Misplaced Pages

#590409

71-558: A group of communists and anarchists declared the Bavarian Soviet Republic on 6 April 1919, forcing the government of the existing People's State of Bavaria to flee to Bamberg . The members of the new government, led by playwright Ernst Toller , had no political or administrative experience, and after just six days in power they were ousted in a putsch organized by the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). The new head of state,

142-401: A Jew, a socialist, a Bohemian, and a Berliner, Eisner was the perfect target. Arco-Valley had been humiliated when a leftist mob tore off his cockade from his hat after the war, and then endured further humiliation when he was rejected from membership in the anti-Semitic Thule Society because of Jewish ancestry on his mother's side. After the shooting, Arco-Valley was saved from lynching on

213-536: A black mourning band and a red band showing support for the Government. It is uncertain whether this indicated that Hitler was a true supporter of the Soviet Republic, or that he was simply taking an available opportunity not to return to his impoverished pre-war civilian life. Befitting what is now known about his character, Hitler's so-called left-wing politics may have been purely opportunistic, rather than reflecting

284-515: A common enemy in the far-left, and the former Kingdom became profoundly "reactionary, anti-Republican, [and] counter-revolutionary." The Communists and Social Democrats both blamed each other following the episode, paralyzing the left through the Nazi era . The fact that some of the prominent figures of the People's State and the Soviet Republic were Jewish was used by conservative and far-right circles to push

355-596: A decree saying that no house could thereafter contain more than three rooms and that the living room must always be above the kitchen and bedroom. It was also declared that Finance Minister Silvio Gesell's concept of Freigeld would be implemented, although it never was. Members of the Toller cabinet included: On Saturday 12 April 1919, only six days into Toller's regime, the KPD seized power, led by three Russian-German Bolsheviks , with Eugen Leviné as head of state and Max Levien as

426-640: A deeper political belief. It is also known that once the Soviet Republic had fallen to the White Guard and the Freikorps , Hitler immediately changed his loyalties, aligning himself with the Weimar Republic and – as part of a three-man committee assigned to investigate the behavior of his regiment's soldiers – informed on other soldiers who had shown sympathy for the Soviet Government. Active participants in

497-526: A few days, the Munich social market economist Lujo Brentano served as People's Commissar for Trade ( Volkskommissar für Handel ). On 7 January 1919, a Provisional State Constitution ( Vorläufiges Staatsgrundgesetz ) was promulgated. The new republic started out with many strikes against it. None of the leaders were native Bavarians, and they were bohemians and intellectuals – many of them Jewish – who were conspicuous in their anti-bourgeois bias. Those from

568-501: A firing squad in Stadelheim Prison . Gustav Landauer was killed by the Freikorps , and Egelhofer was murdered without trial after being arrested as well. Numerous others were given prison sentences, such as Toller (5 years) and the anarchist writer Erich Mühsam (15 years); others received longer sentences, 6,000 years' worth in all, some of it to hard labour. After the execution of 1,000–1,200 suspected communists, Oven declared

639-486: A fool ... We are being ruined by bad management." An organized campaign for Eisner's removal from office was not long in coming. As the new government was unable to provide basic services, it soon lost the support of the conservative Bavarian countryside, necessary for any government to hold together in the rural province. Eisner's USPD was defeated in the January 1919 election , coming in sixth place, with only 3 per cent of

710-518: A melee that killed the conservative parliamentarian Heinrich Osel  [ de ] and provoked nervous breakdowns in at least two ministers. There was effectively no government in Bavaria thereafter. Unrest and lawlessness followed. The assassination of Eisner created a martyr for the leftist cause and prompted demonstrations, the closing of the University of Munich , the kidnapping of aristocrats and

781-503: A parliamentary coalition government However, a month later, on the night of 6–7 April, communists and anarchists , energized by the news of a communist revolution in Hungary , declared a Soviet republic , with Ernst Toller as chief of state. Toller called on the non-existent "Bavarian Red Army" to support the new dictatorship of the proletariat and ruthlessly deal with any counter-revolutionary behaviour. The KPD reluctantly took part in

