THE POSSIBILITY

1919-33 WEIMAR CULTURE

Following World War I and the formation of the Weimar Republic, Germany experienced new artistic, cultural and social freedoms. Film became an important part of 1920s Germany, in particular works such as The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920) and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927) – perfect representatives of the Expressionist movement. There was also the Bauhaus, closely linked and creating a new modernist approach to art. Meanwhile in the capital Berlin, new sexual freedoms could be experienced in its numerous gay bars, and all women over the age of 20 were given the right to vote. Had the putsch succeeded, all this would have been lost.

1920-23 ECONOMIC CRISIS

The years 1920-23 proved to be particularly harsh for the German people as the country was hit by hyperinflation. A successful putsch would likely have made the economic situation even worse.

1933 THE RISE OF HITLER

On 30 January 1933 Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany. Following President Hindenburg’s death he would become supreme ruler of the country, establishing a totalitarian dictatorship that would be responsible for World War II and millions of deaths. Had the Kapp Putsch succeeded it’s unlikely Hitler would have risen to power, altering the course of world history.