November 1918

November 1918
Author: Robert Gerwarth
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2020
Genre: History
ISBN: 0199546479

The story of an epochal event in German history, this is also the story of the most important revolution that you might never have heard of.

Founding Weimar

Founding Weimar
Author: Mark Jones
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 405
Release: 2016-10-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107115124

The first study to reveal the key relationship between violence and fears of violence during the German Revolution of 1918-1919.

All Power to the Councils!

All Power to the Councils!
Author:
Publisher: PM Press
Total Pages: 505
Release: 2012-06-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 160486737X

The German Revolution erupted out of the ashes of World War I, triggered by mutinying sailors refusing to be sacrificed in the final carnage of the war. While the Social Democrats grabbed power, radicals across the country rallied to establish a communist society under the slogan “All Power to the Councils!” The Spartacus League launched an uprising in Berlin, council republics were proclaimed in Bremen and Bavaria, and workers' revolts shook numerous German towns. Yet in an act that would tragically shape the course of history, the Social Democratic government crushed the rebellions with the help of right-wing militias, paving the way for the ill-fated Weimar Republic—and ultimately the ascension of the Nazis. This definitive documentary history collects manifestos, speeches, articles, and letters from the German Revolution—Rosa Luxemburg, the Revolutionary Stewards, and Gustav Landauer amongst others—introduced and annotated by the editor. Many documents, such as the anarchist Erich Mühsam's comprehensive account of the Bavarian Council Republic, are presented here in English for the first time. The volume also includes materials from the Red Ruhr Army that repelled the reactionary Kapp Putsch in 1920 and the communist bandits that roamed Eastern Germany until 1921. All Power to the Councils! provides a dynamic and vivid picture of a time of great hope and devastating betrayal.

Failure of a Revolution: Germany 1918-19

Failure of a Revolution: Germany 1918-19
Author: Sebastian Haffner
Publisher:
Total Pages: 224
Release: 1973
Genre: History
ISBN:

A teenage boy struggles to adjust to the changes in his life when his father dies suddenly and he loses the girl he loves.

The Lost Revolution

The Lost Revolution
Author: Chris Harman
Publisher: Haymarket Books
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2017-06-26
Genre: History
ISBN: 1608463168

“Compelling . . . [a] classic study of the revolutionary process” (Neil Davidson, author of How Revolutionary Were the Bourgeois Revolutions?). As the First World War was about to end in defeat, German sailors began to mutiny—giving voice to the widespread anger against the elites who had led the nation into war and the calamitous impact of that decision on everyday people. The events that followed would eventually result in the parliamentary democracy known as the Weimar Republic—and the socialists who had initially risen up would be attacked by German counterrevolutionary troops, their uniforms marking the debut of a new symbol: the swastika. Because of the socialists’ defeat in Germany, Russia fell into the isolation that gave Stalin his road to power. Here, Chris Harman unearths the history of the lost revolution in Germany and reveals its lessons for the future struggles for a better world. “Chris Harman’s compelling analysis of the failed German Revolution covers the entire period from 1918 to the debacle of 1923, paying close attention to episodes such as the Bavarian Soviet Republic which are often neglected or minimized. Harman clearly demonstrates that this example of ‘lost revolution’ was the real turning point in German history when history failed to turn, with dire consequences.” —Neil Davidson, author of Discovering the Scottish Revolution

Working-Class Politics in the German Revolution

Working-Class Politics in the German Revolution
Author: Ralf Hoffrogge
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2014-09-11
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9004280065

Richard Müller, a leading figure of the German Revolution in 1918, is unknown today. As the operator and unionist who represented Berlin’s metalworkers, he was main organiser of the ‘Revolutionary Stewards’, a clandestine network that organised a series of mass strikes between 1916 and 1918. With strong support in the factories, the Revolutionary Stewards were the driving force of the Revolution. By telling Müller's story, this study gives a very different account of the revolutionary birth of the Weimar Republic. Using new archival sources and abandoning the traditional focus on the history of political parties, Ralf Hoffrogge zooms in on working class politics on the shop floor and its contribution to social change. First published in German by Karl Dietz Verlag as Richard Müller - Der Mann hinter der November Revolution, Berlin, 2008, this english edition was completerly revised for the english speaking audience and contains new sources and recent literature.

