Introduction
The German Revolution, also called November Revolution, was a civil war between states in imperial Germany towards the end of World War 1. It began in November 1918 and ended in August 1919 after adopting the Weimar constitution. Factors that contributed to the rebellion included the extreme hardships experienced by the Germans within the four years of the civil conflict. Others included the intensified social upheaval between the bourgeois and aristocratic elite and the general population, and the emotional and economic impacts resulting from the conquer of the German Empire by the Allies.
Key events in the revolution included the creation of a national assembly, the Spartacist uprising, and the Kiel mutiny. The revolt resulted in unprecedented levels of mass mobilization and political violence, including the killing of Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, suppression of strikes, and the Spartacist Uprising. German revolution was driven from below because the pressure from grassroots campaigns against the elites resulted in replacing a federal constitutional monarchy with a democratic parliamentary republic, Weimar Republic. The revolution also led to the fall of the German Empire, the creation of Nazism, and Adolf Hitler rising to power.
End of the German Empire
The German Revolution arose from the German Empire’s military defeat in World War 1. Broué argues that the troops’ mutiny caused it at the beginning of November 1918. However, that insurgency was widespread throughout the German land without resistance from the older regime. Afterward, it grew into a large movement to oppose the monarchial system. This rebellion prevailed since the working classes united with the military. Moreover, soldiers and workers created councils and assumed naval and political commands. According to Broué, the leading players in the revolution included the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD) and the Majority Social Democratic Party of Germany (MSPD), along with the established councils. On the 9th of the same month, the German Emperor was abdicated, and as a result, Prince Max, the Imperial Chancellor, handed over his leadership to the chairman of the MSPD. The ultimate goal of imperial Germany engaging in the Great War was the penetration of the Western Front at two of its weaker points.
The twofold proclamation declaring German Empire to be a republic reflected the war that underlay the revolution. The announcements were made by Philipp Scheidemann and Karl Liebknecht, leaders of the two democratic parties. The demands of the MSPD included convening a national constituent assembly and fundamental constitutional law issues, such as an economic order to be decided by a democratically-elected parliament.
On the other hand, the USPD championed a rapid achievement of Socialist ideals in a structure of soviet-style councils. Given the many problems following the lost war, including the repatriation of countless troops and the fear of reverting to civil conflict, the MSPD decided to cooperate with the brokers of the Empire from the old regime. Throughout the Empire, there was a lack of deep commitment to a democratic system and the republic among the law enforcers, naval officers, the civil service, and the criminal justice system.
Despite the requests by their allies to leave Berlin, the so-called masterminds of the January rebellion had gone into hiding. However, they were found hiding in a building in the Wilmersdorf district in Berlin. Immediately, the leaders, including Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, were discovered, captured, and presented to heavily armed Freikorps. One night they were unconsciously beaten with rifle butts and, later on, shot to death. Other perpetrators of the revolution were punished, although the Nazi party compensated those who had been incarcerated. During the first months of 1919, there were more armed rebellions throughout the German territory triggered by the decision by Noske to take military action against a socialist republic, Bremen. Despite being given room for negotiation, Noske commanded the Freikorps to invade the city resulting in the death of over four hundred individuals. That gave rise to mass strikes in Saxony, Rhineland, and the Ruhr district.
Similarly, the members of SPD and USPD called for a mass action that began on March 4. The state government of Prussia called for help from the Reich government, which had announced a state of siege. Once more, Noske sent the Gardekavallerie-Schutzendivision headed by Pabst to fight demonstrators in Berlin. Since he had instructed that everyone found armed be killed on the spot, more than twenty-nine members were summarily executed. Admittedly, the Germany revolution was driven from below, and it was through these changes that Germany grew into a democratic parliamentary republic.
Inspired by socialist and liberal ideas, the revolutionaries declined to transfer authority to Soviet-dominated councils since the leadership of the democratic parties opposed their establishment. Instead, they advocated for a national congress to lay the foundation for a parliamentary regime.
