Section 1.2 - The German Revolution 1918-1919 Flashcards
The “Revolution from above”
1st October 1918 - Achieved by Hindenburg and Ludendorff
Advised the Kaiser that the war was lost and a democratic government should be set up so Germany is treated more fairly
Government was set up with the Kaiser now only being the ceremonial head of state
Blame of failure could be shifted to new government instead of Kaiser and his Generals
The Popular revolution
4th - 8th November 1918
Peace talks with Allies began with the call for the Kaiser’s abdication - no one in Germany objected as they were now war weary and angry with the ruling classes
Admiral Scheer ordered a last suicide mission by the Kiel German Naval fleet that was responded to with mutiny and the creation of an elected Soviet
Socialist run Soviets took control of Germany’s major cities
The Kaiser and Prince Max stepped down from power to be replaced by Freidrich Ebert’s interim 6 man government of Socialists
Armistice day
11th November 1918
Spartacist revolution
6th - 11th of January 1919
- Organised demonstrations in Berlin, and encouraged by crowds they took control of government buildings
- Government deployed the Freikorps and both leaders were beaten to death while the revolution was crushed within a week
National Assembly elections
19th January 1919
May 1919
Bavarian Soviet republic overthrown by Freikorps
Killed over 600 people while many more were injured
Abdication of Kaiser
9th of November 1919
Prompted by the Popular revolution
Socialist Divisions
SPD was the largest socialist party but was deeply divided - Majority being moderates while a number were left wing marxists
In 1917 the anti war majority broke away and formed the independent Socialists
Headed by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxembourg, the Spartacist league broke away from the independent Socialists in Early 1919 and became the German Communist party (KPD)
A meeting in December 1918 was called to discuss the socialist future of Germany with the SPD winning heavily over the KPD
SPD VS KPD and the thinking behind the revolution
SPD wanted everyone to have a vote so the government was truly a fair democracy
KPD wanted only the working class to have a vote in fear of returning back to capitalistic/nationalistic/monarchistic ways
Reasons against revolution
- Unprepared and no plans
- KPD was made up of thinkers not doers
- Numerically weak
- Germany now eager to deal with and suppress Bolshevism
Reasons for revolution
- Backing from Lenin’s Russia
- support of all the marxists in factories in Germany
- Widespread hunger
- German army had disintegrated after the armistice
Freikorps (Free corps)
- Organised as a contingency plan by Gustav Noske in case the army were not available to suppress a rebellion
- Over 400,000 men in total, combined of army units and civilian volunteers, all driven by hatred and fear of rising Marxism. Many later became members of the Nazi party due to their right wing extremism and brutality
- Crushed the Spartacists then were let loose on other strongholds of socialism such as:
- Spring 1919 ports of Bremen and Hamburg, and a strike in the
Ruhr
- In late 1918 Bavaria had been proclaimed an independent
socialist republic, however their leader was assassinated by a
right wing extremist so communists had then taken control. In
May 1919 the Freikorps went in and killed over 600 people
while many more were injured - Upper classes hailed them as heroes as they protected their wealth
- Caused a divided between socialists as it had been a socialist government who had ordered this to happen, siding with the right wing nationalists to secure themselves as a country
Weimar constitution and the first Weimar government
- Elections held in January 1919
- Overwhelmingly moderate/socialist government as many believed the allies would not be as severe in the Versailles treaty
- Started work in February in Weimar due to Berlin’s extremist troubles
Elements of the Weimar constitution included:
- Ultra democratic, federal constitution to avoid centralisation of
power anywhere and prioritising the power of the people
- Run by a Reichstag, Reichstrat, President and chancellor
Weaknesses of the Weimar constitution
- Proportional representation led to many different weak and unstable coalitions, and also made it easy for extremist parties to get seats in the government - could also have led to disenfranchisement and resorting to extreme parties
- Article 48 enabled president to dissolve Reichstag and rule by decree in times of “emergency”
