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133-564: The FAUD was involved in the revolution in Germany from 1918 to 1923, and continued to be involved in the German labor movement after the FAUD began to decline in 1923. After 1921, the FAUD added an "AS" to their name, signifying a full transition from simple syndicalism to anarcho-syndicalism. This also led to further difficulties between the intellectual elites of the FAUD (AS), such as Rudolf Rocker , and

266-480: A dictatorship of the proletariat , he said to his staff officers on 1 October: I have asked His Majesty to bring into the government those circles to whom we mainly owe it that we have come this far. ... Let them now make the peace that must be made. They should eat the soup they have served up to us! His statement marked the birth of the " stab-in-the-back myth " ( Dolchstoßlegende ), according to which revolutionary socialists and republican politicians had betrayed

399-529: A parliamentary monarchy . The chancellor and his ministers were made dependent on the confidence of the parliamentary majority rather than the emperor, and peace treaties and declarations of war required the Reichstag's approval. Because the chancellor was also responsible for the emperor's acts under the constitution, the emperor's military right of command ( Kommandogewalt ) became the chancellor's responsibility and thus subject to parliamentary control. As far as

532-588: A cohesive force, they dispersed to their homes. On 16 December, the Reich Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Councils met in Berlin and set the date for elections to the National Assembly for 19 January 1919. It also passed a resolution that was aimed at ensuring that the military would be under the strict control of the civilian government and called for a powerful position of the soldiers' councils vis-à-vis

665-600: A communist revolution in the capital. On 9 November, the revolution reached Berlin as the larger companies were hit by a general strike called by the Spartacists and the Revolutionary Stewards, but also supported by the SPD and the mainstream unions. Workers' and soldiers' councils were created, and important buildings occupied. As the striking masses marched on the centre of Berlin, the SPD, afraid of losing its influence on

798-477: A confrontation between officers and crews on board the German fleet at Wilhelmshaven on 30 October set in motion a train of events that would result in the German Revolution of 1918–1919 that spread over a substantial part of the country over the next week. Against that backdrop, the SPD led by Ebert on 7 November demanded a more powerful voice in the cabinet, an extension of parliamentarism to Prussia and

931-505: A court in Magdeburg fined a journalist who had called Ebert a "traitor to his country" for his role in the January 1918 strike, but the court also said that, in terms of strict legalism, Ebert had in fact committed treason. These proceedings prevented him from seeking medical help for a while, as he wanted to be available to give evidence. Ebert became acutely ill in mid-February 1925 from what

1064-463: A critical time, the Reichstag extended Ebert's term of office on 24 October 1922 until 30 June 1925, with a majority vote that was sufficient for a change to the constitution. As president, Ebert appointed centre-right figures like Wilhelm Cuno and Hans Luther chancellor and made rigorous use of his wide-ranging powers under Article 48 of the Weimar constitution. For instance, he used it to deal with

1197-444: A curse on our actions, has been shaken off by the German people. They have made themselves masters of their own destiny. Above all, the hopes of German freedom rest on you. ... No one suffered more than you from the injustice of the old regime. We thought of you when we did away with a disastrous system; we fought for freedom for you; we won the right to work for you. After the ten divisions had arrived, however, rather than remaining as

1330-680: A greater degree – the Right. The fractures in the German Left that had become permanent during the revolution made Adolf Hitler 's rise to power in 1933 easier than it might have been if the Left had been more united. When World War I started, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) was the one socialist political party of any significance in the German Empire and as such played a major role in

1463-425: A group of 100 Revolutionary Stewards from the larger Berlin factories occupied the Reichstag. Led by their spokesmen Richard Müller and Emil Barth , they formed a revolutionary parliament. Most of the participating stewards had been leaders during the strikes earlier in the year. They did not trust the SPD leadership and had planned a coup for 11 November independently of the sailors' revolt, but were unprepared for

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1596-475: A major part in the political life of the Weimar Republic. Ebert always regarded the institutions of parliamentary democracy as a more legitimate expression of the will of the people; workers' councils, as a product of the revolution, were only justified in exercising power for a transition period. "All power to all the people!" was the slogan of his party, in contrast to the slogan of the far left's "All power to

1729-582: A member of the Bremer Bürgerschaft (city and state assembly) as the representative of the Social Democratic Party. In 1904, Ebert presided over the national convention of the party in Bremen and became better known to a wider public. He became a leader of the "moderate" wing of the Social Democratic Party and in 1905 Secretary-General of the SPD, at which point he moved to Berlin. At the time, he

1862-500: A protest march by the sailors towards the prison in Kiel where the mutineers were being held. The soldiers opened fire and killed at least nine protestors. The following day, workers in Kiel declared a general strike in support of the protest, and sailors from the barracks at Wik, north of Kiel, joined the march, as did many of the soldiers sent to help control the protests. Faced with the rapidly escalating situation, Admiral Wilhelm Souchon ,

1995-588: A regular communication between the two that involved daily telephone conversations over a secret line, according to Groener. The agreement between the two became known as the Ebert–Groener pact . In domestic policy, a number of social reforms were quickly introduced by the Council of the People's Deputies under Ebert's leadership, including unemployment benefits, the eight-hour workday, universal suffrage for everyone over

2128-510: A week, workers' and soldiers' councils were in control of government and military institutions across most of the Reich. On 9 November, Germany was declared a republic . By the end of the month, all of the ruling monarchs , including Emperor Wilhelm II , had been forced to abdicate. On 10 November, the Council of the People's Deputies was formed by members of Germany's two main socialist parties. Under

2261-466: Is generally set at 11 August 1919, the day the Weimar Constitution was adopted; however, the revolution remained in many ways incomplete. A large number of its opponents had been left in positions of power, and it failed to resolve the fracture in the Left between moderate socialists and communists. The Weimar Republic as a result was beset from the beginning by opponents from both the Left and – to

