1. DATE: October 5 - 6, 2016
TOPIC: The German Revolution,
REVIEW:
Germany between 1871 and political system - economic growth - social structure - END of the WAR (October and November - Revolution from Above).
OBJECTIVES:
4. Explain how Imperial Germany collapsed in 1918.
5. Describe the roles played by socialists and Free Corps (Freikorps) in the
transition to the Weimar government.
6. Identify the weaknesses of the Weimar constitution.

4. KD NOTES 12: 13. Opposing Visions to end the War
TOPIC: WWI and Germany
KD NOTES 12:
13. Opposing Visions to end the War
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk - significance was that it allowed the transfer of half a million troops from the Eastern to the Western Front in anticipation of a great offensive (Ludendorff Offensive).The aim was to deliver the Allies such a blow that they would withdraw from the war.
September surrender of Bulgaria shook Ludendorff.
September 29, Ludendorff demanded the government entered into armistice talks with the Allies and U.S.
October 4 - Prince Max of Baden was chosen as Chancellor and immediately formed a coalition government, which included members of the Centre and Progressive parties and the socialist SPD.
Prince Max began the process of negotiations.
Prospect of defeat and peace sparked mutiny in the naval ports of Wilhelmshaven (Oct 29) and Kiel (Nov 2).
Allies demanded abdication of the Kaiser.
Friedrich Ebert of the SPD became the Chancellor with a government consisting of the SPD and USPD.
November 11 - armistice signed at Compiègne, France.

5. KD NOTES 12: November 11 - armistice signed at Compiègne, France.
TOPIC: WWI and Germany
KD NOTES 12:
November 11 - armistice signed at Compiègne, France.

6. KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT 1:
TOPIC: The German Revolution,
OBJECTIVES: 4. Explain how Imperial Germany collapsed in 1918.
5. Describe the roles played by socialists and Free Corps in the transition to the Weimar government.
6. Identify the weaknesses of the Weimar constitution.
KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT 1:
1. Identify: Kiel Mutiny, Gustav Noske, Freikorps, Spartacists, Stinnes-
Legien Agreement, January 15, 1919, Eugene Levine, Policy of
Fulfilment,
2. In September, 1918, Erich von Ludendorff and Paul von Hindenburg
informed Kaiser Wilhelm II that the war was lost and he should
establish a parliamentary democracy. Known as the ‘Revolution from
Above’, why did they suggest such a drastic move? p. 10 (U1)
3. What was happening in large German cities as news of the Kaiser’s
abdication spread? p. 11 (U1)

7. TOPIC: The German Revolution, 1918 – 1919
KD NOTES 1:
1. Identify:
Kiel Mutiny - was a major revolt by sailors of the German High Seas Fleet on Nov. 3, Sailors rejected Admiral Scheer’s order for a last ditch attack on the British, seized Kiel Port and set up a ‘Soviet’ of workers and soldiers.
Gustav Noske - Defense Minister who was authorised by the government to form privately-organised military-style units to help maintain order. They were called the Freikorps, with over 150 units involving some 400,000 men.
Freikorps - regular army and civilian volunteers, while others were mercenaries. They had over 150 units involving some 400,000 men with a reputation for being brutal with right-wing leanings. Many later became Nazis.

8. TOPIC: The German Revolution, 1918 – 1919
KD NOTES 2:
1. Identify:
Spartacists - revolutionary group formed by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg in Dec. 1918, to provoke a Soviet-style revolution. They were a radical off-shoot of the USPD. In Jan they organised anti-government demonstrations in Berlin, seizing control of government buildings and claiming revolution. They were crushed by the Freikorps after a week of fighting. Liebknecht and Luxemburg were beaten to death.
Stinnes-Legien Agreement - helped quell workers support for the Spartacists by establishing an 8 hour day and trade union concessions (designed by Hugo Stinnes, industrial tycoon, and Carl Legien, Social Democrat trade unionist on Nov 15, 1918).

