 15 January 1919. The Freikorps also fought in the Baltic against Soviet Russia and were instrumental in putting down the Munich Soviet Republic, the Ruhr uprising and the Third Silesian uprising. The Kapp Putsch of March 1920, a failed attempt to overthrow the government of the Weimar Republic, drew its military support from the Freikorps, in particular the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt. It was after the failure of the Kapp Putsch, and under Allied pressure to keep both Germany's official and unofficial military forces at the 100,000 man limit, that the Freikorps were officially disbanded in the spring of 1920. Some Freikorps members were then accepted into the Reichswehr, Germany's official army, but more joined the Nazi Stormtroopers (SA), illegal far right formations such as the Organisation Consul, or groups such as the Stahlhelm that were associated with political parties.
For a list of major Freikorps units during the Weimar era, see Freikorps groups and divisions.
The Citizens' Defense paramilitary groups were voluntary, honorary associations based on part-time membership that performed self-protection tasks in local areas. They emerged in 1918 after the end of the First World War to ensure the maintenance of public order in cooperation with state authorities. After the Spartacist uprising in Berlin in January 1919, the Reichswehr Ministry instructed all general commands on 22 March 1919 to develop local militia groups into centrally controlled citizens' defense groups at the state level according to a uniform model. The newly created units were then to be directly subordinate to the Reichswehr leadership. In an emergency the citizens' defense forces were to serve as an army reserve.
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Weimar paramilitary groups
Weimar paramilitary groups were militarily organized units that were formed outside of the regular German Army following the defeat of the German Empire in World War I. The most prominent of them, the Freikorps, were combat units that were supported by the German government and used to suppress uprisings from both the Left and the Right. There were also Citizens' Defense (Einwohnerwehr) groups to maintain public order and paramilitary groups associated with specific political parties or institutions to protect and promote their interests.
Most who volunteered for the paramilitary groups came from the 6 million German soldiers who returned from the war to a country in the midst of the turmoil of the German revolution, which overthrew the Hohenzollern monarchy and established the Weimar Republic. The Freikorps especially took part in significant fighting in the Baltics, Silesia, and Berlin during the Spartacist uprising and in the Ruhr during the 1920 uprising there. The paramilitary groups as a whole contributed significantly to the remilitarization of Germany between the wars.
The Citizens' Defense groups were disbanded in 1920 and the Freikorps in 1921 because the government came to see them as threats and because of pressure from the Allies, who feared that the paramilitary groups were being used to circumvent the 100,000 man limit on the German Army imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. The paramilitary groups connected with political parties or movements lasted throughout the life of the Weimar Republic and in the case of the Nazi Party's Sturmabteilung (SA), beyond its end.
In the aftermath of World War I and during the German revolution of 1918–1919, Freikorps units consisting largely of World War I veterans were raised as paramilitary militias. They were armed with the rifles they had returned with from the front; infantry and cavalry units also had machine guns and mortars. While exact numbers are difficult to determine, it is estimated that some 500,000 men were formal Freikorps members with another 1.5 million participating informally.
In the early days of the German revolution, the Council of the People's Deputies, the revolutionary government led by Friedrich Ebert of the Social Democratic Party, needed reliable troops in Berlin to protect its position. In consultation with the Army High Command (OHL), the Council reached an agreement to form the voluntary Freikorps units. Most of their members were anti-communist monarchists who saw no clear future in the revolutionary Germany that they had returned home to. They did not fight in support of the revolutionary government or the Weimar Republic after it was formed, but against its enemies from the political left, who they saw as Germany's enemies.
Freikorps units suppressed the Marxist Spartacist uprising and were responsible for the extrajudicial executions of revolutionary communist leaders Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg on 15 January 1919. The Freikorps also fought in the Baltic against Soviet Russia and were instrumental in putting down the Munich Soviet Republic, the Ruhr uprising and the Third Silesian uprising. The Kapp Putsch of March 1920, a failed attempt to overthrow the government of the Weimar Republic, drew its military support from the Freikorps, in particular the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt. It was after the failure of the Kapp Putsch, and under Allied pressure to keep both Germany's official and unofficial military forces at the 100,000 man limit, that the Freikorps were officially disbanded in the spring of 1920. Some Freikorps members were then accepted into the Reichswehr, Germany's official army, but more joined the Nazi Stormtroopers (SA), illegal far right formations such as the Organisation Consul, or groups such as the Stahlhelm that were associated with political parties.
For a list of major Freikorps units during the Weimar era, see Freikorps groups and divisions.
The Citizens' Defense paramilitary groups were voluntary, honorary associations based on part-time membership that performed self-protection tasks in local areas. They emerged in 1918 after the end of the First World War to ensure the maintenance of public order in cooperation with state authorities. After the Spartacist uprising in Berlin in January 1919, the Reichswehr Ministry instructed all general commands on 22 March 1919 to develop local militia groups into centrally controlled citizens' defense groups at the state level according to a uniform model. The newly created units were then to be directly subordinate to the Reichswehr leadership. In an emergency the citizens' defense forces were to serve as an army reserve.
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