Chapter 1 Flashcards
When was the Kaiser informed of his abdication?
At 1:30pm on 9 November 1918, in a house adjacent to the German army headquarters in Spa, Belgium, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany was brought the news that his abdication had been announced in Berlin.
Military situation Sep 1918
By the end of September 1918 it had been clear to General Ludendorff and the German High Command that Germany was on the brink of defeat.
Although the Allied armies had not yet entered German territory, German forces were in retreat along the Western Front. Elsewhere in Europe, Germany’s Allies were trying to negotiate peace terms.
Ludendorff plan for armistice
Ludendorff concluded that Germany’s only hope of avoiding a humiliating surrender was to ask the Allies for an armistice. US President Wilson’s Fourteen Points offered a possible basis for a negotiated peace settlement but Ludendorff understood that Germany’s autocratic political system was an obstacle to this. He, therefore, advocated a partial democratisation of the political system in Germany as a way of getting better peace terms from the Allies.
President Wilson’s Fourteen Points
Woodrow Wilson was an idealist and his Fourteen Points were devised as a means of dealing fairly with the aftermath of war. Some points, such as the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France, were quite specific and punitive towards Germany. However, there were also some general principles, such as the establishment of a League of Nations to monitor future disputes and self-determination, whereby different nations should rule themselves, together with general disarmament and Wilson’s determination to create a peace that would last and prevent another war.
What were the October Reforms?
In October, following the recommendations of Ludendorf, the Kaiser begana
series of reforms that effectively ended his autocratic rule:
•He appointed Prince Max of Baden as his new Chancellor
•The Chancellor was to be responsible to the Reichstag and he established new government based on the majority parties in the Reichstag, including the German Social Democratic Party (SPD)
•The armed forces were put under the control of the civil government.
These reforms were a major constitutional transformation in Germany but they did not come about as a result of popular pressure, nor because of pressure from the main democratic parties in the Reichstag. They amounted to a revolution from above which was not only designed to save Germany from humiliation, but also to save the Kaiser’s rule.
What was the peace note asking for?
On 3 October, Prince Max wrote to President Wilson asking for an armistice. It took nearly three weeks for Wilson to reply, largely because he was suspicious that the German High Command was using the request for an armistice as a means of buying time to regroup and prepare for a new offensive.
How did Wilson reply to the peace note? Ludendorff’s reaction?
When Wilson replied, he demanded that Germany must evacuate all occupied territory, call an end to submarine warfare and fully democratise its political system. These terms, which effectively demanded a German surrender and the Kaiser’s abdication, were too much for Ludendorff to accept. He tried but failed to gather support for a last ditch military effort to resist, whereupon he resigned and fled to Sweden. The reforms had failed to achieve his objectives.
German reaction to Armistice
The news that Prince Max’s government was asking for an armistice was a shattering blow to the morale of the German people and to their armed forces. The Peace Note was an admission that Germany had lost the war. This was the first occasion on which the German people had learned the truth about their countrys hopeless military situation. It undermined their respect for the Kaiser and his military and political leaders. Civilians who had borne the hardships of food shortages with fortitude were no longer prepared to show restraint. Many soldiers and sailors lost respect for their officers. The Kaiser was increasingly seen as an obstacle to peace but he resolutely refused to abdicate. During a strike in Friedrichshafen on 22 October, workers shouted
“The Kaiser is a scoundrel and ‘Up with the German Republic’.
What happened with the sailors’ mutiny?
On 28 October when the German navy’s high command, in one last futile act of resistance to a humiliating peace, ordered ships from Wilhelmshaven to attack British ships in the English Channel, the crews of two cruisers refused to obey orders. This naval mutiny was the beginning of a much broader revolutionary movement.
How did the unrest spread from the initial mutiny?