SECTION 10

#1733085278591

852-497: A parliamentary coalition government, but a month later, on the night of 6–7 April, communists and anarchists , energized by the news of a communist revolution in Hungary , declared a Bavarian Soviet Republic (BSR), with Ernst Toller as chief of state. Toller called on the non-existent "Bavarian Red Army" to support the new dictatorship of the proletariat and ruthlessly deal with any counter-revolutionary behavior. The Communist Party of Germany (KPD) reluctantly took part in

923-730: A politician of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD), became minister-president of a newly-proclaimed People's State of Bavaria . The government of the People's State was made up of the SPD, the USPD and the Bavarian Peasants' League (BB). Though he advocated a socialist republic , Eisner distanced himself from the Russian Bolsheviks and declared that his government would protect property rights . As

994-632: The Freikorps units – those of Oven, Franz Ritter von Epp , and Hermann Erhardt – that suppressed the Bavarian Soviet Republic included future powerful members of the Nazi Party , including Rudolf Hess , a member of the Freikorps Epp . In his 1952 memoir Witness , Whittaker Chambers named Eugene Leviné as one of three people whom he most admired as he joined the Communist Party USA , along with Felix Dzerzhinsky and Igor Sazonov : During

1065-567: The Rat der geistigen Arbeit (Council of Intellectual Work) with Mann as its chairman . Adolf Hitler 's longstanding chauffeur and first leader of the Schutzstaffel (SS) Julius Schreck signed up and served as a member of the Red Army in late April 1919. Balthasar Brandmayer, one of Hitler's closest wartime friends, remarked "how he at first welcomed the end of the monarchies" and the establishment of

1136-475: The Anif declaration releasing both civil and military officers from their oaths; the newly-formed Eisner government interpreted this as an abdication, although to date, no member of the royal House of Wittelsbach has ever formally renounced the throne. Though he advocated a socialist republic , Eisner distanced himself from the Russian Bolsheviks , declaring that his government would protect property rights . For

1207-520: The article wizard to submit a draft for review, or request a new article . Search for " Heinrich Osel " in existing articles. Look for pages within Misplaced Pages that link to this title . Other reasons this message may be displayed: If a page was recently created here, it may not be visible yet because of a delay in updating the database; wait a few minutes or try the purge function . Titles on Misplaced Pages are case sensitive except for

1278-457: The homeless and placing factories under the ownership and control of their workers. One of Munich's main churches was taken over and made into a revolutionary temple which would be presided over by "Goddess Reason." Bavaria was to be in the vanguard of the Bolshevization of central Europe, with all workers to receive military training. Leviné also had plans to abolish paper money and reform

1349-663: The monarchy of the Wittelsbach dynasty, which had ruled Bavaria for over 700 years, and Eisner became Minister-President of Bavaria . Eisner was a middle-class Jew who had been a drama critic in Berlin before he left his wife and family to come to Munich, where he took up with a female journalist, frequented the cafés of the Schwabing district of the city, and wrote reviews for the Münchener Post – although he later lost his job because he

1420-537: The soldiers' and workers' councils . Twenty men died in the fighting. On 27 April, due to disputes over whether negotiations should be held with Hoffmann's People's State of Bavaria, Leviné's committee resigned and re-elected Toller to lead the Bavarian Soviet Republic. The rival governments – Hoffmann's People's State of Bavaria seated in Bamberg, and the Bavarian Soviet Republic located in Munich – clashed militarily at Dachau on 18 April when Hoffmann's 8,000 soldiers met

1491-513: The Bavarian SPD, including the abolition of the privileged first chamber of the Landtag ( Kammer der Reichsräte in which only the nobility was represented); the abolition of the nobility as a whole; general, equal, direct and secret suffrage; more rights for the state parliament; and separation of church and state. However, this motion failed. At the end of October 1918, German sailors mutinied off