2394-560: Is to last, it must be realised with democratic means. ... Therefore we must draw a thick, visible dividing line between ourselves and the Bolsheviks." On 3 March 1918, the newly established Soviet government signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany to end Russia's involvement in the war. It arguably contained harsher terms for the Russians than the later Treaty of Versailles would demand of

2527-636: The Communist Party of Germany (KPD). On 5 January 1919, the USPD and KPD called for demonstrations to protest the dismissal of the head of the Berlin police, who was a USPD member, for supporting the revolutionary sailors during the Christmas uprising. The demonstration grew into the Spartacist uprising , which had the goal of replacing the national government with a council republic. After Ebert's negotiations with

2660-518: The Imperial Fleet for a last battle against the British Royal Navy in the southern North Sea. The naval order of 24 October 1918 and the preparations to sail triggered a mutiny among the sailors involved. They had no intention of risking their lives so close to the end of the war and were convinced that the credibility of the new government, engaged as it was in seeking an armistice with

2793-596: The Majority Social Democrats (SPD), calmed the immediate situation with a promise of amnesty, but by then Kiel was already in the hands of a workers' and soldiers' council , and groups of sailors had gone to nearby cities to spread the uprising. Within days the revolution had encompassed the western part of Germany. By 7 November, the revolution had taken control in all large coastal cities – Lübeck , Bremen , Hamburg – and spread to Braunschweig , Cologne and as far south as Munich . There, Kurt Eisner of

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2926-460: The November Revolution ( German : Novemberrevolution ), was an uprising started by workers and soldiers in the final days of World War I . It quickly and almost bloodlessly brought down the German Empire , then, in its more violent second stage, the supporters of a parliamentary republic were victorious over those who wanted a Soviet-style council republic . The defeat of the forces of

3059-627: The Reichstag and start to work closely with the Centre Party and the Progress Party in 1916. Later those kicked out by Ebert called themselves " Spartacists ". Beginning in 1916, Ebert shared the leadership of his Reichstag delegates with Scheidemann. Although he opposed a policy of territorial gains secured through military conquest on the western front (aside from Luxembourg which was German speaking and could be easily incorporated), Ebert supported

3192-472: The Reichstag building , the SPD deputy chairman Philipp Scheidemann learned that Karl Liebknecht of the Spartacus League planned to proclaim a socialist republic. Scheidemann did not want to leave the initiative to the Spartacists and stepped to a window of the Reichstag building where he proclaimed a republic before the mass of demonstrators gathered there. Ebert, who believed that the decision about

3325-485: The Spartacists from having control of the strike's leadership, but its participation soured the SPD's relationship with the other parties in the Reichstag. The strike was put down by the military after a week. Because of the increasing intra-party conflicts centering around the opponents of the war, the leadership of the SPD under Friedrich Ebert expelled them from the party in January 1917. The Spartacists, who had formed

3458-641: The Supreme Army Command (OHL) introduced the Auxiliary Services Act in December 1916. It proposed full mobilisation and deployment of the workforce, including women, and the "militarisation" of labour relations. It met with such strong criticism that the OHL had to agree to participation by trade unions and the Reichstag parties in the act's implementation. It accepted their demands for arbitration committees,

3591-656: The Wittlesbach throne. By the end of the month, the dynastic rulers of all the other German states had abdicated without bloodshed. There was little to no resistance to the establishment of the councils. Soldiers by simple acclamation often elected their most respected comrades; workers generally chose members of the local executive committees of the SPD or USPD. With the support of local citizens, they freed political prisoners and occupied city halls, military facilities and train stations. The military authorities surrendered or fled, and civic officials accepted that they were under

3724-560: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June 1914, the SPD, like other socialist parties in Europe, organised anti-war demonstrations during the July Crisis that led up to the war's outbreak. In contrast to the widespread enthusiasm for the war among the educated classes (the " Spirit of 1914 "), the majority of SPD newspapers were strongly anti-war, although some supported it by pointing out

3857-430: The constitution was changed to make the chancellor dependent on the confidence of the Reichstag rather than the emperor. At that point, the majority parties of the Reichstag, including Ebert's SPD, were quite satisfied with the state of affairs; what they wanted was a period of calm to deal with the issue of negotiating an armistice and a peace treaty. The plans of the new German government were thrown into disarray when

3990-406: The de facto leadership of Friedrich Ebert of the moderate Majority Social Democratic Party (MSPD), the Council acted as a provisional government that held the powers of the emperor, chancellor and legislature. Most of the old imperial officer corps, administration and judiciary remained in place. The Council needed their expertise to resolve the crises of the moment and thought that handling them

4123-592: The first German presidential election , held on 11 February 1919, five days after the National Assembly convened in Weimar , Ebert was elected provisional president of the German Republic by the members of the assembly. He remained in the position after the new constitution came into force and was sworn in as president of Germany on 21 August 1919. He was Germany's first-ever democratically elected head of state, and

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4256-613: The rank and file workers, mostly in the Ruhr region, who were more worried about "bread and butter" issues than anarchist political activities. These workers, the majority of the FAUD-(AS) members, formed the Gelsenkircherichtung (Gelsenkirche tendency) within the movement, and given the movements federalist structure, began to drift away from the FAUD-(AS) intellectually and organizationally. Eventually, those workers who had joined during

4389-449: The revolution in Spain , 1936–1939). The International Workers' Association , of which the FAUD was a member, was founded upon the initiative of the German organization in 1922. The Free Workers' Union (FAU), which was founded in 1977, considers itself a successor of the FAUD. At its peak, the FAUD had 150,000 members. The primary organ of the FAUD was the newspaper Der Syndikalist , which

