Was There A German Revolution?

The oxford dictionary states that the definition of revolution is: “forcible substitution of new government or ruler for old; fundamental change” It could also be added that it results in fundamental changes not only to the political system but also to the social and economic infrastructure, and is often accelerated by war or military defeat. Indeed Germany did go through a period of much turmoil during the First World War and in the ensuing period after it. At the end of 1918 the nations morale was shattered by their humiliating defeat in war, shortages were severe to say the least and thousands of people were dying of the Spanish Influenza. Added to this demobilisation was slow and disorganised, the country was full of arms and with the Hohenzollerns out of the way it was felt by much of the population that now was the time to make a break from their imperial past and create a more just society. In order to establish whether or not these conditions materialised into a revolution the events of 1918 and the subsequent period after the war must be looked at in more detail.

The first of these events is the so-called “revolution from above”. This was first established in September 1918 when Ludendorff and the Army High Command advised the Kaiser to give power to Prince Max of Baden, thus making the government more acceptable to the allies and especially to President Wilson. This change meant that for the first time ever the Chancellor was accountable to the Reichstag and members within the Reichstag could now become ministers. As Stephen. J. Lee rightly points out this now meant that “the constitutional base of the Second Reich was therefore completely changed” However Stephen Lee also provides the argument that the “revolution from above” was not in fact a revolution at all. Not only does he claim that these changes are “predictable” but that “there had been persistent pressure for such changes throughout the history of the Second Reich by the Progressives, Social Democrats, National liberals and even the Centre Party” In his opinion this means that these events were more a case of “evolution accelerated by necessity”. However it could be strongly argued that as these changes had been denied up until this critical point, despite persistent pressure, that it was more of a case of simple necessity rather than evolutionary.

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The second was the “revolution from below”. The military crisis (Germany suffered the loss of her main allies and the powerful force of America was entering the war on behalf of the opposition) meant that Prince Max was forced to give up after only six weeks and outside influences, especially America, were demanding unconditional surrender. As this news began to spread around the country people began to demand the abdication of the Kaiser and many other German rulers. The precariousness of this situation led to the naval mutinies at Wilhelmshaven, Kiel, Hamburg, Bremen and Lubeck and by army estrangement in Frankfurt, Cologne, Stuttgart and Leipzig. Stephen Lee admits that “there was undeniably a popular momentum which proved irresistible and which swept away the constitutional compromise implicit in the government of Prince Max” He also adds that “the arrangement which followed seemed to be far more radical than the earlier October reforms” On the 9th November Scheidemann announced the establishment of a Republic which was subsequently followed a day later by the formation of the Council of Peoples Representatives consisting of three members each from the S.P.D. and the U.S.P.D. This was done similarly in other German states were their ruler had abdicated. Despite the fact that this seems to have been done by force and that it also made radical political changes it can still be argued that the transfer of power was evolutionary. When Prince Max handed over power to Ebert he said “I commend the German Reich to your care” However, it was never actually Ebert’s policy to make any fundamental changes at all, it was simply a care-taker government until a future constitution could be decided upon. It could plausibly be said that Ebert simply went along with the Council Of Peoples Representatives in order to prevent a much worse situation (in his opinion), which would be for power to go to councils made up from soldiers and workers. As previously noted, historians such as Stephen Lee believe this version (i.e. evolutionary change) to be true. In response to this it could conversely be said that it did not matter whether fundamental changes were intended only that they occurred. Also, although Prince Max officially handed over power to Ebert this was only due to intense pressure and was not a preferred course of action.

Another key event to be considered is the Spartacist Revolt. This group was lead by middle class intellectuals who included key figures such as Karl Leibknecht and Rosa Luxemburg. Leibknecht had already been expelled from the Reichstag for his anti-militarist views and Luxemburg had been imprisoned for her involvement with the Russian revolution in 1905. Indeed, Stephen Lee points out that the Spartacists aims were to have a “close association between Germany and Soviet Russia”. By the end of 1918 Leibknecht was using urging the public to reject Eberts control and support what he called the ‘real revolution’. In December soldiers opening fire on a group of demonstrators in Berlin killed 16 Spartacists. Furthermore in 1919 the group decided to boycott the elections for the new constituent assembly, and staged an uprising in Berlin on the 6th January. During this they declared that a new revolutionary government had been set up to replace that of Ebert. However after three days of brutal fighting the group were put down by the fighting core known as the Freikorps. It can be said that this was a case of revolutionary activity. Historians such as Erdmann uphold the opinion that these events were necessary to maintain the liberal-democratic course stated in November 1918. Other Marxist-Leninist historians believe that this was a genuine mass movement which was let down by the social democrats in agreement with the forces of reaction. In dispute with this argument historians such as David Evans and Jane Jenkins believe that this uprising really “stood no chance” and that their threat was “over exaggerated”. Also Kolb maintains that they were “without a clear strategic plan, was hopelessly mismanaged and to some extent half-hearted” Stephen Lees’ thoughts on the subject are that “there is no equivalent to the precision of the Bolshevik takeover in Petrograd and Moscow a year earlier. Luxemburg and Liebknecht did not even believe that the time was right for an insurrection but were drawn into a situation which was uncontrolled and chaotic” Harold Kutz agrees with this view and believes that those who did intent a revolution “were swept under the carpet with a broom unhesitatingly provided by the army command”

As the definition of a revolution includes fundamental change it would also be useful to compare the old Republic to the new Reich. In many ways they are very similar. The constitution itself was generally based on the previous constitution, but was merely adapted by the October reforms and given a republican superstructure. The parties themselves remained much the same, with the difference being that the opposition to the Kaiser now became the administration. However it is Stephen Lees opinion that this was more “constitutional evolution rather than political revolution”. There was no changes made to the judiciary or the civil service, and there was no attempts to stop the army regrouping (mainly due to the Ebert-Groener pact). Therefore it can be legitimately said that there was very little fundamental change to the political progress.

On reflection of the events of 1918 and 1919 it would appear that whilst the ingredients for revolution were available they never seemed to materialise into anything substantial. As Bernard Prince von Bulow more eloquently put the matter “I witnessed the beginnings of a revolution. Alas she did not come…in the shape of a radiant goddess, her hair flowing in the wind, and shod with sandals of iron. She was like an old hag, toothless and bald, her great feet slipshod and down at the heel” However it could be said that this is not entirely accurate. In all cases power could be argued to be evolutionary and there was no fundamental changes to the political system that came as a result the uprisings. Therefore it can be said that whilst it is easy to assume that there was a German revolution on closer inspection the events cannot match to the definition of revolution.

Mhairi B Thomson

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