SECTION 20

#1733085278591

1562-635: The Bavarian Soviet Republic in 1919, Levine was the organizer of the Workers and Soldiers Soviets. When the Bavarian Soviet Republic was crushed, Levine was captured and courtmartialed. The court-martial told him: "You are under sentence of death." Levine answered: "We communists are always under sentence of death." That is another thing that it meant to be a Communist. 48°08′N 11°34′E  /  48.133°N 11.567°E  / 48.133; 11.567 People%27s State of Bavaria The People's State of Bavaria ( German : Volksstaat Bayern )

1633-512: The German emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II , and proposed the formation of workers' and soldiers' councils . The crowd marched to the army barracks and won over most of the soldiers; those who didn't go over to the revolution were too war-weary to mount any resistance to it. The combined group, estimated to be more than 100,000, then marched to the Residenz Palace . That night, King Ludwig, abandoned by

1704-403: The KPD and the SPD that prevented them from working together throughout Germany. This lack of cooperation, with the communists seeing the social democrats as betrayers of the revolution, and the social democrats seeing the communists as under the control of Moscow, was later to redound to the advantage of the Nazi Party , since only a parliamentary coalition of the KPD and SPD could have prevented

1775-415: The Munich defenses on 1 May, and, after the execution of 1,000–1,200 suspected communists, Oven declared the city to have been secured on 6 May, ending the reign of the Bavarian Soviet Republic. Active participants in the Freikorps units which suppressed the Bavarian Soviet Republic included future members of the Nazi Party , including Rudolf Hess . The Bamberg Constitution  [ de ]

1846-706: The Nazi rise to power. The roots of the republic lay in the German Empire 's defeat in the First World War and the ensuing German Revolution of 1918–1919 . In September 1917, the Bavarian Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), which rejected revolutionary efforts in Bavaria, had submitted a corresponding motion ( Auer-Süssheim-Antrag ) to the Bavarian Landtag, which contained the main demands of

1917-1297: The Nazis from coming to power. Even at the height of their influence in the Reichstag , they did not have enough delegates to resist such a coalition. 48°08′N 11°34′E  /  48.133°N 11.567°E  / 48.133; 11.567 Heinrich Osel Look for Heinrich Osel on one of Misplaced Pages's sister projects : [REDACTED] Wiktionary (dictionary) [REDACTED] Wikibooks (textbooks) [REDACTED] Wikiquote (quotations) [REDACTED] Wikisource (library) [REDACTED] Wikiversity (learning resources) [REDACTED] Commons (media) [REDACTED] Wikivoyage (travel guide) [REDACTED] Wikinews (news source) [REDACTED] Wikidata (linked database) [REDACTED] Wikispecies (species directory) Misplaced Pages does not have an article with this exact name. Please search for Heinrich Osel in Misplaced Pages to check for alternative titles or spellings. You need to log in or create an account and be autoconfirmed to create new articles. Alternatively, you can use

1988-608: The North Sea coast. After setting up a revolutionary workers' and soldiers' council at Kiel In early November, they quickly spread the councils across Germany and with little bloodshed took power from the existing military, royal and civil authorities. On 7 November 1918, the first anniversary of the October Revolution in Russia, King Ludwig III of Bavaria fled from the Residenz Palace in Munich with his family, and Kurt Eisner ,

2059-588: The Reich were as sensitive to the mood of unrest as Munich: its political atmosphere was unstable and exaggerated towards one extreme or the other," and, according to Joachim Fest , "No other city in Germany had been so shaken by the events and emotions of the revolution and the first postwar weeks as excitable Munich." Extensive constitutional reforms of the governing structure of the Kingdom of Bavaria , under discussion between

2130-553: The Russian-German Bolshevik Eugen Leviné , quickly instituted communist measures such as worker control of factories. Food shortages led to popular unrest, and on 3 May the People's State was violently put down by soldiers of the German Army , supported by paramilitary Freikorps troops. Some 600 people died in the fighting, and up to 1,200 communists and anarchists were later executed. On 14 August 1919,