4522-447: The stab-in-the-back myth ": No enemy has overcome you. It was only when the superior numbers of our opponents in men and material became increasingly oppressive that we gave up the fight. And it was precisely in view of your heroic courage that it was our duty not to call for further futile sacrifices from you. ... You will not find our state as you left it. Something new has emerged: German freedom has arisen. The old rule, which lay like

4655-400: The war bonds requested by the imperial government. Fourteen deputies, headed by party co-leader Hugo Haase , and including Karl Liebknecht , spoke out against the bonds but nevertheless followed party discipline and voted in favour. The support was based primarily on the belief, actively fostered by the government, that Germany was fighting a defensive war. Haase explained the decision that

4788-490: The Army's conclusion to the president. The National Assembly approved the treaty by a large majority on 24 June. The government's fight against communist forces and recalcitrant socialists went on after Ebert became president. From January to May 1919, in some areas through the summer, violence continued. Since the 19 January elections had returned a solid majority for the democratic parties (SPD, Centre , and DDP ), Ebert felt that

4921-525: The Emperor does not abdicate, the social revolution is unavoidable. But I do not want it, indeed I hate it like sin." Wilhelm II, still at his headquarters in Spa, was considering returning to Germany at the head of the army to quell any unrest in Berlin. Even when General Groener told him that the army no longer supported him, he did not abdicate. The Chancellor planned to travel to Spa to convince Wilhelm personally of

5054-455: The Entente, would be compromised by a naval attack at such a crucial point in the negotiations. The mutiny began on a small number of ships anchored off Wilhelmshaven. Faced with the sailors' disobedience, naval command called off the offensive during the night of 29–30 October, arrested several hundred of the mutineers and had the ships return to port. On 3 November, police and soldiers confronted

5187-430: The German custom, from place to place in Germany, seeing the country and learning fresh details of his trade. In Mannheim , he was introduced by an uncle to the Social Democratic Party , joining it in 1889. Although Ebert studied the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels , he was less interested in ideology than in practical and organisational issues that would improve the lot of the workers then and there. Ebert

5320-636: The Germans. On 29 September 1918, the Supreme Army Command informed Emperor Wilhelm II and Chancellor Georg von Hertling that the military situation was hopeless in the face of the enemy's overwhelming advantage in manpower and equipment. General Ludendorff said that a request for an immediate ceasefire should be sent to the Entente powers. In hopes of more favourable peace terms, he also recommended accepting American president Woodrow Wilson 's demand that

5453-609: The Kapp Putsch and the Beer Hall Putsch . Through 1924, he used the presidency's emergency powers a total of 134 times. Ebert suffered from gallstones and frequent bouts of cholecystitis . Vicious attacks by Ebert's right-wing adversaries, including slander and ridicule, were often condoned or even supported by the judiciary when Ebert sought redress through the court system. The constant necessity to defend himself against those attacks also undermined his health. In December 1924,

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5586-441: The OHL for help over the phone, and troops assembled on the outskirts of the capital. During the night, Ebert ordered the troops to attack, which they did in the morning of 24 December. When the fighting stopped in the afternoon, the People's Navy forces held the field, and they returned to their barracks, ending the crisis. As a result of the event, which Karl Liebknecht called "Ebert's Bloody Christmas" because it had cost 67 lives,

5719-528: The Reichstag (SPD, Centre Party and Progress Party). The goal was to shift the blame for the military defeat from the OHL to the politicians of the majority parties. On 29 September 1918, Ludendorff suddenly informed Paul von Hintze , the German Foreign Minister, that the Western Front could collapse at any moment and that a ceasefire had to be negotiated without delay. However, he suggested that

5852-535: The Reichstag and, when given the opportunity to do so, refused to speak to the masses gathered outside. Scheidemann however seized upon the opportunity, and in hopes of forestalling whatever the Communist leader Karl Liebknecht planned to tell his followers at the former royal palace, proclaimed Germany a republic . A furious Ebert promptly reproached him: "You have no right to proclaim the Republic!" By this he meant that

5985-481: The SPD and formed a new party, the Independent Social Democrats (USPD) – from which the Communist Party of Germany broke off shortly after the end of the war. The SPD and USPD tried to work together during the early days of the revolution, but their differing goals – parliamentary versus council republics – proved irreconcilable. After the fall of the German monarchy, the increasing antagonism between

6118-399: The SPD leadership arrived at the chancellery and Ebert asked the chancellor to hand over the government to him. After a short meeting of the cabinet, Prince Max resigned and, in a move that was unconstitutional because only the emperor could appoint a chancellor, handed his office over to Ebert, who thus became chancellor of Germany and minister president of Prussia. He was the first socialist,

6251-482: The SPD to power, and he was in a position to put into law social reforms and improve the lot of the working class. Yet as a result of the revolution, he and his party were forced to share power with those on the left with whom he fundamentally disagreed: the Spartacists and the Independent Social Democrats (USPD). In the afternoon of 9 November, he grudgingly asked the USPD to nominate three ministers for

6384-481: The SPD's far left wing, joined with revisionists such as Eduard Bernstein and centrist Marxists such as Karl Kautsky to found the anti-war Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD) under the leadership of Hugo Haase on 6 April 1917. After that point, the SPD was officially named the Majority Social Democratic Party of Germany (MSPD), although it was still generally referred to as

6517-473: The SPD. The USPD called for an immediate end to the war and a further democratisation of Germany but did not have a unified agenda for social policies. Both the USPD and the Spartacists continued their anti-war propaganda in factories, especially in armament plants. In April 1917, the German government facilitated Vladimir Lenin 's return to Russia from his exile in Switzerland in the hope that he would weaken

6650-659: The Social Democrats were concerned, the October Constitution met all the party's important constitutional objectives. Ebert regarded the formation of the Baden government as the birthday of German democracy. Since the Emperor had voluntarily ceded power, he considered a revolution unnecessary. On 5 November, the Entente Powers agreed to take up negotiations for a truce. After the third note, many soldiers had come to expect

