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Many historians have claimed that the Freikorps were the heralds of the Nazi party and that they inspired Hitler in his tactics and ideology. Historians have argued that Hitler somehow modeled his movement on the paramilitaries. The Nazis were influenced to a degree by the Freikorps and this is most evident in the Sturmabteilung (SA), the paramilitary wing of the Nazi party, popularly known as the Brown Shirts. The SA played a crucial role in the Nazi seizure of power and acted as Hitler’s private army<ref> Payne, Stanley G. The History of Fascism, 1914–1945 (Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin Press, 1995), p. 125</ref>. They intimidated those who challenged Hitler and fought violent street battles with Communists. The Freikorps are often regarded as the model for the SA. Many members of the Freikorps after the collapse of the Kapp Putsch in 1920 gravitated towards the Nazis. These included Ernst Rohm who was instrumental in the founding of the SA. He was not alone and among the other former Freikorps members who became leading Nazis were Himmler and the future Commandant of Auschwitz Hoss<ref>Payne, p. 134</ref>. The disbandment of the Freikorps helped to swell the ranks of the Nazi movement in the early years. In many ways the paramilitaries were unlike the Nazis, they were not overtly racist or antisemitic<ref> Payne, p. 127</ref>. Furthermore, Hitler was suspicious of the paramilitaries especially after they failed to join him in his Beer Hall Putsch in 1923. He believed that they were too conservative and too close to the old elite, whom he did not trust. On balance, the Freikorps did influence the Nazis, but this should not be overstated, something which too many historians have done, in the past.

The Freikorps were a paramilitary force that was born out of the defeat of the German army in WWI. These mainly ex-soldiers played a critical role in the early years of the Weimar Republic. The paramilitaries ideology was conservative and nationalistic. The weak Weimar Republic was faced with a series of Communist-inspired revolts and they had to rely on these paramilitaries. The Social Democrats were forced to rely on the paramilitaries, even though they hated the Weimar Republic to defeat its left-wing enemies. These ex-soldiers and extreme nationalists suppressed the Communist-inspired revolts and helped to save the young democracy. However, the unlikely defenders of the Weimar Republic became its greatest foe. They almost helped in the overthrow of the German Revolution in 1920. In the past, historians regarded the Freikorps as the decisive influence on the Nazis and their forerunners. The relationship between the paramilitaries and the Nazis was complex. Hitler was not influenced by the beliefs or the tactics of the paramilitaries. However, the former Freikorps helped to swell the ranks of the Nazis and inspired the development of the SA.

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