The revolution that occurred in Germany in 1918-1919 was not really a revolution-at
least not in the traditional sense of the French Revolution of 1789 and
the Russian Revolution of 1917, or even the German Revolution of 1848. Perhaps,
by calling it the "German Revolution," we imply that things are
conceived and done differently in Germany. Perhaps, that is true. Her political
traditions were somewhat different from those of France and Russia.
The conditions which gave birth to revolution in November 1918 were unlike
those of 1789 in France, and although somewhat similar to those in Russia
in 1917, they were still not quite the same. Neither in France nor Russia
did revolution come as a complete surprise even to purported revolutionaries.
But it did in Germany. There was no sustained revolutionary agitation and
strategy preceding it and when it came even the Social Democrats were completely
overwhelmed by events.
The war was lost, the emperor fled: a war-weary and hungry country became
rebellious. So, the government turned to the Social Democrats in desperation.
They were asked, nat to make a revolution-they were reformist by nature
anyway-but to liquidate the crumbling edifice of the empire. The Socialists
wound up doing things they did nat really want to do-they crushed their
Spartacist cousins by force, preserved bourgeois society and re-created
the army in the process. There were no stirring revolutionary manifestoes,
no radical breaks in policy, no marching songs like the "Marseillaise"
or the "Internationale."
It was the first songless revolution in history. Very few socialists, except
the leftwing Independents like Emil Barth, Richard Müller and Georg
Ledebour, claimed credit for making the revolution. The Majority Socialists
had always believed that revolutions were not made in any case, but just
happened in the course of socio-economic evolution.
The German Revolution certainly did not follow the pattern of the Leninist
revolution just a year before. In fact, it could more meaningfully be compared
to the French situation in 1871. In both instances there was a military
defeat, complete political and moral bankruptcy of the dynasty, absence
of any popular enthusiasm for the republic, a conservative majority confronting
a radical minority and, finally, the emergence of republican institutions
by default. In both cases middle-class leaders and Socialists agreed on
the republic as the only road to survival for both of them. But the Third
Republic in France lasted much longer because there was a long revolutionary
tradition in France, but none at all in Germany. Germany's problem was not
the absence of a Lenin or Trotsky, but rather the absence of a Gambetta,
Clemenceau, Zola or Jaures, who could have instilled the nation with faith
in republican democratic institutions.
There were three centers of revolutionary action in November, 1918: Kiel,
Munich and Berlin. In each one the underlying cause was the desire for peace,
much more so then the desire for genuine social revolution. The rebels were
against the Kaiser personally and not necessarily against the institution
of the monarchy. In fact, if William II had not waited so long to abdicate,
the monarchy might have survived and the English system of constitutionally
limited monarchy might have developed. It was a combination of the powerful
desire for peace and the feeling that the Kaiser stood in its way, that
led to the precipitous proclamation of the republic on November 9. Philip
Scheidemann, who made this announcement, seems to have acted out of momentary
inspiration. It "was the logical conclusion of a lost war," he
wrote, "of unmatched privation and of loathing of the war mongers....It
was the protest against the continuation of an utterly hopeless slaughter....It
was the day on which it was impossible to carry on any longer."
This may be so, but another important reason was that Scheidemann wanted
to forestall a Bolshevik-type revolution, which he thought the Sparticists
were preparing. He also feared that Ebert had secret plans to restore the
monarchy and wanted to face him Whether Ebert actually wanted to restore
the monarchy is an open question, but there is no doubt that a certain amount
of revolutionary agitation had been going on during the latter part of the
war. The Independent Socialists and later the Spartakus League were at the
center of this activity. Ledebour claimed that revolutionary plans had been
laid as early as 1916. These plans included a general strike to bring the
war to a revolutionary end. Propaganda and illegal literature was distributed
in the army and navy. But the Majority socialists took over the strike and
steered it to non-revolutionary ends.
On October 5, 1918 the Independent socialists issued a call for a "socialist
republic" as part of a world-wide movement. A committee of "revolutionary
shop stewards" was formed and began to collect arms. A planned general
strike for November 6 fell through, however, because the Independents could
not agree among themselves and the police arrested some of their leaders.
But the "revolutionary shop stewards," decided to act on their
own and strike on the 9th of November. This may have been the reason for
Scheidemann's proclamation of the republic on that day.
Yet these were the actions of a small radical minority and they had very
little to do with the actual outbreak of revolution. That happened quite
independently in Kiel and Munich. What existed in Germany then, was a revolutionary
situation, in the sense that there was widespread despair, stimulated by
the military collapse, apprehension about Bavarian separatism and a considerable
amount of Revolutionsfurcht, or fear of revolution. Because of this the
government of Prince Max made some last minute efforts at democratic reforms.
But they came too late. The whole situation was so volatile that any incident
would topple the whole structure. That incident was provided by the sailor's
revolt in Kiel.
The revolt at Wilhelmshaven and Kiel on October 30 was stimulated by a rumor
which said that the German fleet had been readied for a last ditch effort
to attack the English fleet in the North Sea. The morale of the sailors
was already low, aggravated by the monotony of inactive ship life, larger
and better food rations for officers and the harsh discipline.
