Walther von Lüttwitz
1849-1942
- German soldier, last rank: General of the Infantry
- Major figure of the Kapp Putsch of 1920
In 1859, Walther von Lüttwitz was born into an aristocratic family in Bodland, Silesia. He joined the military, reaching the rank of lieutenant general by the time World War I started. In March 1918, he served as the commanding general of the 3rd Army Corps during the German army’s Spring Offensive, which failed in the end. After the war, the Council of People’s Representatives appointed him commander of the troops in Berlin and vicinity in December 1918. In this function, he was in charge of maintaining order in the Reich’s capital and ending unrest. In January 1919, he headed the suppression of the Spartacist Uprising, during which Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were murdered. After the Treaty of Versailles took effect, he spoke out against the plans to disband the Freikorps and reduce the army to 100,000 men. The government rejected Lüttwitz’s requests and withdrew his authority as commander of the troops in Berlin. At that, he joined forces with Wolfgang Kapp and his fellow conspirators. Together, they attempted a putsch in March 1920, with Lüttwitz’s troops occupying Berlin and Kapp becoming the new chancellor. The attempt failed after just a few days and Lüttwitz flew to Hungary. In 1924, he returned to Germany, having been granted amnesty.