2201-665: The SPD returned to power, but was subsequently ousted in the Kapp Putsch in March 1920. The tumultuous period of the People's State of Bavaria and the Bavarian Soviet Republic was used by conservative and far-right circles to stoke fear and hatred of "bolshevism" among Bavarian society. The period was popularly remembered as a period in which both states existed as one of shortages, censorship, restrictions on freedom, violence, and general disorder. The many separate strands of Bavarian conservatism found

Bavarian Soviet Republic - Misplaced Pages Continue

2272-399: The Soviet Republic's 30,000. The BSR forces – led by Ernst Toller – were victorious in the first battle at Dachau, but Hoffmann made a deal that gave him the services of 20,000 men of the Freikorps under Lt. General Burghard von Oven  [ de ] . Oven and the Freikorps , along with Hoffmann's loyalist elements of the German Army – called the "White Guards of Capitalism" by

2343-511: The Soviet Republic's 30,000. The BSR forces – led by, of all people, Ernst Toller – was victorious in the first battle at Dachau, but Hoffmann made a deal which gave him the services of 20,000 men of the Freikorps under Lt. General Burghard von Oven  [ de ] . Oven and the Freikorps then took Dachau and surrounded Munich. Supporters of the BSR had, in the meantime, on 26 April, occupied

2414-571: The Swiss refusal to lend 60 locomotives to the Republic. He claimed to be well acquainted with Pope Benedict XV and informed Vladimir Lenin and the Pope by cable that the ousted former Minister-President Hoffmann had fled to Bamberg and taken the key to the ministry toilet with him. Toller's brief government was characterized by bold declarations without real enforcement. The minister for public housing published

2485-586: The army, fled from the Palace with his family and took up residence in Anif Palace in nearby Salzburg , for what he hoped would be a temporary stay. He was the first of the monarchs in the German Empire to be deposed. The next day, Eisner, having gotten the approval of the local revolutionary workers' and soldiers' councils, declared Bavaria a " free state " – synonymous to "republic" – a declaration which overthrew

2556-590: The chairman of the Bavarian KPD. The communists managed to secure power after the so called Palm Sunday Putsch , where the counter-revolutionary government forces were suppressed by the Bavarian Red Army commander Rudolf Egelhofer . Erich Mühsam , a member of the Toller Government, had himself "suggested to Leviné that we [the Toller government] be forcibly ousted so that the hopeless situation would end and

2627-539: The children of the bourgeoisie anyway. We are not interested in keeping them alive. No harm if they die – they'd only grow into enemies of the proletariat." An attempt by troops loyal to the Hoffmann government and the paramilitary Kampfbund (combat league) of the Neopagan and volkische Thule Society to overthrow the BSR on 13 April was put down by the new Red Army, which consisted of factory workers and members of

2698-454: The city to have been secured on 6 May, ending the reign of the Bavarian Soviet Republic. Although the Hoffmann government was nominally restored, the actual power in Munich had shifted to the right. The Bamberg Constitution  [ de ] was enacted on 14 August 1919, creating the Free State of Bavaria within the new Weimar Republic . After the Bavarian Soviet Republic was crushed,

2769-567: The communists – then took Dachau and surrounded Munich. Supporters of the BSR had, in the meantime, on 26 April, occupied the rooms of the Thule Society in the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten , and arrested Countess Hella von Westarp, the society's secretary, and six others, to be held as hostages. Rudolf Egelhofer, panicked by Munich being surrounded by Hoffmann's forces, had these seven and three other hostages executed on 30 April. They included

2840-416: The conspiracy theory of " Jewish Bolshevism " in Bavaria. One notable supporter of the Soviet Republic was the artist Georg Schrimpf , then aged 30, who was arrested when the movement was crushed. His friend, the writer Oskar Maria Graf , who was also arrested, wrote about the events in his autobiographical novel, Wir sind Gefangene (1927). The famed anarchist novelist Ret Marut (later known as B.Traven )

