Challenges from the Left

The Spartacist Revolt in January 1919 was the first major challenge to the new

Weimar government.

What started as a workers’ protest soon gained support from left groups such as the Spartacist League and the

German Communist Party (KPD) and spread across Germany.

German Chancellor Ebert – worried about the threat this posed to the new Germany –

used extreme measures to stop the revolt.

He instructed the German Army and Freikorps to use

force to end the protests, including some of its leaders (Rosa Luxemburg and Karl

Liebknecht) being executed.

Although the Spartacist Revolt was quickly ended – and Ebert

had the support of most Germans in doing so – it

created a split between left-wing German groups.

It was also only the first of a series of challenges by the Extreme Left to democratic

government in Germany.

In the Spring of 1919, workers across Germany took part in

various strikes and protests. They were angry at economic

problems and what the felt was a lack of achievement from the

German revolution.

Germans demanded working improvements, including shorter working hours.

The most significant actions took place in the Ruhr mines, central Germany and Berlin.

Generally these protests (like the German Communist Party) lacked leadership; they were

often just local actions. Ultimately the use of the army

and Freikorps ended them, with many protesters being killed.

The most significant area of achievement by protestors was

in Bavaria.

In November 1918, Jewish revolutionaries – led by Kurt

Eisner – took control of Bavaria. Eisner’s left-wing USPD lost the February 1919 elections and as

he went to resign he was assassinated by a right-wing

nationalist.

As a result of Eisner’s murder, far left groups took power in a

Soviet Republic. The Communists introduced

various reforms, including setting up a Red Guard army

and taking elite hostages.

Eventually the German army and Freikorps took control in May 1919, installing a right-

wing government.

In March 1920, a right group tried to overthrow the German

government in the so-called Kapp Putsch.

In response to this attempted revolt, the Communists set up

the Ruhr Army, 50,000 workers to resist right-wing attacks. This was shut down by the German

army, although hundreds of people on both sides died.

From summer 1919 until 1923, there were various small scale

left-wing protests across Germany, including Saxony and

Thuringia in April 1920.

The Communist Party and USPD merged in December

1920 although there was little in the way of prominent left-

wing revolts, until 1923.

During the hyperinflation crisis, a series of strikes across Germany led to a Bolshevik-style government being set up in Saxony in the summer

of 1923.

By October 1923 this government had been

overthrown by the German army, and normal order was

restored.

Left-wing revolts were a major feature of the early years of Weimar, with some notable short-term successes being

achieved.

Ultimately though the support of the German army and Freikorps meant that the

Weimar government survived each left-wing attack it faced.

Historians’ views

• Stephen Lee: Ebert’s use of Article 48 military powers against extremists enabled the new democracy to survive.

• Ruth Henig: The crushing of the Spartacists in January 1919 permanently split the Left in Germany.

• Heinrich A Winkler: Ebert’s actions against the extreme Left alienated many social democrats, weakening democracy.

• Detlev Peukert: The Republic survived all challenges because both Left and Right were disorganised and divided.