They were willing to listen to the anti-war propaganda of the Independent
Socialists and thought that an attack now, while armistice negotiations
were underway, was wholly senseless and suicidal. They also believed that
their commanders were acting without government consent. So the men passed
a resolution stating their refusal to take the offensive. The officers replied
by arresting some of the sailors, which led to a mass demonstration of the
men on November 3. These demonstrations were fired on, resulting in 8 deaths
and 29 wounded. The incident sparked considerable excitement in the surrounding
area and in radical circles. The Kiel workers joined the movement on November
4 by creating the first soldiers. and workers' council in Germany to defy
the existing authorities.
But defiance and revolution are two different things. The revolters did
not have any sense of having ignited a revolution. The Workers' and Soldiers'
Council demanded release of political prisoners, freedom of speech and press,
abolition of censorship, better conditions for the men, and that no orders
be given for the fleet to take the offensive. That does not constitute a
revolution. In fact the council even went so far as to guarantee the inviolability
of private property. When Noske, the Majority Socialist expert on military
affairs, was sent to Kiel to restore order, he had no problem in doing so.
However, the situation in the country was such that the Kiel incident reverberated
and the movement soon spread to other cities.
On November 5 one northern newspaper wrote: "The revolution is on the
march: What happened in Kiel will spread throughout Germany. What the workers
and soldiers want is not chaos, but a new order; not anarchy, but the social
republic." The pattern of development was quite similar everywhere
soldiers and workers councils took over local authority. In all cases the
men in these councils were socialists, mostly Majority Socialists, and Independents.
Only in a few instances did Spartacists control the councils.
The sailors revolt in Kiel thus inadvertently instigated the revolution,
although the sailors had no such aim in the beginning. It was only in the
course of events that this incident became integrated with similar but quite
independent happenings in Munich and Berlin. Once this occurred the whole
movement took on the character of a revolution.
In Munich a more clear-cut revolutionary movement evolved when Austria-Hungary
capitulated and left Bavaria exposed to invasion. The population became
frightened and turned to the Independent Socialists for leadership, because
they were well-known peace advocates. Separatist feelings, always strong
in Bavaria, accompanied the peace movement. The Independents, under the
mercurial Kurt Eisner, rode both issues to prominence.
A large meeting of workers planned by the Majority Socialists for November
4, called for unity of the socialist parties, for peace and certain minimal
reforms. A mass demonstration on the 7th, carried on by thousands of workers,
again was orderly and made similar demands: bread and peace, the eight-hour
day and elimination of the dynasty. The Majority Socialists warned against
Bavarian separatism and emphasized that they were not calling for strikes
or revolution. They only wanted to create a "peoples state." The
people went home quite unaware of what was about to transpire.
In the early morning hours of November 8 Kurt Eisner and the Independents
seized the initiative. They organized a "Constituent Soldiers' Workers'
and Peasants' Council." and this body in turn proclaimed the establishment
of a Bavarian Democratic and Social Republic, headed by Kurt Eisner. This
event took the Munich population by surprise. Eisner included the peasants
because he knew that without them no movement could succeed in Bavaria.
For the same reason he promised that Bavaria would remain the "free
state" it had become. He formed a cabinet of Majority Socialists, Independents
and several prominent professors. While people milled in the streets and
some pillaged at the beginning, order soon returned everywhere by the evening
of the 8th.
Meanwhile, the new provisional government of Bavaria promised peace, a constitutional
convention, the security of property and person, the maintenance of order,
and the retention of all government officials. For the country as a whole
Eisner's group sought a "United States of Germany," including
Austria, the convening of a constitutional convention, democratization,
equal and free status of all religious denominations and a national, state-controlled
educational system. But on the crucial revolutionary question of economics,
the government, while reaffirming its socialist beliefs, deferred socialization.
"It seems impossible for us to transfer industry into the possession
of the community at a time when the productive forces of the country are
almost exhausted. It is impossible to socialize when there is hardly anything
to socialize."
The revolution in Bavaria had definite significance for the revolution in
the rest of Germany. This was more than a local revolt of sailors. Eisner's
actions in Munich pushed the socialist leaders in Berlin to more urgent
and immediate action. The proclamation of a republic in Bavaria alleviated
the fears among North German republicans that "monarchist" Bavaria
would secede from the Reich if a a republic were proclaimed. The unified
action of Majority and Independent Socialists in Bavaria also set the pattern
of cooperation in other parts of the country.
In Berlin the two major issues were the armistice and the abdication of
the Kaiser. Both the government and the public believed that the armistice
would be easier to negotiate if William and the entire ruling class were
removed from responsibility. The interrelation of these two questi
ons became the foundation for the policy of the Majority Socialists who
came to occupy the key positions as events progressed. Two of them, Philip
Scheidemann and Gustav Bauer had already joined the cabinet of Prince Max
when the reform of the constitution began. On November 2 they began to put
pressure on Max to secure the abdication of the Kaiser, but they also asked
their followers to restrain from striking on November 4. But pressured from
the Left, the Majority Socialist party executive presented a list of demands
to Prince Max on November 6:
1. freedom of assembly;
2. abdication of the Kaiser and the Crown Prince by November 8;
3. greater representation of the SPD in the cabinet, and
4. changes in the Prussian cabinet in line with the majority parties in the Reichstag.