Furthermore, the parties had no intention of stripping the old aristocrats in German wholly of their privileges and power because of fear of an all-out civil conflict between the reactionary conservatives and naval workers. Those who left the Social Democratic party of German formed a partnership with the German commander-in-chief allowing the troops and the nationalistic army to work with sufficient independence to crush Spartacist insurgence using violence. The same union of civil powers successfully conquered the liberal uprising in the rest of German, resulting in the pacification of the nation. According to Rürup, the initial elections were held on January 19, 1919, for the new constituent German national assembly. The revolution ended on August 11, 1919, with the adoption of the Weimar constitution.
Birth of the Weimar Republic
Being a mighty empire, Germany fought World War 1 in cooperation with the Republic of Austria and against Russia, France, and England. These nations participated in the civil conflict anxiously, expecting to benefit from an immediate victory. Initially, Germany benefited by preoccupying Belgium and France, although the Allies, backed by the United States, won, defeating Germany and the Central powers. Prince Max’s abdication and Imperial Germany’s defeat opened the way for parliamentary factions to remodel the German nation. Consequently, a legislative assembly was assembled at Weimar, establishing a constitutional democracy characterized by federalism.
The Weimar republic provided many potentialities for pure democracy, including establishing a mechanism for referendums. Article 48 of the charter gave the head of state powers to overrule a decision made by the majority in the parliament. The deputies were appointed to the national assembly based on universal and equal ballots cast by all voters, including women. The general populace did not well welcome the republic since they were compelled to accept its terms after overthrowing the German Empire.
The peace agreement signed at Versailles with the Allies was humiliating and harsh. As a result, Germany lost about two-tenths of its population, 75% of its iron, overseas colonies, and 26 percent of its coal mineral to Poland, Denmark, and Lithuania. The Allies further weakened the nation through the demilitarization of the troops. The clause on War Guilt held Germany accountable for the civil conflict and the damages incurred by the Allied nations.
Consequently, Germany was made to compensate these countries about 6 billion USD pounds. Most residents in the land held the newly formed Weimar republic answerable for the defeat in the civil war and the disgrace at Versailles. The civil conflict devastated the entire continent economically and emotionally. The Weimar republic bore the burden of war responsibility and public shame and was economically paralyzed through its compensation to the Allied powers. The Weimar supporters, including Catholics, liberals, and democrats, became vulnerable to attacks in the conservative nationalist circles. World war 1 had deep imprints on the European community and polity, with soldiers being placed above civilians.
Moreover, the mass media praised the trench lifestyle, and publicists and politicians emphasized the importance of males being assertive, aggressive, and masculine. On the other hand, the Weimar republic’s creation happened with the Spartacist League’s revolutionary insurgence in the style of the October Revolution in Russia. Assemblies of sailors and workers were created in several cities. The political climate in Berlin was charged with the requirements for soviet-style leadership, while the opponents gathered in Weimar to determine the course of a democratic government. The Weimar struck down the revolt with the support of war veteran groups such as the free corps. The anguished Spartacist followers formed a communist party in Germany.
In addition, the socialists and communists became permanent enemies and could not make a common cause against Hitler. The financial crisis heightened political radicalization since Germany obtained loans to participate in the war. The nation’s gold reserves were depleted then and could not be used to pay war reparations. The French occupied Germany’s industrial area to claim coal since the country failed to pay the loans. Therefore, there was significant pressure on Germany’s economy, that led to their revolution.
Creation of Nazism
Different moments in the history of Germany demonstrate how Germans were turned into Nazis. In his article, Germans into Nazis, Peter Fritzsche explored the mass crowds of Germans mobilization between July to August 1914 at the start of the Great War and the multitudes following a military defeat. He also examines the crowds mobilized after the appointment of Hitler and the May celebrations in 1933. The general populace in German from all social backgrounds, strata, and beliefs, including Chancellor Hitler, met in Berlin, striving to create the Volksgemeinschaft, a national community. The Germans started reimagining the country and establishing a national identity that would only have evolved through the civil conflict and its legacy.
