Unissued arm shield of the Free Corps “Marinebrigade Ehrhardt”

The Marinebrigade Ehrhardt, also referred to as the Ehrhardt Brigade, was a Freikorps unit during the early years of the Weimar Republic. Established on February 17, 1919, initially as the Second Marine Brigade, it consisted of former Imperial German Navy personnel led by Hermann Ehrhardt. The brigade played a significant role in suppressing the Bavarian Soviet Republic and the First Silesian Uprising in the first half of 1919. In March 1920, facing imminent dissolution by the Berlin government, the Marine Brigade became a key participant in the Kapp Putsch, an attempted overthrow of the Weimar Republic. Following the failure of the putsch and its disbandment in May, many former members regrouped under Ehrhardt's leadership to form the clandestine Organisation Consul. This organization, active until its prohibition in 1922, carried out numerous assassinations and acts of violence in furtherance of anti-Republican objectives.