6783-460: The USPD members left the Council of the Peoples' Deputies on 29 December. The next day, SPD members Gustav Noske and Rudolf Wissell took their place, and from that point on, government communiques were signed Reichsregierung (i.e. federal government) instead of "Council of the Peoples' Deputies". At the same time, the Spartacists severed their remaining links with the USPD and set themselves up as

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6916-411: The age of 20, the right of farmhands to organise, and increases in workers' old-age, sick and unemployment benefits. In the turbulent early weeks of the revolution, Ebert and the leadership of the SPD sided with the conservative and nationalistic elements in German society (civil servants, armed forces, police, judiciary) against the forces that wanted a more radical revolution. The majority of

7049-566: The autocratic regime of the Tsar in Russia . OINK In January 1916, Haase resigned. Under the leadership of Ebert and other "moderates" such as Philipp Scheidemann , the SPD party participated in the Burgfrieden , an agreement among the political parties in the Reichstag to suppress domestic policy differences for the duration of the war in order to concentrate the energies of the country solely on bringing

7182-561: The breach" and "it is our damned duty to do it". In early October, the Emperor appointed a liberal, Prince Maximilian of Baden , as chancellor to lead peace negotiations with the Allies. The new government for the first time included ministers from the SPD: Philipp Scheidemann and Gustav Bauer . The request for a ceasefire went out on 4 October. On 5 October, the government informed the German public about these events. However, there

7315-511: The cessation of submarine activities and (implicitly) the Emperor's abdication. Following the third note of 24 October, which emphasised the danger to international peace inherent in the power of the "King of Prussia" and the "military authorities of the Empire", General Ludendorff resigned and was replaced as First General Quartermaster by General Wilhelm Groener . On 28 October, the Reichstag passed constitutional reforms that changed Germany into

7448-486: The conclusion of the war effort. He tried to isolate those in the party opposed to war and advocated a split. Ebert was a pivotal figure in the German Revolution of 1918–1919 . When Germany became a republic at the end of World War I, he became its first chancellor. His policies at that time were primarily aimed at restoring order in Germany and suppressing the left. To accomplish these goals, he allied himself with conservative and nationalistic political forces, in particular

7581-510: The conflict to a successful conclusion for Germany. This positioned the party in favour of the war with the aim of a compromise peace, a stance that eventually led to a split in the SPD, with those radically opposed to the war leaving the SPD in early 1917 to form the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany , or USPD. Similar policy disputes caused Ebert to end his parliamentary alliance with several left-wing members of

7714-607: The constitutional reforms would not be enough to bring the war to a quick end without the Emperor's abdication. The German revolution was triggered by a sailors' mutiny centered on the North Sea ports of Kiel and Wilhelmshaven in late October 1918. While the war-weary troops and general population of Germany awaited the end of the war, the Imperial Naval Command in Kiel under Admiral Franz von Hipper and Admiral Reinhard Scheer planned without authorization to dispatch

7847-413: The control of the councils rather than the military and carried on with their work. Little changed in the factories except for the removal of the military discipline that had prevailed during the war. Private property was not touched. The sociologist Max Weber was part of the workers' council of Heidelberg and was pleasantly surprised that most members were moderate German liberals. The councils took over

7980-422: The creation of the German Empire , the seventh of nine children of the tailor Karl Ebert (1834–1892) and his wife Katharina ( née Hinkel; 1834–1897). Three of his siblings died at a young age. Although he wanted to attend university, this proved impossible due to his family's lack of funds. Instead, he trained as a saddle-maker from 1885 to 1888. After he became a journeyman in 1889 he travelled, according to

8113-511: The danger posed by the Russian Empire , which they saw as the most reactionary and anti-socialist power in Europe. Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg turned down plans by high-ranking military officials to dissolve the SPD at the start of the war and exploited the party's anti-Russian stance to gain its approval for it. After Germany declared war on Russia on 1 August 1914, 96 SPD deputies, among them Friedrich Ebert , agreed to approve

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8246-422: The decision on the form of government was to be left to an elected national assembly. Later that day, Ebert asked Prince Max to stay on as regent, but was refused. An entirely socialist provisional government based on workers' and soldiers' councils was about to take power under Ebert's leadership. It was called the Council of the People's Deputies . Ebert found himself in a quandary. He had succeeded in bringing

8379-426: The demands of the 9 November demonstrators for the unity of the labour parties. He offered the USPD equal participation in the government and was ready to accept Karl Liebknecht as a minister. The USPD, at Liebknecht's insistence, demanded that elected representatives of the unions and soldiers have full executive, legislative and judicial control. The SPD refused, and negotiations got no further that day. Around 8 pm,

8512-516: The distribution of food, the police force and the accommodation and provisions of the front-line soldiers who were gradually returning home. The workers' and soldiers' councils were made up almost entirely of SPD and USPD members. Their program called for an end to the war and to the authoritarian monarchical state. Apart from the dynastic families, they deprived only the military commands of their power and privilege. There were hardly any confiscations of property or occupations of factories. The duties of

8645-482: The expansion of trade union powers and a repeal of the act at the end of the war. After the outbreak of the Russian February Revolution in 1917, the wartime's first organised strikes erupted in German armament factories in January 1918. 400,000 workers went on strike in Berlin and around a million nationwide. Their primary demand was an end to the war. The SPD took part in the strike in order to keep

8778-402: The far Left Spartacists founded the Communist Party of Germany . A few days later, protests resulting from the violence at the end of December led to mass demonstrations in Berlin that quickly turned into the Spartacist uprising , an attempt to create a dictatorship of the proletariat . It was quashed by government and Freikorps troops with the loss of 150 to 200 lives. In the aftermath of