2911-475: The councils across Germany and with little bloodshed took power from the existing military, royal and civil authorities. Munich, the capital of Bavaria, was "an island of anarchic bohemianism and political radicalism in an otherwise predominantly Roman Catholic rural sea of small towns and timber houses scattered across the foothills of the Alps," according to Michael Burleigh . Alan Bullock writes that "Few towns in

Bavarian Soviet Republic - Misplaced Pages Continue

2982-495: The democratic Free State of Bavaria was established within the Weimar Republic . The disruptions and privation endured by the populace during Bavaria's period of socialist rule led to the new state becoming strongly anti-communist and a breeding ground for right-wing parties such as the Nazis . The Bavarian Soviet Republic also contributed to the nationwide split between the moderate and radical Left, which seriously weakened opposition to

3053-461: The education system but never had time to implement them. There was time, however, for Max Levien, following Lenin's orders, to arrest aristocrats and members of the middle-class as hostages. During Leviné's short reign, food shortages quickly became a problem, especially the absence of milk. Public criticism over the milk shortage turned political, precipitating the communist government to publicly declare: "What does it matter? ... Most of it goes to

3124-635: The forced pealing of church bells. The support for the Left was greater than Eisner himself had been able to command. On 1 March, the Congress of Councils proclaimed a new government under Martin Segitz , but it was neither recognised by the majority of the state parliament and nor politically active. On 17 March 1919, the Socialists' new leader, Johannes Hoffmann , an anti-militarist and former schoolteacher, patched together

3195-465: The kidnapping of aristocrats, and the forced pealing of church bells. "Revenge for Eisner" rang through bullhorns in the streets. The support for the Left was greater than ever before, even greater than Eisner himself had been able to garner. For a month, a Central Council ( soviet ) under Ernst Niekisch held governmental power. On 17 March 1919, the Socialists' new leader, Johannes Hoffmann, an anti-militarist and former schoolteacher, patched together

3266-629: The leader of the Social Democrats and the Minister of the Interior in Eisner's government, began to eulogize Eisner, but rumours had already begun to spread that Auer was behind the assassination. Acting on the false allegations, Alois Linder, a saloon waiter who was a fervent supporter of Eisner, shot Auer twice with a rifle and wounded him. That prompted other armed supporters of Eisner to open fire, which caused

3337-583: The legislature to meet on 21 February 1919, more than a month after the election. As he was on his way to the Landtag to announce his resignation, Eisner was shot dead by the right-wing nationalist Anton Graf von Arco auf Valley , an aristocratic former cavalryman now a student at the University of Munich, who was a believer in the " stab-in-the-back myth ", which held that Jews, socialists and other undesirable elements had caused Germany to lose World War I. As

3408-440: The new "Red Army" created from factory workers and members of the soldiers' and workers' councils. Twenty people died in the fighting. After a coup six days into Toller's regime, the KPD seized power, led by three Russian-German Bolsheviks , with Eugen Leviné as head of state and Max Levien as the chairman of the Bavarian KPD. The rival governments clashed militarily at Dachau on 18 April when Hoffmann's 8,000 soldiers met

3479-459: The new government was unable to provide basic services, Eisner's USPD was defeated in the January 1919 election and came in sixth place. On 21 February 1919, as he was on his way to the Landtag to announce his resignation, he was shot dead by the right-wing nationalist Anton Graf von Arco auf Valley , also known as Arco-Valley. After Eisner's assassination, the Landtag convened, and Erhard Auer ,

3550-474: The newly formed soviet republic, with the KPD's chairman Paul Levi denouncing the republic as "revolutionary adventurism". The Hoffmann government fled to Bamberg in Northern Bavaria, which it declared as the new seat of government – although most of the ministers resigned. An attempt by troops loyal to the Hoffmann government to mount a counter-coup and overthrow the BSR was put down on 13 April by

3621-451: The newly-formed soviet republic though the party's chairman, Paul Levi , denounced the republic as "revolutionary adventurism". The Hoffmann government fled to Bamberg , in northern Bavaria, which it declared the new seat of government. Initially, the Bavarian Soviet Republic was ruled by USPD members such as Ernst Toller , and anarchists like writer Gustav Landauer , economist Silvio Gesell , and playwright Erich Mühsam . Toller, who

