The Reichswehr recaptures the Ruhr

The Ruhr uprising and the Ruhr Red Army

Workers in the Ruhr joined a national strike that started across Germany in mid-March 1920 to oppose the Kapp Putsch unfolding in Berlin soon radicalized. Calling on the wider populace to establish a dictatorship of the proletariat, they organized “enforcement councils”, which seized power in a number of cities. A “Ruhr Red Army” of some 50,000 men – many with military experience from the First World War – was hastily mustered to defend the uprising. Despite this level of organization, the movement lacked a unified leadership and its demands were often moderate.

Regardless of the relatively tame nature of the uprising, many in Germany believed that a highly disciplined cadre of Bolsheviks had seized power in the Ruhr. This explains why the Prussian state and German central governments were quick to send in troops once initial talks with the strike leaders had broken down. The results were bloody. The troops dispatched on 2 April 1920 met with little resistance, as the Ruhr Red Army had already begun disbanding. Nevertheless, the Reichswehr killed over 1,000 workers, the majority after they had surrendered. In contrast, there were 250 deaths amongst the police and army.