8911-493: The far left cleared the way for the establishment of the Weimar Republic . The key factors leading to the revolution were the extreme burdens suffered by the German people during the war, the economic and psychological impacts of the Empire's defeat, and the social tensions between the general populace and the aristocratic and bourgeois elite. The revolution began in late October 1918 with a sailors' mutiny at Kiel . Within

9044-416: The form of the new government was still in dispute. Once the monarchy had collapsed under the pressure of the workers' and soldiers' councils, it was up to the leadership of the socialist parties in Berlin to quickly establish the new order and address the many critical problems the defeated nation faced. From the beginning, the moderates of the SPD held the leading position. They had the broadest support from

9177-550: The future form of the government of Germany belonged to a national assembly of the people's democratically elected representatives, stormed angrily at Scheidemann for his spontaneous decision to announce a republic. A few hours later, in the Berlin Lustgarten , Liebknecht proclaimed a socialist republic, which he reaffirmed from a balcony of the Berlin Palace to an assembled crowd at around 4 pm. The Emperor had fallen, but

9310-420: The future government. That evening a group of several hundred followers of the Revolutionary Stewards occupied the Reichstag building and held an impromptu debate. They called for the election of workers' and soldiers' councils the next day with an eye to naming a provisional government. In order to keep control of events and against his own anti-revolutionary convictions, Ebert decided that he needed to control

9443-409: The imperial civilian administration and office holders such as police, municipal administrations and courts were not curtailed or interfered with. In order to create an executive committed to the revolution and to the future of the new government, the councils for the moment left government officials in place and took over only their supervision from the military commands that had been put in place during

9576-601: The imperial government be democratised. His aim was to protect the reputation of the Imperial Army by placing the responsibility for the capitulation and its consequences at the feet of the democratic parties and the Reichstag. In a veiled reference to the workers who had struck the armaments plants, the Social Democrats who had helped pass the Reichstag Peace Resolution in July 1917 and the radical Spartacists who wanted

9709-464: The insurgents broke down, his major concern was with maintaining internal peace. He ordered the rebellion to be quashed, and Gustav Noske, who was in charge of the Army and Navy, used both regular forces and Freikorps units to bring the uprising to an end. Around 170 people lost their lives, including KPD leaders Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, who were murdered extrajudicially by the Freikorps. In

9842-502: The kind of bloody civil war that was occurring in Russia could also break out in Germany. The moderate SPD leadership consequently shifted away from the party's official stance as revolutionary socialists. Otto Braun clarified the SPD's position in an article titled "The Bolsheviks and Us" ( Die Bolschewiki und Wir ) in the party newspaper Vorwärts of 15 February 1918: "Socialism cannot be erected on bayonets and machine guns. If it

9975-636: The leadership of the military under General Wilhelm Groener and the right-wing Freikorps . With their help, the Reich government which Ebert headed crushed a number of communist and anarchist uprisings as well as those from the right, including the Kapp Putsch , a legacy that has made him a controversial historical figure. Ebert was born in Heidelberg in the Grand Duchy of Baden , on 4 February 1871, shortly after

10108-456: The left as a "traitor to the working class" and by others from the right as a "traitor to the fatherland". When it became clear that the war was lost in late summer and fall of 1918, First Quartermaster General Erich Ludendorff of the military Supreme Command (OHL) ,pushed for the "parliamentarisation" of the German Empire, i.e. a transfer of power to those parties that held the majority in

10241-399: The loyalty of the military in exchange for some demands: that Ebert fight Bolshevism , end the system of workers' and soldiers' councils, call a national assembly and return the country to a state of law and order. In return Ebert promised that command of the troops would stay with the officer corps. Hindenburg remained head of the OHL to ensure and orderly return of the army. This initiated

10374-525: The members of the workers' and soldiers' councils also viewed themselves as supporters of the government rather than of the Spartacists, the only group that wanted a dictatorship of the workers. Ebert and Groener worked out a plan to restore order in Berlin by having army units returning from the Western Front move in and disarm all paramilitary forces from 10 to 15 December. In a speech to the returning troops, Ebert told them in words that "appeared to justify

10507-463: The naval commander in Kiel, released the imprisoned sailors and asked the protestors to send a delegation to meet with him and two representatives of the Baden government who had arrived from Berlin. The sailors had a list of fourteen demands, including less harsh military punishment and full freedom of speech and the press in the Empire. One of the representatives from the Reich government, Gustav Noske of

10640-403: The necessity, but his plans were overtaken by the rapidly deteriorating situation in Berlin. Instead of going to Spa to meet with the Emperor in person, Chancellor von Baden telephoned him on the morning of 9 November and tried to convince him to hand the throne over to a regent who would constitutionally name Ebert chancellor. After his efforts failed, Baden, without authorization, proclaimed to

10773-479: The new imperial chancellor on 3 October. The Prince was considered a liberal and at the same time was a representative of the royal family. Most of the men in his cabinet were independents, but there were also two members of the SPD. The following day, the new government offered the Allies the truce that Ludendorff had insisted on, and on the fifth the German public was informed of the dismal situation that it faced. Even up to that late point, government propaganda and

10906-456: The new revolutionary government. Ebert announced the pact between the two socialist parties to the assembled councils who were eager for a unified socialist front and approved the parity of three members each coming from SPD and USPD. Ebert and Haase (USPD) were to be the joint chairmen. The same day, Ebert received a telephone call from OHL chief of staff Wilhelm Groener , who offered to cooperate with him. According to Groener, he promised Ebert

11039-625: The other hand that organized communism was not politically relevant in Germany at the time. The actions of Ebert and his minister of Defence, Gustav Noske, against the insurgents contributed to the radicalization of the Freikorps and to increasing support for fascist ideas. Although the Weimar Constitution (which Ebert signed into law in August 1919) provided for the establishment of workers' councils on different levels of society, they did not play

