History of Europe

November Revolution:From the Sailors' Revolt to the Weimar Republic

The last German monarchy ended on November 9, 1918, and the social democrat Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed the republic. The revolution began with the uprising of sailors in Wilhelmshaven and Kiel.

by Helene Heise

"The High Seas Fleet is instructed to attack the English fleet as soon as possible" - this is the order issued by the naval command on October 24, 1918. The ships of the Imperial German Navy stationed in Wilhelmshaven are scheduled to set sail on October 29 for a final battle with the superior Royal Navy. Shortly before the end of the war - the Reich government is already negotiating an armistice with the Allies - the fleet is to be sent to an "honorable sinking".

Germany's army lost the First World War

The First World War was decided long ago:After endless trench warfare on the western front, the German soldiers in the trenches in France and Belgium were exhausted and war-weary, and the army command had to pull back their positions more and more. As early as the summer of 1918, the Supreme Army Command recognized the situation as hopeless, and at the end of September they asked the Reich government to negotiate an armistice. The public is surprised by the news:Previously, propaganda had always announced that a "victory peace" was still possible.

The symbol of world power:the German fleet

The naval officers want to defend their military honor. The fleet in particular, the pride of the German army, was not able to contribute to a decision in the war - mostly the armored cruisers and corvettes were in port. Wilhelm II and his Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz had built the fleet in deliberate competition with the British Navy, it probably embodied the German Empire's claim to world power most clearly:the monarch, who was inclined to martial gestures, had demanded "a place in the sun" - colonies and an equal status alongside the world powers of England and France.

Sailors mutiny against suicide mission

But the simple sailors don't want to end up in a suicide mission for the honor code of their officers. On the battleships of the I. and III. There is resistance from the naval squadron in Wilhelmshaven:During the night of October 29th to 30th, the stokers extinguish the boilers, the sailors refuse to give orders. The naval management quickly realized that leaving the ship was out of the question. The crews keep the ships manned. But on October 31, the mutineers gave up and were arrested without resistance.

Resistance in Wilhelmshaven turns into uprising in Kiel

The military command housed some of the prisoners in the prison in Wilhelmshaven, and sent some sailors and stokers to Kiel. A strategic mistake, as it soon turns out:in Kiel, ship crews and dock workers show solidarity with the prisoners. The disobedience of the sailors in Wilhelmshaven turns into an uprising in Kiel. There the mutinous sailors soon sought contact with representatives of the SPD and USPD. Lothar Popp and Karl Artelt, both representatives of the USPD, take over the leadership of the Kiel Workers' and Soldiers' Council, which has since been founded.

When military units fired on a demonstration in Kiel on November 3, seven demonstrators died and 29 were injured. News of the shots at the sailors spread quickly. In the next two days it reaches all naval bases on the coast.

Reich government tries to contain the uprising

The Reich government in Berlin tries to keep the beginning revolution under control. The Social Democratic member of the Reichstag, Gustav Noske, travels to Kiel accompanied by State Secretary Conrad Haussmann. The workers and soldiers, who have since formed councils, greet the SPD man and elect him on November 5 as chairman of the Kiel Workers' and Soldiers' Council. With the promise of amnesty he succeeds in containing the uprising.

The revolution reaches Berlin

But the spark of the revolution had already spread from the north to the entire Reich. On November 7, the revolution reaches Munich, and Ludwig III is the first German prince to abdicate from Bavaria. Things are also fermenting in the imperial capital. On November 9, events escalated there:Chancellor Prince Max von Baden announced Wilhelm II's abdication - without his consent. The monarch fled to exile in the Netherlands, where he lived until his death in 1941. In the afternoon, the SPD deputy Philipp Scheidemann proclaims the republic from the balcony of the Berlin Reichstag building.

Course of the German revolution:split between SPD and KPD

The fact that Karl Liebknecht, co-founder of the Communist Party, proclaimed the socialist republic a little later in the zoo already points to the further course of the German revolution of November 1918:For the SPD, the abdication of the Kaiser, the introduction of universal and free suffrage and the Laying of the foundation stone for a republic achieves the political goal. Chancellor Friedrich Ebert and the comrades of the majority SPD seek a balance with the supporting layers of the empire - the return to peace and order is now the top priority for the new government.

Spartacus uprising ends in blood

The communist Karl Liebknecht wants to initiate a socialist revolution. In 1919 he was killed during the Spartacus uprising.

The more radical supporters of the independent Social Democrats and the KPD, led by Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, want to complete the revolution on the Soviet model. Their project came to a bloody end with the Spartacus uprising in January 1919:Gustav Noske, who had meanwhile been appointed Minister of Defense, allied himself with the partly reactionary Freikorps to put down the unrest. Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht are killed by the corps soldiers.

Weimar Republic with a heavy legacy

On August 11, 1919, the constitution of the Weimar Republic was officially adopted. But a heavy burden weighed on the young republic:it inherited a deeply divided society with great internal contradictions from the empire, large parts of society on the left and right are against the republic. The uprising of the sailors serves the reactionary political forces as a "stab in the back" legend, which, contrary to historical facts, states that the war was not yet lost for Germany when the sailors rebelled. Hitler will also later refer to it to justify taking up arms again in World War II.

German fleet sinks itself

The German fleet, the pride of the German Empire, faces an inglorious end:Interned by the Royal Navy in the Bay of Scapa Flow on the Orkney Islands, the fleet sinks itself in June 1919.


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