They wanted "freedom, not terror" as the Party newspaper explained.
"Not dictatorship but democracy: Not callous experimentation on the
living body of society, but a planned construction of a new socialist economic
order based upon scientific knowledge and practical experience." All
the demands were accepted by the imperial government except the abdication,
because the Kaiser still hesitated to take that obvious step. So the socialists
agreed to postpone their ultimatum until November 9, but said that the postponement
was to allow the completion of the armistice negotiations.
Meanwhile, the Independents and Spartacists continued their preparation
for an uprising. Some of their leaders were arrested by the police and the
revolutionary shop stewards then prepared for revolutionary action to protest
these arrests.
By the evening of November 8 there still was no news from the emperor's
headquarters. The socialist ministers and undersecretaries then all resigned
from Max's cabinet. The SPD called a meeting of the Greater Berlin Trade
Union Council for 8:00 a.m. on the next day and a 12-men action committee
was ready to carry out a general strike if the emperor did not abdicate.
The general strike and mass demonstrations were ordered by the SPD on the
morning of November 9. A Workers' and Soldiers' council was formed and the
regiments and troops stationed in Berlin were won over largely through the
hard work of Otto Wels.
Meanwhile, five Majority Socialists, including Ebert and Scheidemann went
to see Prince Max. They informed him that the troops had joined their cause
and that a new democratic government had to be formed. When Ebert was asked
whether he wanted to take power on the basis of the constitution or the
Soldiers' and Workers' Council, he replied, "the constitution... Prince
Max than had no choice but to announce the anticipated abdication of the
Kaiser, although no word had been received from that reluctant potentate.
Prince Max turned over his office to Ebert and the latter, signing himself
as "Reich chancellor," issued a proclamation.
This announcement of the new government clearly indicates that it did not
have in mind a Russian-type revolution. "The new government,"
he said, will be a people's government. Its goal will be to bring peace
to the German people as soon as possible, and to establish firmly the freedom
which it has achieved." The emphasis on maintaining legal continuity
clearly shows that Ebert believed the victory of the revolution had been
achieved by the transfer of power from Prince Max to himself. He also emphasized
peace and adequate supply of food, because he knew that was the reason why
the revolutionary situation had arisen in the first place. Ebert was interested
in creating a democratic state. Perhaps, he might even have been satisfied
with a constitutional monarchy as long as the new state were founded via
a constituent assembly.
But the press of human emotion in the streets soon made this carefully planned
scenario obsolete. Eisner's proclamation of a republic in Bavaria and the
agitation of the Independents and Spartacists forced the Majority Socialists
to proclaim a republic before the Constituent Assembly had met. A mass demonstration
of Berlin workers swarmed around the Reichstag building, while Scheidemann
decided to take things in his own hand. At 2:00 p.m. on November 9 he mounted
the balcony and proclaimed the republic to the crowd.
In his memoirs he says that he did it to avoid Liebknecht proclamation of
a soviet republic and Ebert's secret plan to restore the monarchy. At any
rate when Scheidemann came in from the balcony he was met with horrified
anger by Ebert. "You have no right to proclaim the republic,"
said Ebert. "What becomes of Germany-whether she becomes a republic
or something else-a constituent assembly must decide." But what was
done was done.
Ebert now made an effort to create socialist unity by offering to share
power with the Independents on an equal basis, although the latter were
greatly outnumbered in the Reichstag. After considerable debate among themselves,
the Independents decided to join the government if the following conditions
were met.
1. the entire cabinet should be socialist;
2. political power should be vested in the Soldiers' and Workers' Councils; and
3. the Constituent Assembly should be postponed until the revolution was consolidated.
The Majority socialists met these conditions and the Independents joined
the government with Haase becoming co-chairman alongside Ebert. The resulting
Council of Peoples Representatives set for itself the "realization
of the socialist program." On the following day (November 10) all the
dynastic rulers of the local states abdicated and were replaced by revolutionary
governments of one type or another. The new government signed the armistice
dictated by Marshall Foch. Thus the war came to an end and most Germans
believed the aims of the revolution had thus been achieved.
It was a bloodless revolution-that is if we can call it a revolution. Only
15 people lost their lives in Berlin on November 9. Theodore Wolff, the
editor of the Berliner Tageblatt, called it "the greatest of all revolutions."
But Ernst Troeltsch, the noted historian and religious philosopher, has
given us a more realistic description:
"Sunday, November 10 was a wonderful autumn day. The citizens
went as usual in droves to walk in the Grünewald. No elegant toilette,
only Bürger, many obviously and consciously clad in simple garb. Everything
somewhat subdued, like people whose destiny is being decided somewhere far
off in the distance but who nevertheless are assured and at ease that things
went off as well as they did. Streetcars and subways are running as usual,
a guarantee that everything was in order for the immediate needs-and food
supplies. On all faces there was written: salaries are being paid."
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