Unrest in the navy spread to the main German naval base at Kiel. On 3
November 1918, sailors there mutinied against their officers and took control of the base. On the following day the revolt spread to the city, and workers’ and soldiers’ councils were established, similar to the Soviets in Russia during the Revolution of 1917. Despite attempts by the government to meet the mutineers’ demands, the revolt spread to many other German ports and cities. By 6 November there were workers and soldiers councils springing up spontaneously all over Germany. Radical socialists did not lead these revolts, although it might seem to outsiders as though Germany was on the verge of a communist revolution like Russia’s. In fact, most members of the councils were patriotic Germans who wanted the Kaiser to abdicate and a democratic republic to be established.
Uprising in Bavaria
Once the authority of military officers, government officials and police had been successfully challenged, the collapse of the regime happened with extraordinary speed. On 8 November a republic was proclaimed in Bavaria and the Bavarian monarchy was deposed. This, according to the historian William Carr, was the ‘decisive moment in the German Revolution’ It was certainly a key stage in the establishment of an all-German republic, as it brought home to Prince Max that he had lost control of the situation, but the most important developments were happening in Berlin.
Strike in Berlin and abdication of the Kaiser
On 9 November 1918, the SPD called on workers in Berlin to join a general strike to force the Kaiser to abdicate. They also threatened to withdraw support from Prince Max’s government unless the Kaiser abdicated within 24 hours. Max knew he could not continue to govern without the SPD, so when the Kaiser still refused, Max took matters into his own hands and, on 9 November, he released a press statement claiming the Emperor had abdicated! This was a desperate move by Prince Max to keep some control over the situation, even though he had no constitutional authority to act in this way. On the same day, Prince Max resigned as Chancellor and handed the position to Friedrich Ebert, the leader of the SPD. At about the same time, Phillip Scheidemann, another leading figure in the SPD, stood on the Reichstag balcony and declared that the German Republic was now in in existence.
All of these events happened before the Kaiser had, in fact, abdicated. Later in the day,
General Groener told the Kaiser that the army would no longer fight for him. At this point the Kaiser had lost control of the situation and had no choice but to abdicate, although he did not actually sign his abdication until after it had been announced.
Key chronology
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Outlook of Ebert and objectives
Ebert was not a revolutionary. He believed in evolutionary change through winning a majority in parliamentary elections and then introducing reforms.
But, even though he had been chosen by Prince Max as the new Chancellor because he was the leader of the majority party in the Reichstag, he had come to power through a revolutionary act. He was conscious of the fact that his government lacked legitimacy. He was, therefore, determined to establish a new constitution as quickly as possible. His priority, after agreeing the armistice with the Allies on 11 November, was to organise elections for a Constituent Assembly.
How did Ebert lack authority?
Prior to the creation of a new constitution, Ebert urged Germans to keep essential services running, to avoid street demonstrations and to maintain law and order. His problem was that his authority did not extend much beyond Berlin where disorder and violence were becoming the norm.
After the armistice and the demobilisation of much of the army, bands of angry, disillusioned and workless ex-soldiers roamed the streets. Street demonstrations, strikes and armed clashes became regular occurrences.
Spartacist League (later KPD) key info
Founded: 1916, by a more revolutionary minority group from the SPD. The name was changed to German Communist Party (KPD] in January 1919.
Leaders: Karl Liebknecht and Rosa
Luxemburg.
Aims: Wanted republican government controlled by workers’ and soldiers’ councils, welfare benefits, nationalisation, workers’ control of major industries, disbanding of the army and creation of local workers’ militias.
Opposed to First World War.
Support: a throng of workers would often join ther on their rallies and demonstrations in the streets.
Membership: c 5,000
USPD key info
Founded: 1917, by a breakaway minority group from the left of the SPD
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Leaders: Hugo Hasse.
Aims: Wanted a republic with national
Reichstag working with workers’ and soldiers’ councils, welfare improvements, nationalisation of industry, breaking up of large estates, reform of the army and creation of a national militia. Opposed to First World War.
Support: grew in strength during 1918 as war-weariness grew,
Membership: c. 300.000
The Social Democratic Party [SPD] key info
Founded: 1875, as a Marxist socialist party committed to revolution.
