Craig Bowman History Mr Walker
Why did the Communists and other revolutionary left-wing groups fail to seize power in the years 1919-1923?
During the years 1919-23 the German Weimar democracy was experiencing major threats from the left. For years the left had wanted to get into power and was waiting for the perfect chance, and now they believed was the right time. In January of 1919 the Weimar government had used the army to crush a Spartacist rising. This however did not end the threat from the extreme left and for the next four years Weimar faced a series of attacks and attempts to overthrow the government. But why did these left wing groups fail to seize power?
The Communist Party (KPD) was a party with a desire for rapid political, social and economic revolution. They wanted a classless society, workers state, to abolish private property, eliminate capitalism and abolish religion. They were the most extreme left party in Germany and wanted to achieve these aims at any cost. During 1919 the Communists began their plans to overthrow the government. A wave of strikes was occurring throughout Germany, in the Ruhr mines, in central Germany and Berlin. The workers were demanding shorter hours, the socialisation of industry and a government based on councils. Even though this was a real threat to the Weimar Government it was not a bad as the strike could have been. It was uncoordinated, with radical ‘leaders’ following the protests rather than leading them. This therefore showed the Weimar government that the KPD was neither well led with a clear strategy nor a tightly organised party with a structure (unlike the well organised Communist Party in Russia). The KPD also had another problem. It lacked members and commitment. Already I can see that this Communist Party was going to have a very hard time trying to overthrow the Weimar democracy, which in contrast was much better supported and much better organised. Eventually the government, using a mixture of promises to the workers and use of the Freikorps, crushed this strike with a large amount of deaths in some places.