11172-477: The parties of the centre and Right, and its members were often disparaged as "journeymen without a fatherland" ( Vaterlandslose Gesellen ) because their class antagonism was seen to transcend national boundaries. The SPD had attended the congresses of the Second International beginning in 1889, where they had agreed to resolutions asking for combined action by socialists in the event of a war. Following

11305-441: The party had made with the words: "We will not abandon our Fatherland in its hour of danger!" Many SPD members were eager to show their patriotism, in part to free themselves from the charge of being "journeymen without a fatherland". Since the SPD was the only party whose position was in any real doubt, its unanimous vote for the war bonds was greeted with great enthusiasm as a sign of Germany's national unity. The Emperor welcomed

11438-417: The political truce ( Burgfriedenspolitik ) among the Reichstag's parties in which they agreed not to criticise the government's handling of the war and to keep their disagreements out of public view. He declared: "I no longer know parties, I know only Germans!" As the war dragged on and the death toll rose, more SPD members began to question the party's support for the war. The dissatisfaction increased when

11571-428: The press had led the people to believe that the war would still be won. The shock of the impending defeat caused a "paralytic bitterness and deep resignation" which eased the way for those who wanted an immediate ceasefire. During October, President Wilson responded to the request for a truce with three diplomatic notes. As a precondition for negotiations, he demanded the retreat of Germany from all occupied territories,

11704-457: The professional officer corps. This was unacceptable to the leaders of the military, and the OHL began to establish volunteer regiments in the Berlin area. Fighting erupted on 24 December in central Berlin (the Christmas crisis ). On 23 December, dissatisfied members of the revolutionary People's Navy Division occupied the chancellery and put the Peoples' Deputies under house arrest. Ebert asked

11837-509: The public that the Emperor and the Crown Prince had renounced the German and Prussian thrones. Immediately thereafter, following a short meeting of the cabinet, the Prince transferred the chancellorship to Friedrich Ebert, a move that was not allowed under the constitution. Ebert quickly released a statement announcing the formation of a new "people's government" whose immediate tasks were to end

11970-517: The radical Independent Social Democrats (USPD) was elected president of the Bavarian Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Council, and on 8 November he proclaimed the People's State of Bavaria . King Ludwig III and his family fled Munich for Austria, where in the 12 November Anif declaration he relieved all civil servants and military personnel from their oath of loyalty to him, effectively abdicating

12103-538: The renunciation of the throne by both the Emperor and his oldest son, Crown Prince Wilhelm . Ebert had favoured retaining the monarchy under a different ruler, but told Prince Max von Baden, "If the Emperor does not abdicate, the social revolution is inevitable. But I do not want it, I even hate it like sin." On the left, the Spartacists (numbering around 100 in Berlin) and a group of around 80 to 100 popular labour leaders from Berlin known as Revolutionary Stewards prepared for

12236-415: The request for the ceasefire should come from a new government sanctioned by the Reichstag majority. In his view, a "revolution from above" was needed. Chancellor Georg von Hertling and Emperor Wilhelm II agreed, although the former resigned. Scheidemann and a majority of SPD deputies were opposed to joining "a bankrupt enterprise", but Ebert convinced his party, arguing that "we must throw ourselves into

12369-402: The resolutions of the revolutionary parliament, since they intended to replace Ebert's function as chancellor. On the evening of the ninth, the SPD leadership learned of the plans for the elections and the councils' meeting. Since they could not be prevented, Otto Wels used the party apparatus to influence the voting in the soldiers' councils and won most of them over to the SPD. By morning it

12502-474: The revolution also wanted to nationalise key industries, democratise the military and set up a council republic, but the MSPD had control of most of the workers' and soldiers' councils and blocked any substantial movement towards their goals. The split between the moderate and radical socialists erupted into violence in the last days of 1918, sparked by a dispute over sailors' pay that left 67 dead. On 1 January 1919,

12635-508: The revolution left the movement and the remaining FAUD-(AS) members came from the FDVG's original constituencies of the building trades and specialized textile workers. The Nazis suppressed the FAUD in January 1933 after coming to power. However, many of its members continued to do political work illegally and organized resistance against the Nazi regime, both in Germany and elsewhere (see: Gruppe DAS and

12768-403: The revolution, announced that it was resigning from the government of Prince Max. Meanwhile, Prince Max had failed to convince Emperor Wilhelm II, who was at the army headquarters at Spa, Belgium , of the need to abdicate. Wilhelm had resigned himself to the loss of the imperial crown, but still thought he could remain king of Prussia. However, under the imperial constitution, the imperial crown

12901-510: The revolution. It had been banned from 1878–1890 and in 1914 continued to adhere to the tenets of class conflict . It had international ties to other countries' socialist parties, all of which were ideologically anti-war. Patriotism nevertheless proved the stronger force when the war broke out, and the SPD threw its support behind the Fatherland. By 1917, some on the left of the party had become so outspokenly anti-war that they were expelled from

13034-404: The revolutionary events since Kiel. In order to take the initiative from Ebert, they decided to announce elections for the following day, a Sunday. Every Berlin factory was to elect workers' councils and every regiment soldiers' councils that were then to elect a revolutionary government from members of the two labour parties (SPD and USPD) in the evening. The government would be empowered to execute

13167-467: The revolutionary forces had no legitimacy left. The individual workers' and soldiers' councils across Germany had dissolved by late in the autumn of 1919. In March 1920, during the right-wing Kapp Putsch instigated by parts of the Reichswehr , some Freikorps units plus nationalist and monarchist elements, the government, including Ebert, had to flee Berlin. However, a refusal by civil servants to accept

13300-452: The second politician and the second commoner to hold either office. Ebert left the government of Prince Max mostly unchanged but appointed SPD members as Prussian Minister of War and military commander of the Berlin area. Ebert's first action as chancellor was to issue a series of proclamations asking the people to remain calm, stay out of the streets and to restore peace and order. It failed to work. Ebert then had lunch with Scheidemann at

