German Revolution Knowledge Flashcards
What happened in April 1917?
The breakdown of Burgfrieden
- the burgfreiden was declared in 1914 after many Germans rallied due to being overwhelmed by the war
- due to Germany’s many failures during the war, Germany prolonged the fight and were fighting on two fronts, which caused disarray within Germany as they weren’t prepared to fight on two separate fronts (this caused a shortage in food production as well as vital raw materials).
- by 1917, the burgfreiden was breaking down, as the German people became divided over the war and the way Germany was fighting in the war
What happened in late october 1918?
Kiel and Wilhelmshaven mutiny
- in late October 1918, soldiers at Kiel and Wilhelmshaven started to refuse to obey an order which was to sail out and salvage any German honour in a final honour.
- the fleet which set out was stopped by putting out fires which helped the ships move, as well as raising the red flag and taking over Kiel.
What happened on the 9th November 1918?
Scheidemann’s proclamation
- to gain advantage over the radicals, Scheidemann a known SPD (social democrats) leader, declared a republic to cheering crowd in Berlin.
- this helped the party gain recognition and support
What happened on the 9th November 1918?
Liebknechts’ proclamation
Liebknecht, who was a leader of the communist Spartacist movement, declared a soviet republic to a similar crowd in Berlin
What happened on the 9th November 1918?
Abdication of the Kaiser
- when it became clear that Germany wasn’t going to win the war in October 1918, morale dropped and Germans started to blame the Kaiser for its failure
- this led to many mutinies in Germany and would continue until the Kaiser abdicated
- many political groups threatened to remove their support for the coatlition if the Kaiser didn’t abdicate which he eventually did on the 9th November 1918
What happened on the 10th November 1918?
Ebert-Groener Pact
- they agreed to a secret deal which provided the new government with support from the army in exchange for maintaining existing officers’ authority when the new government was taken into action
- however, neither member of the pact was completely happy with their deal as Ebert believed that his actions would see accused of selling out his ideals if the deal was made quite public and Groener would not have supported some of the changes that were introduced but still supported the new government as he believed that this would stop communism
What happened in November 1918?
Power was handed over to a new civilian government
- a new government was created to help maintain order and organise elections within Germany for a constituent assembly which would help create a democratic constitution
- Ebert seeked the help of the traditional elite and offered them a place of power within the government
What happened from the 5th to the 9th January 1919?
Spartacist Revolt
- on the 7th January 1919, a general strike was called where over 500,000 Germans took part including members of the Spartacist League
- many of the leaders of this movement had also plotted to overthrow Ebert’s new government
- after Ebert called for the execution of the revolt leaders and the stopping of the revolt, over 100 protestors were found dead and the left-wing groups in Germany were left divided
What happened between January and February of 1919?
Bremen and Munich Soviet republics
- the workers and soldiers council in Bremen had grown large and powerful and was led by radicals (they were inspired by the Spartacist Revolt) and created the Bremen Soviet Republic on the 10th January 1919
- the leaders of the republic followed its proclamation by seizing bank accounts of those in the SPD as well as arming civilian workers and going on a general strike
Events that took place during the revolution
(revolution from above)
- the Kaiser was forced to abdicate
- a group took power on behalf of the people
- power still lay in the hands of a few people, not the majority of people
- there was widespread violence and disruption to everyday life
- power was shared more equally than before
- the old system of governance was replaced with a different system
- politicians that were in charge/power before gained more power
- the new regime kept the army on its side so they supported each other
Key events of the German revolution
(revolution from above)
- in November 1918, Ludendorff persuaded the Kaiser to abdicate and to hand over power to a new civilian government. Ludendorff hoped that this would make the Allies more sympathetic in peace negotiations and that this action would absolve the army of any blame for losing the war
- on the 7th November 1918, Friedrich Ebert and General Groener secretly made a deal. This deal ensured that the army would lend it support to the new civilian government, and in return the new civilian government would maintain the army’s current command structure
- in November 1918, SPD deputy Gustav Noske arrived at Kiel and was welcomed entusiastically, but he had orders from the new government and the SPD leadership to bring the uprising under control. He had himself elected chairsman of the soldiers council and reinstated peace and order
- the Kaiser handed power over to a civilian government supported by the Reichstag and led by Max von Baden from the 3rd October 1918. Von Baden passed the ‘October Reforms’ which gave workers better rights in Germany
Spartacist Revolt
(revolution from below)
Who were the leaders?
Spartacist league, who were extreme socialists from the USPD (independent berlin-based socialist party). Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebknecht, were the leaders of the Spartacist group. Ebert calls in the Friekorps and not the army as he feels he cannot trust the army to not join the revolution after the many different mutinies that have taken place by the navy.
Spartacist Revolt
(revolution from below)
Where did the revolt take place?
The revolution took place in Berlin, where the Spartacists took over key government buildings like telegraph offices.
Spartacist Revolt
(revolution from below)
When did the revolt take place?
The revolution started on the 4th January to the 13th January 1919.
- A general strike occurred on the 6th January in Berlin
Spartacist Revolt
(revolution from below)
Why did the Spartacist see this as a good time to throw a revolution?
The chief of police in Berlin, Emil Eichhorn, was fired which gave them reason to get young workers to help with the revolution as they liked the chief of police and were angered when he was fired, which caused them to go on strike. There was lots of political confusion especially due to the failures during the war which caused the public to start to turn against the Kaiser and the leadership in Germany which the spartacists took advantage of.