Leaders: Friedrich Ebert and Philipp Scheidemann.
Aims: Wanted moderate socialist republic with democratic elections and basic personal freedoms, welfare improvements and gradual nationalisation of industry. Wanted continuity and order. Supported Germany’s entry into
First World War.
Support: Appealed largely to working-class voters and, in 1912, became the largest party in the Reichstag.
Membership: c. 1 million
Constituent assembly meaning
an elected body with the specific task of drawing up a new constitution, usually in the aftermath of a revolution
Pressure from the Left on Ebert
Ebert’s efforts to contain the revolution were further threatened by pressure for more radical change from the left. He could not ignore the fact that the workers’ and soldiers’ councils, in which the USPD and the Spartacists had established a foothold, had made the running in the early stages of the revolution. They were not about to allow Ebert’s government to take the key decisions without any reference to them.
How did Ebert deal with pressure from the left?
On 22 November an agreement was reached between the new government and the Berlin workers’ and soldiers’ councils whereby the government accepted that it only exercised power in the name of these councils. This was merely a temporary compromise. Many in the USPD, whose leaders were part of Ebert’s government, saw the councils as the true expression of the revolutionary will of the people and the means by which the revolution could be extended. They believed that the autocratic system of government would not finally be abolished unless the aristocratic estates were broken up, the army, civil service and judiciary were democratised, and the key industries were nationalised under workers’ control.
Pressure from the army and Ebert-Groener Pact
In this situation, the survival of Ebert’s government depended on the support of the army. Most army officers came from aristocratic backgrounds, had been loyal to the Kaiser and were vigorously opposed to democracy. They had no wish to see Germany become a republic. In late 1918, however, the political situation in Germany was highly unstable and many officers believed that Germany faced the danger of a Bolshevik revolution (like Russia’s in October
1917), which would lead to civil war and possible occupation by Allied forces.
Their first concern, therefore, was to prevent the revolution going any further.
On 10 November, General Groener telephoned Ebert to assure him that the army leadership would support the government. In return, Groener demanded that Ebert should resist the demands of the soldiers’ councils to democratise the army and defend Germany against communist revolution. Ebert assured Groener that the government was determined to resist further revolution and to uphold the existing command structure in the army. This agreement became known as the Ebert-Groener Pact.
Left reaction to EG Pact and further unrest
For Ebert the Pact was a necessary and unavoidable device to ensure an orderly transition to the New Republic. For his critics on the left, however, it was an abject betrayal of the revolution. Whilst Ebert and his cabinet made preparations for elections to a Constituent Assembly, to be held in January 1919, the struggle for power continued:
• On 6 December a Spartacist demonstration in Berlin was fired on by soldiers, killing sixteen
. On 23-24 December, a sailors’ revolt against the government in Berlin was put down by the army. In protest, the three USPD ministers in the government resigned
. On 6 January, the Spartacists launched an armed revolt against the government in what became known as the January Revolution, or the Spartacist Uprising. After a week of heavy fighting in Berlin, the revolt was crushed.
Result of elections to constituent assembly
Amidst the political and social tensions, the elections for the Constituent Assembly were held on 19 January 1919. Women were allowed to vote for the first time. The SPD secured the largest share of the vote and the largest number of seats in the Assembly but they did not have an overall majority and would, therefore, have to compromise with other parties in order to establish a new constitution and govern the country. The Assembly met in the small town of Weimar rather than Berlin, as the political situation in the capital was still unstable in the aftermath of the January Revolution. This was how the new political order came to receive its name - the Weimar Republic. Ebert was elected by the Assembly as the first President of the Republic and a new government, led by Philipp Scheidemann, was formed by the SPD in coalition with the Centre and German Democratic parties. The workers’ and soldiers’ councils handed over their powers to the Constituent Assembly, which could then concentrate on the business of drawing up a new constitution.