9. TOPIC: The German Revolution, 1918 – 1919
KD NOTES 3:
1. Identify:
January 15, members of the Horse Guards Division of the army murdered Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg.
Eugene Levine - communist leader in Bavaria that declared the Bavarian Soviet Republic on April 6, He used radical tactics that included seizing the property of the wealthy. Levine raised a ‘Red Army’ of workers, members of which soon started rounding up well known right wingers and executing them. Levine was executed.
Policy of Fulfilment -

10. 3. German cities - news of the Kaiser’s abdication: p. 11 (U1)
TOPIC: The German Revolution, 1918 – 1919
KD NOTES 4:
2. Ludendorff and Hindenburg - ‘Revolution from Above’, why: p. 10 (U1)
Hope that a democratic Germany would get better peace terms than an autocratic one from the Allies.
Hoped to divert attention from their own responsibility (de-facto military dictatorship from 1916).
3. German cities - news of the Kaiser’s abdication: p. 11 (U1)
People across the country could see that Imperial Germany’s ruling class lost control and was no longer feared.
Local councils, or Soviets, dominated by socialists seized control in Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin.
Social Democrats (SPD) were running local governments, while most Germans did NOT want the Kaiser to return.

11. KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT 2:
TOPIC: The German Revolution,
OBJECTIVES: 4. Explain how Imperial Germany collapsed in 1918.
5. Describe the roles played by socialists and Free Corps in the transition to the Weimar government.
6. Identify the weaknesses of the Weimar constitution.
KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT 2:
4. SPD Chairman, Friedrich Ebert became Germany’s Chancellor in
November What immediate threats did he face by the end of
1918? How did he deal with them? p (U3)
5. What caused the newly-formed Spartacists both optimism and
pessimism? p. 13 (U1)
6. The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia had an impact on Germany,
especially after November, How did Germany deal with
communists and Right-Wing Socialists in the months after WWI ended?
p (U3) and p. 14 (U1 - Freikorps)

12. 4. Ebert – Chancellor - immediate threats, 1918:
TOPIC: The German Revolution, 1918 – 1919
KD NOTES 5:
4. Ebert – Chancellor - immediate threats, 1918:
The USPD (Independent Socialists) challenged the decision to hold democratic elections (for January, 1919).
Formation of the revolutionary Spartacists (Dec, 1918) by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, who hoped to provoke a Soviet-style revolution.
Dealt with them: p (U3)
Nov Ebert made an agreement with General Groener.
Ebert promised the army supplies and protection of its status against the armed militias of the workers’ and soldiers’ councils.
In return, the army promised to put down revolutionary activity with force.

13. TOPIC: The German Revolution, 1918 - 1919
Karl
Liebknecht
was a German
socialist and
a co-founder
with Rosa
Luxemburg
of the Spartacist
League and
the Communist
Party of Germany.
They were assassinated by the Horse Guards Division of the Army on January 15, 1919 in Berlin.

14. TOPIC: The German Revolution, 1918 - 1919
Friedrich Ebert was a German politician
Democratic Party of Germany and the first President of Germany from 1919 until his death in office in Ebert was elected leader of the SPD on the death in 1913 of
August Bebel.

15. 5. Spartacists - optimism: p. 13 (U1)
TOPIC: The German Revolution, 1918 – 1919
KD NOTES 6:
5. Spartacists - optimism: p. 13 (U1)
They received backing from Lenin’s Russia.
Had support of radical trade union officials from Berlin’s factories.
Could exploit the hunger of the British naval blockade.
Hoped the disintegration of the German army would weaken government resistance to their revolt.
Spartacists - pessimism: p. 13 (U1)
They were not prepared to seize power. Liebknecht and Luxemburg were thinkers and theorists, not decisive action-takers like Lenin.
They were newly formed (Dec, 1918) and had low numbers.
The new government was led by SPD Chairman, Friedrich Ebert, and his socialist platform had support of the army (through the Ebert-Groener Pact).
The Stinnes-Legien Agreement helped workers with an 8 hour day and trade union concessions (designed by Hugo Stinnes, industrial tycoon, and Carl Legien, Social Democrat trade unionist).

