From Republics to Reichs: The Origins of Nazi Paramilitarism in Interwar Germany

The Weimar Republic, through its victories against the early insurrections aimed at taking down the imposed republican state, showed that the Republic was able to survive on its own. However, opposition to republicanism remained very much alive underground, through certain radical political parties and paramilitary organizations. This paper will analyze both left and right wing opposition to the Republic, which were both not strong enough to overthrow it, but did force its supporters into underground paramilitary organizations that contributed to the Nazi takeover. First, this paper will show how the Kapp Putsch was a manifestation of monarchist discontent against the fledgling republic. Second, it will elaborate on socialist opposition against the Weimar government, as seen through the Bavarian Soviet Republic. Third, it will explain the phenomenon of paramilitarism as an outgrowth of anti-republicanism and cyclical brutalization. Finally, it will explain how the Nazis’ Sturmabteilung (SA) utilized paramilitary members from both the left and right-wings to fill its ranks and overthrow the Weimar Republic.