Political Disorder 1919-23: threats from the left and the right Flashcards
Where did the ideas of left and right wing originate?
- The idea of left and right sides in politics is though to have originated in the French revolution
What was the right wing?
- Those who were more sympathetic (conservatives, nationalists) to traditional or aristocratic government
Far right:facism
What was the left wing?
- Those who were more comitted to republicanism (no king or queen) - later we have socialism
Far left: communism
Was the Weimar government left or right?
Centre/slightly right
What were some threats from the left?
- Sparticist Uprising (1919)
- Spartcicts league = left
communists wanted a change in government run by councils of workers called soviets - inspired by the russian revolution in 1917
What were some other threats from the left?
- May 1919 - another communist uprising in Bavaria (600 communists killed)
- 1920 - More communist agitation in the Ruhr region. Police and Freikorps suppressed this, about 2000 casualties
- Gvt actions from the left - Elbert’s gvt got brutally suppressed - communist uprising due to fear of “the reds” - fear of following the path of Russia with its communist revolution
What were some threats from the right?
- Kapp Putsch (1920)
- Munich Putsch (1923)
- Kapp Putsch (=revolt) - right
wanted to go back to more traditional ways eg. kaiser
What were some right wing uprisings?
- Many right wing groups hated the new government for signing the ToV (June 1919)
- The Kapp Putsch in March 1920, a Freikorps brigade rebelled against the treaty, led by Dr Wolgang Kapp. It took over Berlin and tried to bring back the Kaiser. It ended when there was a general strike in Berlin
- 1919-23 - Nationalist terrorist groups murdered 356 politicians
- August 1921 - Matthais Erzberger, the man who signed the armistice (and therefore a ‘November Criminal’) was shot
- 1922 - They assassinated Walter Rathenau, the SPD foreign minister, because he made a treaty with Russia
What was The Kapp Putsch?
- In March 1920 a right wing group, led by Wolfgang Kapp rose in Berlin
- The group was made up of member of the Freikorps and many army officers
- Kapp was a right wing journalist. He and his supporters opposed the government for signing the ToV
- On 13th march, General Luttwitz led an uprising in Berlin. Army supporters took control of Berlin and a right wing government was proclaimed
- Ebert turned to ordinary people and successfully called for a General Strike
- Ebert was forced to leave Berlin and the government could not rely on the army or use the Freikorps
- On 17th March Kapp and Luttwitz fled Berlin, the strike having been successful in making the uprising unfeasable
When did the Sparticist Uprising start and end?
1st January 1919 and ended about 2 weeks later
What were the Spartacist aims?
They were communists, and they wanted Germany to be run by the working classes. They believed that power and wealth should be distributed equally among the German population. They wanted to replicate what happened in the Russian revolution by overthrowing the government, establishing soviets (workers’ and soldiers’ council) in place of the central government in German towns and cities.
How did they try to achieve them (methods)?
By using violent methods. 100,000 workers went on strike and demonstrated in the centre of Berlin. This demonstration was taken over by the Spartacist leadership. Newspaper and communication buildings were seized and the demonstrators armed themselves. However, many protesters returned home frustrated at the lack of planning by the Spartacists.
How did the government defeat them?
The government moved to Weimer so that they could avoid the violence and employed the Freikorps to put down the rising. More than 100 workers were killed, even those who had surrendered and it became known as the bloody week.
Who were the Freikorps?
Were ex-army soldiers who hated the communists
What were the consequences for the Spartacists?
The Friekorps brutally suspended the revolts and the Spartacist leaders (Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg) were arrested and then murdered in Berlin by the Friekorps.
What were the strengths of the government during the spartcist uprising?
- Willingness to Act Decisively
- Support of the Military and Freikorps
- Weimar government could present itself as a stabilising force and a protector of Germany from revolutionary chaos
What were the weaknesses of the government during the spartcist uprising?
- Reliance on Right-Wing
- The uprising revealed the Weimar government’s struggle to build a stable democratic foundation in the face of both left- and right-wing
- The Spartacist Uprising reflected widespread dissatisfaction with economic conditions