SECTION 50

#1733085278591

3692-691: The regime's philosophical utopianism won over few converts. Eisner even admitted to German guilt for World War I at a socialist conference in Bern , Switzerland , and, with his secretary Felix Fechenbach , published papers from the official archives of Bavaria which showed the German complicity in the Austrian ultimatum to Serbia in July 1914, after the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand . Even cabinet ministers were dissatisfied with Eisner's leadership: one of them told him "You are an anarchist ... You are no statesman, you are

3763-660: The release of detained leaders. On the afternoon of 7 November 1918, the first anniversary of the Russian revolution , Kurt Eisner , an idealistic Independent Social Democratic Party politician addressed a crowd estimated to have been about 60,000 on the Theresienwiese – current site of the Oktoberfest – in Munich . He demanded an immediate peace, an eight-hour workday, relief for the unemployed, abdication of Bavarian King Ludwig III and

3834-402: The republic in Bavaria. Hitler himself acted as a liaison between his army battalion – he had been elected "deputy battalion representative" – and the Soviet Republic's Department of Propaganda by soldiers who mostly supported the mainstream SPD as opposed to the more radical USPD. Both newsreel film footage and a still photograph show Hitler marching in Eisner's funeral procession. He wears both

3905-584: The revolutionary work could be secured." Having received the blessings of Lenin – who at the annual May Day celebration in Red Square said: "The liberated working class is celebrating its anniversary not only in Soviet Russia but in ... Soviet Bavaria" – Leviné began to enact more communist reforms, which included forming a "Red Army" from factory workers, seizing cash, food supplies, and privately owned guns, expropriating luxurious apartments and giving them to

3976-421: The right-wing called Eisner a "foreign, racially alien vagabond" and a Bolshevist, and his associates "unscrupulous alien scoundrels", "Jewish rascals" and "misleaders of labor". Eisner did not help matters by declaring that his regime would have "government by kindness" and would create a "realm of light, beauty and reason." There were frequent spectacles such as parades, demonstrations, concerts, and speeches, but

4047-492: The rooms of the Thule Society in the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten , and arrested Countess Hella von Westarp, the society's secretary, and six others, to be held as hostages. Rudolf Egelhofer, panicked by Munich being surrounded by Hoffmann's forces, had these seven and three other hostages executed on 30 April. They included the well-connected Prince Gustav of Thurn and Taxis . The executions were carried out despite Toller's efforts to prevent them. The Freikorps broke through

4118-496: The royal government and all parliamentary groups since September 1917, were agreed to on 2 November 1918. These included, among other things, the introduction of proportional representation and the transformation of the constitutional monarchy into a parliamentary monarchy . However, events on the ground were outpacing these measures. Beginning on 3 November 1918, protests initiated by the socialist Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD) called for peace and demanded

4189-465: The spot by the fast action of Eisner's secretary, Fechenbach. Instead, he was arrested and taken to Stadelheim Prison where, coincidentally, he was put in the same cell that Eisner had served time in earlier. Despite the assassination of Eisner, the Landtag convened, and Erhard Auer – the leader of the Social Democrats and the Minister of the Interior in Eisner's government – began to eulogize Eisner, but rumours had already begun to spread that Auer

4260-621: The vote, and only garnering three seats in the Bavarian Parliament (the Landtag ), while the Bavarian People's Party got 66 seats. Eisner, apparently because he was loath to give up power, delayed calling the Landtag into session until public pressure from all quarters – including a death threat from the Thule Society if he did not give up his office – forced him to. Finally, he set

4331-432: The well-connected Prince Gustav of Thurn and Taxis . The executions were carried out despite Toller's efforts to prevent them. The Freikorps broke through the Munich defences on 1 May, leading to bitter street fighting that involved "flame-throwers, heavy artillery, armoured vehicles, even aircraft". At least 606 people were killed, of whom 335 were civilians. Leviné was later condemned to death for treason, and shot by

