During the Allied occupation of the Rhineland, separatist movements developed with the aim of creating an independent Rhineland state. Rhenish separatism formed after the November Revolution of 1918 as an anti-socialist and anti-Prussian movement. The centers of separatist activity were Aachen, Cologne, Trier and Wiesbaden.

On June 1, 1919, Hans Adam Dorten proclaimed the Rhenish Republic in Wiesbaden. After just a week or so, the putschists had to withdraw from Wiesbaden as they no longer had the backing of the French and the putsch was not supported by either the city administration or the citizens.

With the Ruhr crisis in 1923, the "United Rhenish Movement" under the leadership of Dorten and Josef Friedrich Matthes gained new significance. In mid-October, the green-white-red flag was hoisted in the separatist centers and the Republic of the Rhineland was proclaimed. French occupying troops and paramilitary Rhineland protection troops supported the putschists, and a government cabinet was formed with Matthes as Prime Minister. That same year, France was forced to end its support, mainly at the insistence of the British. Matthes resigned from office on November 27. Dorten, who had already established a government for the southern Rhineland in Bad Ems a few days earlier, fled to France on December 31, 1923. The Rhineland movement disintegrated in the following months.