13433-471: The self-declared government and a general strike called by the legitimate cabinet led to the collapse of the putsch. After it ended, striking workers in the Ruhr region refused to return to work. Led by members of the USPD and KPD, they presented an armed challenge to the authority of the government. It then sent Reichswehr and Freikorps troops to quell the Ruhr uprising by force. To avoid an election campaign at

13566-456: The socialist Bremer Bürgerzeitung . In May 1894, he married Louise Rump (1873–1955), daughter of a manual labourer, who had been employed as a housemaid and in labelling boxes and who was active in union work. He then became a pub owner that became a centre of socialist and union activity and was elected party chairman of the Bremen SPD. In 1900, Ebert was appointed a union secretary and elected

13699-417: The state, Ebert wanted to win over the middle class parties that had cooperated with the SPD in the Reichstag in 1917 as well as the old elites of the German Empire. He wanted to avoid the spectre of radicalisation of the revolution along Russian lines and was also worried that the precarious food supply situation could break down, leading to the takeover of the administration by inexperienced revolutionaries. He

13832-419: The system that had led to the long years of hardship and privation for the people at home and to the impending defeat in the war, the conviction spread that he would have to abdicate. Historian Eberhard Kolb saw a vast "paralysis of the will" in the state's power to preserve order and a corresponding desire among the people for a more complete transformation of the political and social order. The German populace

13965-410: The three socialist parties drove the violence of the revolution's second stage. By 1912, the Social Democrats had grown into the largest political party in Germany, with 35% of the national vote and 110 seats in the last imperial Reichstag . In spite of its predominance, the party had no role in the imperial government. Its official espousal of Marxist revolutionary socialism aroused the distrust of

14098-469: The tsarist regime and its conduct of the war. After the 1917 October Revolution that put Lenin and the Bolsheviks in power, many in both Russia and Germany expected that soviet Russia would in return help foment a communist revolution in Germany. For Germany's far Left, it provided hope for its own success, and for the moderate socialists, along with the middle and upper classes, it was a source of fear that

14231-402: The undefeated army and turned an almost certain victory into a defeat. Although shocked by Ludendorff's report and the news of the certain defeat, the majority parties in the Reichstag, especially the SPD, were willing to take on the responsibility of government. Chancellor Hertling objected to introducing a parliamentary system and resigned. Emperor Wilhelm II appointed Prince Max of Baden as

14364-591: The uprising, the Spartacist leaders Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were murdered by the Freikorps . Into the spring, there were additional violently suppressed efforts to push the revolution further in the direction of a council republic, as well as short-lived local soviet republics, notably in Bavaria ( Munich ), Bremen and Würzburg . They too were put down with considerable loss of life. The revolution's end date

14497-472: The war as quickly as possible and to ensure a sufficient supply of food for the German people, who were still suffering under the impact of the Allied blockade . The statement ended with "Leave the streets! Keep order and peace!" The premature news of the abdication came too late to make any impression on the demonstrators who had filled the streets of Berlin. Nobody heeded the public appeals. While having lunch in

14630-616: The war effort overall as a defensive struggle. Ebert experienced the traumatic loss of having two of his four sons killed in the war: Heinrich died in February 1917 in Macedonia, whereas Georg was killed in action in May 1917 in France. In June 1917, a delegation of social democrats led by Ebert travelled to Stockholm for talks with socialists from other countries about a conference that would have sought to end

14763-477: The war to end and were anxious to return home. They had little willingness to fight more battles, and desertions were increasing. The sociologist Max Weber attributed the collapse of the Empire to the "hollowing out" of Germany's traditional standards during the war. The expansion of black markets also revealed the economic and monetary failures of the Wilhelmine system. Since it was Emperor Wilhelm who embodied

14896-406: The war without any annexations of territory on the western front except for Luxembourg and giving back most of Alsace and Loraine with blessings from the German government. The initiative failed, however. In January 1918, when the workers in munition factories in Berlin went on strike, Ebert joined the strike leadership but worked hard to get the strikers back to work. He was pilloried by some from

15029-518: The war. Notably, revolutionary sentiment did not affect the eastern parts of Germany to any considerable extent, apart from isolated instances of agitation at Breslau in Silesia and Königsberg in East Prussia . Friedrich Ebert, the leader of the SPD, agreed with the chancellor, Prince Max of Baden, that a social revolution had to be prevented and order upheld at all costs. In the restructuring of

15162-473: The west if Germany refused to sign. To appease public opinion, he asked Hindenburg if the army was capable of holding out if the Allies renewed hostilities. He promised to urge rejection of the treaty if there was even the remote possibility that the army could make a stand. Hindenburg, with some prodding from Groener, concluded that the army was not capable of resuming the war even on a limited scale. Rather than tell Ebert himself, he dispatched Groener to telephone

15295-409: The workers' councils and thus become the leader of the revolution while at the same time serving as the formal head of the German government. On 10 November, the SPD, led by Ebert, managed to ensure that a majority of the newly elected workers' and soldiers' councils came from among their own supporters. Meanwhile, the USPD agreed to work with him and share power in the Council of the People's Deputies,

15428-423: The working class and the at least grudging backing of the imperial bureaucracy, most of which remained in place. When Ebert showed himself willing to use the military and Freikorps against opposing members of the socialist Left, it quickly led to fractures between the SPD and USPD and then to street battles with the Spartacists and communists. Ebert wanted to take the sting out of the revolutionary mood and to meet

15561-401: Was already war weary when the request for a ceasefire came like a thunderbolt. From that point, they wanted only peace. Wilson's Fourteen Points fed the belief that Germany would get a just peace if it democratised, and so the desire for peace led to demands for democracy. The revolutionary groups that had been weak and disorganized were emboldened, and even the middle class began to fear that

