History glossary
Freikorps
right-wing paramilitary units in postwar Germany, often made up of former soldiers.
- Category
- Paramilitary organisation
- Region
- Germany
- Date range
- 1918-1920s
What it means
The Freikorps were armed paramilitary units in Germany after the First World War. Many were made up of demobilised soldiers and officers, and Weimar governments used them to suppress left-wing uprisings even though many members were hostile to the republic itself.
