Freikorps

Freikorps were irregular armed formations, mostly right-wing, that operated in Germany after World War I. They fought revolutionary movements and helped shape the violent politics of the Weimar Republic.

German Revolution of 1918–1919: The upheaval that ended the German Empire and established a republic amid competing socialist movements. The revolution created the unrest and authority vacuum in which Freikorps units were mobilized.
Armistice of 11 November 1918: The agreement that ended fighting between Germany and the Allies in World War I. The armistice began the military demobilization that left many armed men seeking a role.
Gustav Noske: A German Social Democratic politician who directed military action against revolutionary uprisings in 1919. As defense minister, Noske authorized the use of Freikorps against left-wing revolts.
Political violence in the Weimar Republic: The recurrent use of force and political assassination by rival groups in Germany between 1918 and 1933. Freikorps repression and later right-wing networks formed part of this broader cycle of violence.
Kapp Putsch: A failed 1920 coup in Germany, launched by right-wing nationalists and supported by some Freikorps units. Freikorps participation in the coup exposed their hostility to the republic they had helped defend.
Treaty of Versailles: The 1919 peace treaty that imposed territorial, military, and financial terms on Germany after World War I. Its restrictions and nationalist backlash helped sustain the political climate surrounding Freikorps.
Waldemar Pabst: A German officer who played a leading role in the suppression of the Spartacist uprising. Pabst directed the operation in which Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were murdered.
Dolchstoßlegende: The false claim that Germany’s army was betrayed by civilians and political opponents in 1918. Freikorps circles often embraced the myth’s nationalist and anti-republican interpretation of defeat.
Baltic Landeswehr: A German-led military formation that fought in the Baltic region during the wars following World War I. It shows how Freikorps volunteers were deployed beyond Germany’s borders against Bolshevik forces.
German Army (Reichswehr): Germany’s postwar army, limited in size and governed by the Treaty of Versailles. Army leaders relied on Freikorps formations while the regular military was constrained and reorganized.

Linked from 10 pages