Noske, Gustav [key], 1868–1946, German politician, a Social Democrat. A former member of the Reichstag, he was in charge of the armed forces after the republican revolution of Nov., 1918, and was minister of defense in 1919–20. In these capacities he ruthlessly suppressed radical uprisings throughout Germany, notably the insurrection of the Communist Spartacus party. He was forced to resign after the abortive monarchist Kapp Putsch (1920), because many Social Democrats felt that he had encouraged counterrevolutionary activity through his alliance with the army against radicals. Noske became governor of Hanover in 1920 but was dismissed (1933) by the National Socialists, who otherwise left him unmolested until 1944, when he was arrested on suspicion of having shared in the attempt on Hitler's life. He was released in 1945 by Soviet troops.
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