DEPTH STUDY GERMANY: WEIMAR REPUBLIC - 02. THE NOVEMBER REVOLUTION 1918
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The document outlines the political turmoil in Germany during the early years of the Weimar Republic, highlighting the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in November 1918 and the establishment of a democratic government. It details various revolutionary activities, including the November Revolution, the rise of the Spartacist uprising led by Rosa Luxemburg, and the eventual suppression of left-wing revolts by the social democrats with the support of the Freikorps. Ultimately, the text illustrates the instability and challenges faced by the new republic amidst widespread unrest and the threat of extremism.
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DEPTH STUDY GERMANY: WEIMAR REPUBLIC - 02. THE NOVEMBER REVOLUTION 1918
- 1. DEPTH STUDY WEIMAR REPUBLIC THE REVOLUTION OF NOVEMBER 1918 02
- 2. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY INTRODUCTION • During the early years of the Weimar Republic, the German Government experienced problems which threatened its existence. • After the end of World War One, it struggled from crisis to crisis. • Many Germans blamed the new German Government for Germany’s defeat in World War One, as did Hitler.
- 3. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY GERMANY UNIFIED AND STRONG • After Germany had been unified in 1871, its industries and businesses grew rapidly. • The 65 million Germans were proud of their army and the country’s strength. • Germans suffered many hardships and during the winters of 1916-1917 and 1917-1918, they were big food shortages. • The Social Democrat Party, representing the workers, was the biggest political party in Germany, but they could not govern because Germany was not a democracy. • Under the constitution, the Kaiser ruled Germany and chose his own ministers.
- 4. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY
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- 6. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY THE END OF THE WAR • The Government needed to end the war and make peace for several reasons: • Germany’s allies had surrendered. • The USA had entered the war in 1917 against Germany. • Many German civilians were starving and there were severe food shortages. • Germany was running out of raw materials. • Revolts had broken out across Germany amongst sailors, soldiers and workers. • German officials agreed a truce on 11 November 1918. • This was the Armistice.
- 7. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY TIMELINE • Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated on 9 November 1918, 2 days before signing of the Armistice. • His autocratic system was replaced with a democracy, later known as the Weimar Republic. • This Republic will last for 14 years, being destroyed by Hitler’s dictatorship. • The Third Reich intended to last for 1000 years, collapsed in 1945, following the suicide of its creator, Adolf Hitler and the military defeat of Germany. • The Third Reich was the term used to describe the Nazi Germany from 1933-1945.
- 8. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY GERMAN KAISERS Wilhelm I – The Great Frederick III Wilhelm II
- 9. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY REVOLUTION – STAGE 1: GETTING RID OF THE KAISER • It was a condition for peace that the Germans got rid of the Kaiser, but he refused to abdicate. • 25 October 1918. Naval commanders at Kiel decided to send their ships out to fight the British fleet in one las bid for glory. Text supplied by the German Federal Archive: "With the rebellion of the sailors and workers on 3 November 1918 in Kiel the November revolution starts. On 6 November the revolutionary movement reaches Wilhelmshaven . Our picture shows the soldiers' council of the Prinzregent Luitpold."
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- 11. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY REVOLUTION – STAGE 1: GETTING RID OF THE KAISER (2) • 26 October-5 November 1918. The Kaiser and his government did not try to send the army to crush the mutiny, and that was followed by strikes and demonstrations against the war and the Kaiser all over Germany. • 6 November 1918. By now soldiers’ and workers’ councils had taken control in many cities. Their main aim was to end the war, but to the politicians looking on there seemed a real danger of a total revolution, like the one which had taken place in Russia the previous year. The Social Democrats were the leading party in the Reichstag. They were the party that the workers traditionally voted for. In theory they were socialists, committed to social change. Ebert even wanted to save the Kaiser, but his colleagues knew that if they did then more extreme left-wing revolutionaries would take over.