SECTION 60

#1733085278591

4402-403: Was a republic in Bavaria from 1918 to 1919. The People's State of Bavaria was established on 8 November 1918 during the German Revolution , as an attempt at a socialist state to replace the Kingdom of Bavaria . The state was led by Kurt Eisner until his assassination in February 1919. Its government under Johannes Hoffmann went into exile in Bamberg when the rival Bavarian Soviet Republic

4473-417: Was able to provoke and feed the fears of the peasants and the middle class . The separate strands of Bavarian right-wing extremism found a common enemy in despising the left, and Bavaria became profoundly "reactionary, anti-Republican, [and] counter-revolutionary." The left itself had been neutralized after the demise of the two socialist states, and in such a way that there continued to be bad blood between

4544-538: Was also a playwright, described the revolution as the "Bavarian Revolution of Love". Among the café society of Schwabing, the new government became known as "the regime of the coffeehouse anarchists." Toller's cabinet picks were controversial. For instance, a burglar with a conviction for moral turpitude was chosen as police president of Munich. Most infamous was the Commissar of Foreign Affairs Dr. Franz Lipp – who had been admitted several times to psychiatric hospitals – declared war on Württemberg and Switzerland over

4615-408: Was an active participant in the establishment of Soviet power and worked as head of the Press Department of the Soviet Republic. During the early days of the Soviet Republic, representatives of cultural life also played an important role in the revolution. Some intellectuals such as the economist Lujo Brentano , the conductor Bruno Walter and the writers Heinrich Mann and Rainer Maria Rilke formed

4686-458: Was behind the assassination. Acting on these false allegations, Alois Lindner, a butcher and saloon waiter, and a member of the Revolutionary Workers' Council who was a fervent supporter of Eisner, shot Auer twice with a rifle, seriously wounding him. This prompted other armed supporters of Eisner to open fire, causing a melee, killing one delegate from the Centre Party and provoking nervous breakdowns in at least two ministers. From this point, there

4757-407: Was effectively no government in Bavaria. These events caused unrest and lawlessness in Bavaria, and a general strike was proclaimed by the soldiers' and workers' councils, which distributed guns and ammunition, provoking the declaration of a state of emergency. The assassination of Eisner created a martyr for the leftist cause, and prompted demonstrations, the closing of the University of Munich ,

4828-494: Was enacted on 14 August 1919, creating the Free State of Bavaria within the new Weimar Republic . After the Bavarian Soviet Republic was crushed, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) returned to power, but was subsequently ousted in the Kapp Putsch in March 1920. The tumultuous period of the People's State of Bavaria and the Bavarian Soviet Republic was used by conservative and far-right circles to stoke fear and hatred of "bolshevism" among Bavarian society. The period

4899-473: Was formed on 6 April 1919. After the Soviet Republic's end, the People's State of Bavaria developed into the Free State of Bavaria . The roots of the People's State lay in the German Empire 's defeat in the First World War and the ensuing German Revolution of 1918–1919 . At the end of October 1918, German sailors mutinied off the North Sea coast. After setting up a revolutionary workers' and soldiers' council at Kiel in early November, they quickly spread

4970-642: Was part of the "revisionist right-wing" of the Social Democratic Party, which wanted the party to drop its attachment to Marxist ideology. Eisner helped found the Munich branch of the Independent Social Democratic Party and became known for his anti-war stance, which had garnered him eight months in jail after he organized a number of peace strikes in January 1918; he was released under a general amnesty in October 1918. Despite his gift for rhetoric and oratory, Eisner had no political or administrative experience when he became minister-president. The government consisted of: On 12 November 1918, King Ludwig III signed

5041-400: Was popularly remembered as a period in which both states existed as one of shortages, censorship, restrictions on freedom, violence, and general disorder. These feelings were then constantly to be reinforced by right-wing propaganda not only in Bavaria, but throughout the Reich, where "Red Bavaria" was held up as a lesson in the horrors of socialism and communism. In this way, the radical Right

#590409