1.1 The abdication of the Kaiser and the German Revolution of 1918-19. Flashcards
Why had WWI caused terrible suffering amongst the Germans?
In the winter of 1918, a killer strain of the flu virus was sweeping Europe. In Germany, thousands of people were dying every week.
Tuberculosis claimed many civilian lives during the last year of the war. Those in an already weakened state were most at risk of dying from the disease
By the second half of 1918, food supplies were running so low that most adults were living on less than a 1000 calories a day – starvation level.
By 1918, Germany had lost 1.7 million men in the fighting. A further 4.3 million had been wounded.
The British fleet had been blockading German seaports since 1914. This led to the rationing of food and materials. The blockade had huge negative effect on German supplies as the war went on.
As living conditions grew worse, more and more German workers protested by going on strike. They demanded peace, more food, and some for the Kaiser to give up power.
In October 1918, there was a mutiny of German sailors at Kiel. They refused to attack the British blockade. They thought it would be suicide. The mutiny spread with more sailors, soldiers and workers taking control of the towns they lived in. There was talk of revolution.
What does revolution from above mean?
Revolution sparked by those in charge
What did army generals do in the German Revolution?
In September 1918 when Germany faced the threat of invasion, General Ludendorff persuaded the Kaiser to transform the Second Reich into a virtual parliamentary democracy by handing over power to a civilian government that had the support of the Reichstag. He also urged an immediate armistice.
Ludendorff had 2 motives:
- He hoped a civilian government would get better peace terms from the Allies.
- He also hoped this new civilian government would be blamed for Germany’s defeat because it would have to end the war. This would also mask the responsibility of the generals for Germany’s defeat, preserve their reputations and help them to maintain their power in the post-war world.
Ludendorff’s manoeuvre – the development of the ‘stab in the back’ and the shock of the defeat created the background to the birth of democracy in Germany.
What does revolution from below mean?
Revolution sparked by the ordinary citizens of a country
What did ordinary citizens do during the German Revolution
In late October there were mutinies at the naval bases of Kiel and Wilhelmshaven. They stopped the fleet sailing out by putting out the fires in the sips’ boilers, raised the red flag and took over Kiel.
News of the mutiny encouraged the creation of a series of sailors’, soldiers’ and workers’ councils throughout Germany.
They challenged the state governments.
What did Prince Max of Baden do in response to the revolution from below
Prince Max of Baden announced the abdication of the Kaiser.
What does abdication mean?
Giving up the throne
What is the date of Kaiser Wilhelm II’s abdication?
9th November, 1918. He fled to Holland and lived there in exile
What date was the new civilian government formed?
10th November, 1918
Who was the first president of the new German Republic?
Friedrich Ebert
What does armistice mean?
A formal agreement to stop fighting
What date was the armistice signed?
11th November, 1918
Detail the events of the Republic being declared
Moderate and radical Socialists were competing for the leadership of the revolution.
To outmanoeuvre the radicals, Philipp Scheidemann, a moderate SDP leader, declared to cheering crowds in Berlin.
Karl Liebknecht, the leader of the communist Spartacist movement, declared a soviet republic from another balcony.
Ebert was furious that a republic had been declared illegally but had to accept that the monarchy had collapsed.
What is the Stab in the Back myth?
In the aftermath of the defeat, the idea that the German army had been stabbed in the back by weak and unpatriotic politicians soon spread.
According to this view, the German army had been a formidable fighting force until the end of the war and could have won. Germany had not been defeated on the battlefield but by pacifists and Socialists who had undermined the war effort.
The rumour spread that anti-war agitators had fomented unrest among civilians and weakened the morale of the troops. Then the new civilian government from October 1918 failed to support the military. Unrest had then spread throughout Germany and this culminated in the revolution of November 1918 when these same unpatriotic elements – the November Criminals – seized power and declared a republic. The new government then arranged an unnecessary armistice and then accepted the humiliating Versailles peace terms.
Why is the Stab in the Back myth a myth?
The evidence suggests that the idea of a ‘stab in the back’ was a much distorted view of the reasons for Germany’s defeat.
However, it was widely believed and reinforced the hostility many Germans felt towards the new Weimar Republic.