16. TOPIC: The German Revolution, 1918 - 1919
General Wilhelm Groener
The Ebert-Groener deal, was an agreement between the Social Democrat Friedrich Ebert and Wilhelm Groener, Quartermaster General of the German Army, on November 10, 1918.
Groener assured Ebert of the loyalty of the armed forces. In return, Ebert promised that the government would take prompt action against leftist uprisings, call a national assembly, that military command would remain with the professional officers corps and most importantly the military would retain its traditional "state within the state" status.

17. p. 68 - 69 (U3) and p. 14 (U1 - Freikorps)
TOPIC: The German Revolution, 1918 – 1919
KD NOTES 7:
6. Bolsheviks - Germany deals with communists and Right-Wing socialists:
p (U3) and p. 14 (U1 - Freikorps)
The government authorised Defense Minister, Gustov Noske, to form privately-organised military-style units to help maintain order. They were called the Freikorps, with over 150 units involving some 400,000 men.
Many in the Freikorps were regular army and civilian volunteers, while others were mercenaries. They had a reputation for being brutal with right-wing leanings. Many later became Nazis.
A revolutionary uprising in Berlin that began on Jan 5, Newspaper offices were seized and revolutionary committees were formed. The regular army and Freikorps troops led by General Walther von Lüttwiz crushed the Spartacists.
The Freikorps beat Liebknecht and Luxemburg to death.

18. p. 68 - 69 (U3) and p. 14 (U1 - Freikorps)
TOPIC: The German Revolution, 1918 – 1919
KD NOTES 8:
6. Bolsheviks - Germany deals with communists and Right-Wing socialists:
p (U3) and p. 14 (U1 - Freikorps)
In the Spring of 1919, the Freikorps continued to crack down - at the ports of Bremen and Hamburg, as well as strikes in the Ruhr.
April 6, the Bavarian Soviet Republic led by communist Eugene Levine, was declared. It took to radical reforms that included seizing the property of the wealthy.
Levine raised a ‘Red Army’ of workers, members of which soon started rounding up well known right wingers and executing them.
May the Army and Freikorps sent a force of some 30,000 troops into Bavaria, and the Soviet Republic was crushed in fighting that killed approximately 1000 members of the Red Army.
After the fighting ended, the Freikorps rounded up 800 known communists, including Levine, and executed them.

19. Name SPD - 1890 (1863) KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT 3:
TOPIC: The German Revolution,
KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT 3:
7. Study the Political Parties on pages Fill in the Table below with
details from each of Germany’s competing political parties in 1919.
8. Study the Political Parties on pages Pay attention to the years
they were formed. What might that suggest about their influence? In
the Weimar Government, which are: a) Obvious coalition partners
b) Possible coalition partners c) Unlikely coalition partners?
Name
SPD (1863)
Constituency
Leaders
Attitude to the Republic

20. Independent Socialists (USPD) - 1917 [1920 - KPD]
TOPIC: The German Revolution,
KD NOTES Details from Germany’s competing political parties in 1919:
Name
SPD (1863)
Constituency
Working class, mainly urban industrial workers
and craftsman. Prussia - Berlin - Ruhr.
Leaders
Ebert, Philipp Schiedemann, Gustav Bauer, Herman Müller
Attitude to the Republic
Divided - some favoured parliamentary democracy, while others called for ideological position rejecting collaboration and ‘bourgeois.’
Name
Independent Socialists (USPD) [ KPD]
Constituency
Industrial workers disillusioned by SPD and Ebert’s support of war and cooperation with Centre Party.
Leaders
Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebnecht
Attitude to the Republic
Wanted Workers’ Soviets; supported
revolution and Moscow-led Comintern (1919).

21. TOPIC: The German Revolution, 1918 - 1919
Philipp Scheidemann was a German politician
of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Germany. On 9 November 1918, in the midst of the German Revolution of 1918–1919, he proclaimed Germany a republic. He became Chancellor in January, 1919.

22. German Democratic Party (DDP) - Nov 1918
TOPIC: The German Revolution,
KD NOTES Details from each of Germany’s competing political parties in 1919:
Name
German Democratic Party (DDP) - Nov 1918
Constituency
Business interests; middle classes and intellectuals.
Leaders
Hugo Preuss (author of Weimar Constitution), Erich Koch-Weser.
Attitude to the Republic
Fully supported Weimar Republic in early years; later wanted democracy with constitutional reforms; Policy of Fulfilment.