15694-432: Was also the first commoner, the first social democrat, the first civilian, and the first person from a proletarian background to hold the position. In the life of the unified German Reich from 1871 to 1945, he was also the only head of state who was unequivocally committed to democracy. One of Ebert's first tasks as president was to deal with the Treaty of Versailles . When the treaty's terms became public on 7 May 1919, it

15827-448: Was baptised a Catholic, he had officially abandoned Christian observance many years before his last illness). Some historians have defended Ebert's actions as unfortunate but inevitable if the creation of a socialist state on the model that had been promoted by Rosa Luxemburg , Karl Liebknecht and the communist Spartacists was to be prevented. Historians like Bernt Engelmann  [ de ] and Sebastian Haffner have argued on

15960-629: Was buried in Heidelberg . Several high-ranking politicians and a trade union leader made speeches at his funeral, as did a Protestant minister, Hermann Maas , pastor at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Heidelberg (which until the 1930s was used by both Lutheran and Catholic congregations). By thus taking part in the obsequies, Maas caused something of a scandal in his church and among political conservatives, because Ebert had been an outspoken atheist (although he

16093-494: Was certain that the SPD would be able to implement its reform plans in the future due to its parliamentary majorities. Ebert did his best to act in agreement with the old powers and intended to save the monarchy. In hopes that the Emperor's departure and the establishment of a regency would save the constitutional monarchy that had been established on 28 October, the SPD called for Wilhelm's abdication on 7 November. According to notes taken by Prince Max of Baden, Ebert told him, "If

16226-431: Was clear that the SPD would have the majority of the delegates on its side at the councils' meeting that evening. Friedrich Ebert Friedrich Ebert ( German: [ˈfʁiːdʁɪç ˈeːbɐt] ; 4 February 1871 – 28 February 1925) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the first president of Germany from 1919 until his death in office in 1925. Ebert

16359-423: Was cursed by Germans of all political shades as an onerous "dictated peace", particularly because Germany had essentially been handed the treaty and told to sign without any negotiations. Ebert himself denounced the treaty as "unrealizable and unbearable". However, Ebert was well aware of the possibility that Germany would not be in a position to reject the treaty. He believed that the Allies would invade Germany from

16492-473: Was declared in early August, Ebert travelled to Zurich with party treasurer Otto Braun and the SPD's money to be in a position to build up a foreign organisation if the SPD should be outlawed in the German Empire. He returned on 6 August and led the SPD Reichstag members to vote almost unanimously in favour of war loans, accepting that the war was a necessary patriotic, defensive measure, especially against

16625-502: Was elected leader of the SPD on the death in 1913 of August Bebel . In 1914, shortly after he assumed leadership, the party became deeply divided over Ebert's support of war loans to finance the German war effort in World War I . A moderate social democrat , Ebert was in favour of the Burgfrieden , a political policy that sought to suppress discord over domestic issues among political parties in order to concentrate all forces in society on

16758-467: Was first believed to be influenza. His condition deteriorated over the following two weeks, and at that time he was thought to be suffering from another episode of gallbladder disease. He became acutely septic on the night of 23 February and underwent an emergency appendectomy (which was performed by August Bier ) in the early hours of the following day for what turned out to be appendicitis . Four days later, he died of septic shock , aged 54. Ebert

16891-547: Was first published in December 1918, and continued until the group's suppression by the Nazis. This anarchism -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . German Revolution of 1918%E2%80%931919 Weimar Republic victory 1918: [REDACTED]   German Empire 1918–1919: [REDACTED]   German Republic [REDACTED] Revolutionaries: Soviet Republics: The German revolution of 1918–1919 , also known as

17024-406: Was more important than ousting many key government figures to ensure that the new democracy was firmly anchored against its opponents. The Council of the People's Deputies' immediately removed some of the Empire's harsh restrictions, such as on freedom of expression, and promised an eight-hour workday and elections that would give women the right to vote for the first time. Those on the left wing of

17157-524: Was placed on a police "black list" due to his political activities, so he kept changing his place of residence. Between 1889 and 1891, he lived in Kassel , Braunschweig , Elberfeld-Barmen, Remscheid , Quakenbrück and Bremen , where he founded and chaired local chapters of the Association of Saddlers. After settling in Bremen in 1891, Ebert made a living doing odd jobs. In 1893, he obtained an editorial post on

17290-522: Was the election that also made the SPD the strongest party in the Reichstag with 110 out of a total of 397 members, surpassing the Centre Party . On the death of August Bebel on 13 August 1913, Ebert was elected as joint party chairman at the convention in Jena on 20 September with 433 out of 473 votes. His co-chairman was Hugo Haase . When the July Crisis of 1914 erupted, Ebert was on vacation. After war

17423-458: Was the youngest member of the party executive. Meanwhile, Ebert had run for a seat in the Reichstag (parliament of Germany) several times in constituencies where the SPD had no chance of winning: 1898 Vechta ( Oldenburg ), 1903 and 1906 Stade ( Province of Hanover ). However, in 1912, he was elected to the Reichstag for the constituency of Elberfeld-Barmen (today part of Wuppertal ). This

17556-554: Was then a delay, as the American President Wilson initially refused to agree to the ceasefire. His diplomatic notes seemed to indicate that the changes to the German government were insufficient and the fact that Wilhelm II remained head of state was a particular obstacle. Ebert did not favour exchanging the monarchy for a republic, but like many others, he was worried about the danger of a socialist revolution, which seemed more likely with every day that passed. On 28 October,

17689-619: Was tied to the Prussian crown. When Max failed to convince him of the unreality of giving up one crown and not the other, he unilaterally and untruthfully announced that Wilhelm had in fact abdicated both titles and that the Crown Prince had agreed to relinquish his right of succession. The following morning Wilhelm went into exile the Netherlands, where he signed a formal abdication statement on 28 November. Shortly after Prince Max's announcement,

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