The German citizens were converted into Nazis gradually through grassroots movements along with the waning legitimacy of earlier conceptions of the German country. Throughout the civil war, the Kaiserreich lost legitimacy due to its inability to protect its citizens sufficiently. Strikes and food shortages became the norm, and German residents started to recall the august days when the nation stood unified. According to Fritzsche, even after the war, multitudes of people assembled. The citizens, consumers, workers, and the tremendous curbside republic of soldiers became the definitive measure of Germany’s political figure.
Furthermore, the low and middle classes expressed their collective grievances in one voice through mass movements. They thought that political parties and interest groups served exclusionary masters and that a genuinely Volkisch revolt would eliminate the fragmented political nature and noble order of the Weimar Republic. As a result, all German citizens left their political parties in the 1920s to join the Nazis. The abdication of the Kaiser created a power vacuum, and the Weimar republic incorporated a political government that German residents could resist as they did in August 1914 to fight for a unified nation.
The Nazi Party rose out of minor political factions with a nationalistic ideal. In Bremen, a league, the Free Workers’ Committee for a good peace, was established in 1918, and a branch of it was also created in Munich by Anton Drexler. This founder opposed the November 1918 armistice and the following revolutionary disturbances. He was for the view of naval nationalists advocating for anti-monarchy and anti-Semitism, against the treaty of Versailles, and firmly believed in the superiority of Germans.
Similarly, Drexler considered international capitalism dominated by the Jews and denounced capitalists for civil conflict in the Great War. Still, he considered the political turmoil and cruelty in the country as a consequence of the Weimar Republic not being in contact with people, mainly those from the lower class. Drexler, therefore, championed the establishment of economic socialism to challenge the growth of communism through the creation of a nationalist-oriented workers’ movement.
Nazi rose significantly partially through the oratorical skills of Hitler and the appeal to jobless young men due to the resistance against liberal and socialist politics in Bavaria. That was made possible by the deepening of the economic problems faced by German, and the weakness of the Weimar government became more evident. The Nazi movement selected former troops from the First World War to whom the Chancellor, a distinguished frontline, would specifically appeal, along with the businesspeople and dissatisfied members of the former rival beer. Most rallies by the Nazis were held outside beer lounges where oppressed men could be given beer for free as a form of enticement to join the party.
The Nazis helped invent and continually alluded to the Volksgemeinschaft that all Germans wanted. Moreover, they traveled to different cities and towns within German to speak directly to the general populace to unite them. The Nazis party attempted to maintain an all-encompassing and broad agenda that had mass appeal even though the liberal and conservative parties served special interests.
The mass appeals made by Nazis made liberals, social democrats, the poor and the rich, and conservatives unanimously vote for the Nazis. They also advocated for programs that would return all jobless citizens to work instead of spreading violent anti-Semitism. They still spread the message of strengthening the country and ending the Communist threat from within. Women also joined the Nazi movement since they believed that nationwide socialism would offer them better opportunities to return to the workforce, have a voice in the national community, and serve the community better. Thus, the Nazi movement appealed to the broader national community and yearned to break from the old regime and establish a new German nation.
Adolf Hitler’s Rise to Power
Chancellor Adolf Hitler rose to prominence in the early years of the creation of the German Worker’s Party. His ascension to leadership began in September 1919 after the establishment of the Weimar Republic. Due to his excellent oral skills, he was made the party leader and changed its name to the Nazi Party. The party had many anti-bourgeois and anti-capitalists, and thus Hitler chose that title to persuade German workers. Later, he initiated removing those elements and held a pro-business stance for the party.
In the succeeding year, Hitler’s leadership was unchallenged, and he and his followers organized a coup in Bavaria in 1923, although it failed. Upon its failure, the leader hid, only to be discovered, captured, and brought before the justice system. His trial garnered Hitler nationwide fame as it was a silver lining in the dark clouds. After being found guilty, he was imprisoned for a five-year term even though he only served eight months. After being released from jail, Hitler changed his tactics and opted to seize power through democratic and legal methods.