23. German People’s Party (DVP) - Dec 1918
TOPIC: The German Revolution,
KD NOTES Details from each of Germany’s competing political parties in 1919:
Name
German People’s Party (DVP) - Dec 1918
Constituency
Business interests, industrialists and white-collar workers.
Leaders
Gustav Stresemann
Attitude to the Republic
Recognised the Republic, but preferred
an autocratic system of government.
Hostile to TOV, but accepted Policy of Fulfilment.

24. German National People’s Party (DNVP) - 1918
TOPIC: The German Revolution,
KD NOTES Details from each of Germany’s competing political parties in 1919:
Name
German National People’s Party (DNVP)
Constituency
Conservatives, nationalists,
landowners, upper middle
class.
Leaders
Alfred Hugenberg,
Count Westarp and
Karl Helfferich
Attitude to the Republic
Hostile to the Republic;
wanted a return to imperial
Reich and the Kaiser;
anti-socialist and anti-Semitic;
rejected TOV.

25. Centre Party (Zentrum) - 1870
TOPIC: The German Revolution,
KD NOTES Details from each of Germany’s competing political parties in 1919:
Name
Centre Party (Zentrum)
Constituency
Catholics
Leaders
Konstantin Fehrenbach,
Wilhelm Marx,
Franz von Papen and
Ludwig Kaas.
Attitude to the Republic
Initially supportive of
Republic, but less so after
1930. Moderate right
leaning supporting
Policy of Fulfilment.

26. TOPIC: The German Revolution, 1918 - 1919
Matthias Erzberger was
was a German publicist and politician, Reich Minister of Finance from 1919 to 1920.
He was prominent in the Catholic Centre Party, speaking out against World War I from 1917 and as authorized representative of the Reich government signed the armistice between Germany and the Allies. He was assassinated for this act by the right-wing terrorist Organisation Consul.

27. German Communists Party (KPD) - Jan 1, 1919
TOPIC: The German Revolution,
KD NOTES Details from each of Germany’s competing political parties in 1919:
Name
German Communists Party (KPD) - Jan 1, 1919
Constituency
Communist revolutionaries;
attracted many ex-members
of USPD and working class.
Leaders
Members of Spartacist Union;
Paul Levi and Ernst Thälmann.
Attitude to the Republic
Hostile to Republic, which they
saw as a bourgeois, capitalist
political system dedicated to
exploiting working class.
Supported violent revolution,
and violently opposed SPD.
Supported the USSR.

28. Name Ex-servicemen, radical anti-Semites.
TOPIC: The German Revolution,
KD NOTES Details from each of Germany’s competing political parties in 1919:
Name
National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP)
Formerly the German Workers’ Party in 1919
Constituency
Ex-servicemen, radical anti-Semites.
Leaders
Gregor Strasser and Adolf Hitler.
Attitude to the Republic
Extremely hostile, condemning the ‘November Criminals’. Wanted to restructure society on racial grounds; destroy TOV; refused reparations; destruction of communism; Lebensraum.

29. they were formed. What might that suggest about their influence? In
TOPIC: The German Revolution,
KD NOTES 16:
8. Study the Political Parties on pages Pay attention to the years
they were formed. What might that suggest about their influence? In
the Weimar Government, which are:
a) Obvious coalition partners
b) Possible coalition partners
c) Unlikely coalition partners?

30. SPD Centre DDP DNVP USPD DVP Votes (millions) 11.5 5.9 5.6 3.1 2.3 1.3
TOPIC: The German Revolution,
KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT 4:
9. Study the elections results of January, What does it suggest
about the direction Germans want to go?
EXAM PRACTICE:
Study the political parties, and the election results from January, Write an essay describing the political challenges Germany might face, taking into consideration the coalition options and the tension between competing parties. (25)
SPD
Centre
DDP
DNVP
USPD
DVP
Votes (millions)
11.5
5.9
5.6
3.1
2.3
1.3
% of vote
37.9
19.7
18.5
10.3
7.6
4.4
Seats
165 91 75 44 22 19