Was There a Revolution In Germany Between 1918 and 1919?

Was there a revolution in Germany between 1918 and 1919?

Between October 1918 and February of 1919 there was great change in Germany, there was great political change, Germany went from being an autocracy state to a democratic republic. As well as political change there was some change to Germanys social and economic system. To be able to define if there was a revolution in Germany we need to know what is meant by a revolution. A revolution is when there has been extreme change in all aspects of a countries way of life.

The political revolution in Germany can be said to take place because of a multitude of different events. In October of 1918 the Kaiser ruled Germany in an autocratic state but by 1919 Ebert was in control of a democratic republic. This shows that because there was such great political change there must have been a revolution. Reasons to support a revolution were there change in power and views of those in charge, there were mutinies across Germany, in the major cities as well as naval and army bases. As well as mutinies in Germany the Bavaria district in Germany became a socialist republic.

Although there was a shift of political practices from Germany being an autocratic state with the Kaiser in control to Ebert’s democratic government it was still the same class of people in control. Although the type of government was different it was still the same class of people in control, when the Kaiser was in control his advisor and cabinet were from the upper classes of Germany and in this new government it was still these upper classes in control of the new government. So although there was a different political style it was still the same people that wanted ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

The fact that there were many mutinies in Germany showed that there was great unrest within the social system in Germany. The sailors in the navy mutinied against the fact that the naval high command was planning a last stand, which would ultimately lead to sudden death initiated. These mutinies spread to workers and soldier’s councils in the major cities in Germany. As well as strikes and riots Bavaria in Germany declared itself a socialist republic on November the 8th. Such strikes as these must mean that there must have been some serious problems in Germany at that time and although they lived in bad conditions and had very little pay there conditions hadn’t changed by February 1919. On the 15th of November the Stinnes-Legien pact was signed so that workers got an 8-hour working day, which satisfied the trade unionists and allowed the employers to carry on with private ownership of factories.

Although there were many mutinies in Germany the fact that nothing changed meant it couldn’t have been a real social revolution. There wasn’t the time for great social change to come about. Also the shift in power in the social system hadn’t changed the class system was still very active with the industrialists still having control over the workers and the social divides being even more evident in the conditions that people lived in.

Although there was a great change in Germany I don’t think that it was big enough to be called a revolution. I think that you can say that the political changes in Germany were huge but the change in the economy and social side of Germany didn’t change. Although the mutinies by the navy and the strikes and riots by the workers and soldiers drew attention to their problems nothing economically or socially changed for them. I do think however that there was great political upheaval and so this we can call a big change but although the ruling style was the same it was still the same people in control. Therefore there was only political change in Germany and, by my definition of a revolution; there was not a revolution in Germany.

Fiona Jamieson L6 NAY