The struggle for power Flashcards
Introduction - struggle for power (not a question)
Following the abdication of the kaiser, a struggle for power ensured, in which difficult political groups vied for control to shape the future political, economic and social structure of Germany
What did Friedrich Ebert (SPD) want to do next ?
- Ebert did not believe in violent revolution
- Ebert wanted to build a democratic, parliamentary system of government
- Ebert’s first priority was to organise elections for a CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLEY which would draw up a new constitution
What is a constituent assembly and what is a constituency
Constituent Assembly - body for drafting a constitution
Constitution-
set of rules that decides how a country will be governed
What was going on in the cities of Germany - in particular Berlin ?
- In Berlin and other major cities, there was ongoing disorder
- unemployed ex-soldiers and discontented workers became embroiled in demonstrations, strikes and violent clashes with the police and the army
What did the workers and soldiers councils demand ?
- First of all the the workers’ and soldiers’ councils regarded themselves as rival sources of power
- demanded radical and immediate change including the CONFISCATION OF LAND FROM THE ARISTOCRACY
- demanded the NATIONALISM OF IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES
(government seizing control ) - Demanded DEMOCRATIC CONTROL OVER THE ARMY, CIVIL SERVICE ( who provided a service for the government) and the JUDICAL SYSTEM
Which political groups supported the demands of the workers’ and soldiers’ councils ?
Left wing political groups such as the USPD
(independent social democratic party)
and the SPARTACISTS (communists) support the demands of the soldiers’ and workers’ councils
Who was the new leader of the German army and what did he believe in all this ?
General Groener - valued order and discipline and was determined to defeat any attempt at a communist revolution
What did General Groener agree to and who with ?
General Groener agreed to a pact with Ebert
When was the Ebert-Groener pact ?
Ebert Groener pact : 10th November 1918
Brief facts of the Ebert-Groener pact ?
Groener (head of army) agreed a pact with Ebert to support the government (remember Ebert is the chancellor) as long as Ebert promised to resist radical change to the army
How and when did the army intervene to stop revolts and demonstrations ?
- DECEMBER 1918 the army intervened to stop a Spartacist (communist) demonstration in Berlin
- army also crushed a Sailors’ anti-government revolt.
When was the Spartacist uprising ? give further context
January 1919
Spartacists attempted an armed uprising against the government in Berlin
- Led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxembourg the insurgents occupied public buildings and newspaper offices
Did the 1919 Spartacist uprising go well ?
- the rising was defeated by the army and the Freikorps (paramilitary made up of former soldiers) in brutal street fighting
- Both Liebknecht and Luxembourg were killed after being captured
What happened after the defeat of the spartacists ?
- the defeat paved the way for elections to the constituent assembly later in January.
-The constituent assembly chose Ebert as president of the new German Republic - Coalition government was formed by SPD, Centre and the German democratic parties - the way was clear for the assembly to draw up a new constitution
