ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Kapp Putsch

Okay, so let's talk about a very important event that happened in history called the Kapp Putsch. It happened a long time ago, in Germany, back in 1920.

Now, at that time, Germany was a country that was still recovering from the effects of World War I. Many people were unhappy with the way their government was doing things, and some of them wanted to take matters into their own hands.

One of these people was a man named Wolfgang Kapp. He was angry at the government, and he wanted to overthrow it so that he could take control himself. Kapp convinced a lot of other people to join him, and together they formed a group called the Freikorps.

The Freikorps was made up of soldiers who had fought in World War I, and they were very powerful and well-armed. They believed that if they could just take over the government, they could make things better for Germany.

So, one day, Kapp and the Freikorps decided to launch a coup, which means that they tried to take over the government by force. They marched into the capital city of Berlin, and they took control of many important buildings.

At first, things looked like they were going well for Kapp and the Freikorps. They had a lot of support from people who were unhappy with the government, and it seemed like they might be successful in their coup.

But then, something unexpected happened. Many people in Germany didn't like what Kapp and the Freikorps were doing, and they didn't want to support them. Workers went on strike, which means they refused to work, and this hurt the economy. The government also refused to back down, and they fought back against the coup.

Eventually, Kapp and the Freikorps realized that they couldn't win. They gave up their coup, and they were arrested for their crimes.

So, that's what happened during the Kapp Putsch. It was a time when some people in Germany were unhappy with their government, and they tried to take matters into their own hands. Ultimately, their efforts failed, but it was an important moment in history that we can learn from.