The German Revolution, 1917-1923

The German Revolution, 1917-1923
Author: Pierre Broué
Publisher: Haymarket Books
Total Pages: 1032
Release: 2006
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781931859325

"Broué enables us to feel that we are actually living through these epoch-making events.... [D]o not miss this magnificent work."--Robert Brenner, UCLA A magisterial, definitive account of the upheavals in Germany in the wake of the Russian revolution. Broué meticulously reconstitutes six decisive years, 1917-23, of social struggles in Germany. The consequences of the defeat of the German revolution had profound consequences for the world. Pierre Broué (1926-2005) was for many years Professor of Contemporary History at the Institut d'études politiques in Grenoble and was a world renowned specialist on the communist and international workers' movements.

Germany 1916-23

Germany 1916-23
Author: Klaus Weinhauer
Publisher: transcript Verlag
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2015-05-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 3839427347

During the last four decades the German Revolution 1918/19 has only attracted little scholarly attention. This volume offers new cultural historical perspectives, puts this revolution into a wider time frame (1916-23), and coheres around three interlinked propositions: (i) acknowledging that during its initial stage the German Revolution reflected an intense social and political challenge to state authority and its monopoly of physical violence, (ii) it was also replete with »Angst«-ridden wrangling over its longer-term meaning and direction, and (iii) was characterized by competing social movements that tried to cultivate citizenship in a new, unknown state.

Munich 1919

Munich 1919
Author: Victor Klemperer
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2017-06-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 1509510621

Munich 1919 is a vivid portrayal of the chaos that followed World War I and the collapse of the Munich Council Republic by one of the most perceptive chroniclers of German history. Victor Klemperer provides a moving and thrilling account of what turned out to be a decisive turning point in the fate of a nation, for the revolution of 1918-9 not only produced the first German democracy, it also heralded the horrors to come. With the directness of an educated and independent young man, Klemperer turned his hand to political journalism, writing astute, clever and linguistically brilliant reports in the beleaguered Munich of 1919. He sketched intimate portraits of the people of the hour, including Erich Mühsam, Max Levien and Kurt Eisner, and took the measure of the events around him with a keen eye. These observations are made ever more poignant by the inclusion of passages from his later memoirs. In the midst of increasing persecution under the Nazis he reflected on the fateful year 1919, the growing threat of antisemitism, and the acquaintances he made in the period, some of whom would later abandon him, while others remained loyal. Klemperer's account once again reveals him to be a fearless and deeply humane recorder of German history. Munich 1919 will be essential reading for all those interested in 20th century history, constituting a unique witness to events of the period.

Germany 1918-1933: Socialism or Barbarism

Germany 1918-1933: Socialism or Barbarism
Author: Rob Sewell
Publisher: Wellred Books
Total Pages: 473
Release: 2018-11-12
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1900007983

Germany 1918-33 was one of the most tumultuous periods in history. Following the revolution in Russia, the German workers and soldiers attempted to seize power in November 1918. Unfortunately, the revolution was betrayed by the Social Democratic leaders. Further revolutionary convulsions rocked Germany from 1919 to 1923. By this time, a mass Communist Party had been formed, but following advice from Zinoviev and Stalin, a classical revolutionary opportunity in 1923 was missed. This was a blow, not only in Germany, but internationally. The German defeats served to strengthen the grip of the Stalinist bureaucracy in Russia. This resulted in zig-zags of policy between opportunism and ultra-leftism, which paved the way for the ‘Third Period’ with the Social Democrats regarded as the main enemy. With the rise of fascism, Leon Trotsky described Germany in 1931 as “the key to the international situation”. “On the direction in which the solution of the German crisis develops will depend not only the fate of Germany herself (and that is already a great deal), but also the fate of Europe, the destiny of the entire world, for many years to come,” he explained. Trotsky called for a United Front against fascism, but this was rejected by the Stalinists. This paved the way for the victory of the Nazis, leading to the Holocaust and the Second World War with its 55 million dead. In this book, Rob Sewell argues that all this was not inevitable, and analyses those events, drawing out the lessons for today.