Immediately after release, Hitler began national campaigns where he and his supporters from the Nazi party operated on a platform comprising of anti-Semitist, anti-communist, and ultranationalist ideals. All leaders of the Nazis vociferously criticized the Treaty of Versailles and the ruling democratic regime while evangelizing their wishes to transform Germany into a superpower. At that point, most German residents were opposed to Hitler’s oratory as the nation’s economy was slowly recovering in significant part because of the financial aid from the U.S.
The political arena in the country was drastically impacted by the Great Crash in 1929, hampering financial assistance to the nation. Similarly, the economic crisis halted the German economy and crippled the nation’s political landscape. The Nazis and Hitler started to take advantage of the situation and heavily criticized the ruling regime. At the same time, the German Communist Party started campaigns and called for a revolution.
The businesspeople declared their support for the Nazi Party, fearing the takeover by communists. The Nazi Party won a majority of seats in the parliament in 1932. While attempting to seize the rising electoral success of the Nazis, Hitler participated in the presidential race, although he failed. The succeeding year was crucial for Adolf and his Nazis because, conventionally, the party leaders with the majority of the seats in the national assembly would be appointed as Chancellor.
However, Paul von Hindenburg, the sitting president, hesitated to nominate Hitler for that position. According to Bailey, after multiple backroom discussions, including industrialists, on January 30, 1933, Hitler was appointed as the new Chancellor of Germany. The groundwork for the dictatorship of the Nazi party was laid when the national assembly in Germany was set aflame.
Since Hitler maintained that the communists executed the arson, he persuaded the then-president to enact the Reichstag Fire Decree, which harshly reduced the rights and freedoms of Germans. Adolf Hitler started to eliminate all of his political opponents using that law. He drafted legislation, Enabling Act of 1933, which gave the German regime the authority to overrule civil rights laid down by the law. The legislation also empowered Hitler to pass and implement emergency acts without parliamentary approval.
Upon enactment between March and April, the Chancellor got dictatorial powers and employed them to build a concentration camp for communists and his political rivals at Dachau. His ascension to authority was supported partially by his readiness to use force to advance his political agenda and appoint like-minded party members. In addition, he made efforts to seek financial aid from affluent businesspeople. Hitler also considered their partnerships crucial in conquering the increasing communism threat. Nazis engaged in election battles through which Hitler assumed the roles of an organizer and speaker. These actions mounted pressure on the old regime, resulting in the revolution.
Conclusion
Admittedly, the German revolution was driven from below since pressure from below was the main driving force in events between 1918 and 1923. One of the leading factors of the revolution included the many problems German citizens faced in the initial four years of the war. Other factors include the financial and mental impacts of the defeat of the imperial German by the Allied Powers and the high social pressure between the German citizens and the bourgeois and noble elites. As a result, the Germans managed to replace the older constitutional monarchy with a democratic republic.
After being defeated in World War 1, Germany lost the civil war, and its empire collapsed, and as a result, it lost about one-seventh of its land mass and 10 percent of its population. The creation of the Weimar Republic saw increased economic and social freedoms for the German population as the constitution allowed all men and women over 20 to vote. The Nazi party was instrumental in advocating for the ideals of national socialism and giving Germans the right to own property, among other civil rights.
Bibliography
Bailey, Stephen. “The Berlin Strike of January 1918.” Central European History 13, no. 2 (1980): 158-174. Web.
Broué, Pierre. “The German Revolution 1917–1923, translated by John Archer and edited by Ian Birchall and Brian Pearce, with an Introduction by Eric D. Weitz.” Historical Materialism Book Series, Chicago: Haymarket Books (2006).
Chickering, Roger. “Imperial Germany’s Peculiar War, 1914–1918.” The Journal of Modern History 88, no. 4 (2016): 856-894. Web.
Fritzsche, Peter. Germans into Nazis. Harvard University Press, 1998.
Rürup, Reinhard. “Problems of the German Revolution 1918-19.” Journal of Contemporary History 3, no. 4 (1968): 109-135. Web.