Hermann Ehrhardt
Encyclopedia
Hermann Ehrhardt was a German
Freikorps
commander during the period of turmoil in Weimar Republic
Germany
from 1918 to 1920, he commanded the famous II.Marine Brigade, better known as the Ehrhardt Brigade or Marinebrigade Ehrhardt
.
Born in Diersburg, now part of Hohberg
, Baden-Württemberg
, he later joined the German Imperial Navy and served as a Korvettenkapitän. A strong opponent of the Treaty of Versailles
, he developed strong monarchist views. During the period after the defeat of the German Empire
, Ehrhardt formed the II.Marine Brigade.
Holding the rank of Korvettenkapitän, his army equivalent rank was only that of a major, yet he still commanded a force of around 6,000 men. His force fought in north-west Germany, central Germany, Upper Silesia
, and Bavaria
and participated in the unsuccessful Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch of 1920, afterwards he fled Germany, but later returned. In Bavaria, which was ruled by Gustav von Kahr at that time, he formed the Organisation Consul
, , and later the Viking Bund, a secret military society.
During the Beer Hall Putsch
, Ehrhardt and his deputy commander Eberhard Kautter refused to have the league help Adolf Hitler
's Nazi Party. Ehrhardt would later unsuccessfully contest the leadership of the right wing factions with Hitler, but unlike their commander, most of Ehrhardt's men joined the Nazi Party.
Ehrhardt was one of those listed to die during the Night of the Long Knives
but he managed to escape to Austria
. He was later invited back to Nazi Germany. He died in 1971 in Krems an der Donau.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Freikorps
Freikorps
Freikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...
commander during the period of turmoil in Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
from 1918 to 1920, he commanded the famous II.Marine Brigade, better known as the Ehrhardt Brigade or Marinebrigade Ehrhardt
Marinebrigade Ehrhardt
The Marinebrigade Ehrhardt was a Free Corps group of around 6,000 men formed by Captain Hermann Ehrhardt in the aftermath of World War I, also known as II Marine Brigade or the Ehrhardt Brigade...
.
Born in Diersburg, now part of Hohberg
Hohberg
Hohberg is a town in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
, Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, he later joined the German Imperial Navy and served as a Korvettenkapitän. A strong opponent of the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
, he developed strong monarchist views. During the period after the defeat of the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, Ehrhardt formed the II.Marine Brigade.
Holding the rank of Korvettenkapitän, his army equivalent rank was only that of a major, yet he still commanded a force of around 6,000 men. His force fought in north-west Germany, central Germany, Upper Silesia
Silesian Uprisings
The Silesian Uprisings were a series of three armed uprisings of the Poles and Polish Silesians of Upper Silesia, from 1919–1921, against German rule; the resistance hoped to break away from Germany in order to join the Second Polish Republic, which had been established in the wake of World War I...
, and Bavaria
Bavarian Soviet Republic
The Bavarian Soviet Republic, also known as the Munich Soviet Republic was, as part of the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the short-lived attempt to establish a socialist state in form of a council republic in the Free State of Bavaria. It sought independence from the also recently proclaimed...
and participated in the unsuccessful Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch of 1920, afterwards he fled Germany, but later returned. In Bavaria, which was ruled by Gustav von Kahr at that time, he formed the Organisation Consul
Organisation Consul
Organisation Consul was an ultra-nationalist force operating in Germany in 1921 and 1922. It was formed by members of the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt, a Freikorps unit which disbanded after the Kapp Putsch failed to overthrow the German Weimar Republic...
, , and later the Viking Bund, a secret military society.
During the Beer Hall Putsch
Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed attempt at revolution that occurred between the evening of 8 November and the early afternoon of 9 November 1923, when Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, Generalquartiermeister Erich Ludendorff, and other heads of the Kampfbund unsuccessfully tried to seize power...
, Ehrhardt and his deputy commander Eberhard Kautter refused to have the league help Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's Nazi Party. Ehrhardt would later unsuccessfully contest the leadership of the right wing factions with Hitler, but unlike their commander, most of Ehrhardt's men joined the Nazi Party.
Ehrhardt was one of those listed to die during the Night of the Long Knives
Night of the Long Knives
The Night of the Long Knives , sometimes called "Operation Hummingbird " or in Germany the "Röhm-Putsch," was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany between June 30 and July 2, 1934, when the Nazi regime carried out a series of political murders...
but he managed to escape to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. He was later invited back to Nazi Germany. He died in 1971 in Krems an der Donau.