- 12. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY REVOLUTION – STAGE 1: GETTING RID OF THE KAISER (3) • 7 November 1918. Social Democrat leaders sent an ultimatum to the Kaiser that unless he abdicated they would join the revolution. • 9 November 1918. There was a general strike in Berlin. Armed workers and soldiers roamed the streets. The Social Democrats were afraid that the extremists would gain control of the revolution, so one of Ebert’s colleagues announced the abdication of the Kaiser and the setting up of a German Republic which they should run in coalition with other socialist parties. Ebert took over as a Chancellor. • 10 November 1918. Kaiser Wilhelm fled into exile in Holland. • 11 November 1918. An armistice was agreed between Germany and the Allies.
- 13. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY ACTIVITY • Look at the photo and imagine one of the people in this picture has asked you, “Why has this happened?” Write out your answer, explaining the events that led to the abdication of the Kaiser and the setting up of the German Republic in November 1918.
- 14. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY REVOLUTION, STAGE 2: WHO WOULD CONTROL GERMANY? • With the Kaiser gone, the Social Democrats were in charge, but they were not in control. • Germany was very unstable. • Armed demobilised soldiers returned home from the front. • They joined the protests and demonstrations, creating violence and chaos on the streets. • Also, the left-wing revolutions were looming around.
- 15. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY THE LEFT-WING REVOLUTIONARIES • Getting rid of the Kaiser was just the beginning. • A big Red Revolution was needed and requested by the members. • Ebert was not to be trusted. • These left-wing revolutionaries were known as the Spartacus League, named after the famous Roman gladiator leading a revolt in Rome. • The leader was Rosa Luxemburg, who thought that the Spartacists should wait until the workers would be disillusioned with Ebert’s government.
- 16. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY ROSA LUXEMBURG Rosa Luxemburg speaking at a Socialist meeting in 1907: “The Revolution will be great and strong as long as the Social Democrats don’t smash it up”. Rosa was a Polish/German revolutionary socialist, Marxist philosopher and anti- war activist. After the SPD supported German involvement in World War I in 1915, Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht co-founded the anti-war Spartacus League which eventually became KPD. During the November Revolution, she co-founded the newspaper Die Rote Fahne (The Red Flag), the central organ of the Spartacist movement. Luxemburg considered the Spartacist uprising of January 1919 a blunder, but supported the attempted overthrow of the SPD-ruled Weimar Republic and rejected any attempt at a negotiated solution. Friedrich Ebert's SPD Cabinet crushed the revolt and the Spartakusbund by sending in the Freikorp. Freikorps troops captured and executed Luxemburg and Liebknecht during the rebellion.
- 17. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS • For the Social Democrats, getting rid of the Kaiser was the end of the revolution. • In a telephone call, General Groener, promised Ebert the support of the army in maintaining order inside Germany, and in suppressing left-wing revolutionaries. • Ebert accepted the offer. • He also organised ex-soldiers into Freikorps (volunteer corps) to help keep control. • Many left-wing Independents who had supported the Social Democrats left them in protest at this.
- 18. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY ACTIVITIES 1
- 19. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY READING 1
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- 23. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY THE SPARTACIST RISING: JANUARY 1919 • During December 1918 there were regular clashes between the government and the revolutionaries. • In January 1919 some Spartacist members staged an attempted revolution in Berlin against Ebert’s government. • On the night of 5th of January the Spartacists captured the headquarters of the government’s newspaper and the telegraph bureau, but they did not capture any other buildings. • The uprising was badly prepared and had no chances for success. • The rise was easily crushed by the Freikorps. • On 10th of January they took over the Spartacist headquarters. • By 15th of January the Spartacists were crushed.
- 24. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY THE SPARTACIST RISING: JANUARY 1919 • 100 Spartacists were killed compared to 13 Freikorps. • Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were murdered. • These murders robbed the Communists of their leaders and the movement did not recover. • Over the next four months the Freikorps crushed left-wing uprising in many cities. • They killed thousands more Communist supporters. • Ebert had succeeded in dealing with the threat to the Republic from left-wing revolutionaries, but at a high price. He put his government into the hands of Freikorps, undermining the position of Social Democrats as the representatives of the working classes.
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- 30. CAMBRIDGE IGCSE – DEPTH STUDY: GERMANY READING 2
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