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The Spartacist Uprising of 1919 Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Marquette University Press Publications 1958 The Spartacist Uprising of 1919 Eric Waldman Ph.D Follow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/mupress-book THE SPARTACIST UPRISING MARQUETTE GERMAN STUDIES I The Spartacist Marquette German Studies, l Uprising of 1919 and the crisis of the German Socialist Movement: A study of the relation of political theory and party practice ERIC WALDMAN, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Political Science at Marquette University PRESS • MILWAUKEE �. MARQUETTE GERMAN SnmIES are published under the direction of the Institute of German Affairs of Marquette University. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 58-7265 @ Copyright, 1958, MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY PRESS, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Manufactured in the United States of America Acknowledgment T 1s A well known truism that most books reflect not only the effort of the author but an accumulation of thought and Istudy by many others who have completed research and publica­ tion in the same general area of investigation. This book is no exception to the rule, and the author has made extensive use of many excellent studies concerned with German political and his­ torical developments. No effort has been made to repeat descrip­ tive material found elsewhere, although references in the foot­ notes will direct the reader to more detailed historical studies. It is impossible to acknowledge our obligations to all of those who have directly or indirectly assisted with the writing of this study. However, the author's intellectual indebtedness to his for­ mer teacher, Professor Wolfgang H. Kraus, is of such magnitude that is must be foremost as we acknowledge assistance, advice, and constructive criticism. Many thanks are due to Professor Stefan T. Possony of Georgetown University, Dr. Fritz T. Epstein of the Library of Congress, and Mr. Paul R. Sweet, Chief, German Documents Branch, Historical Division, United States Depart­ ment of State, who have read the manuscript in its original version and have offeredpertinent suggestions for its improvement. Valu­ able source material in the Library of Congress made it possible that such a study could be carried out within the geographic limits of the United States. The author is also most grateful to his wife for all she did towards the successful completion of this book. Not only did she type and edit the firstdraft but her searching questions forced him to present a far clearer presentation than he would otherwise have done. Mrs. Florence Dallin and Dr. Marc Griesbach have earned the author's gratitude for their splendid editorial work. While the author is deeply grateful to these and many others who re­ main unnamed, the conclusion reached in this book and any interpretations offered are solely the responsibility of the author. E.W. Marquette University Milwaukee 3, Wisconsin Contents [NTRODUCTION ~ . .. " . ~ . ~ . xi PART ONE: The Emergence of the Spartacists 1. THE LEFT WING W[THIN THE GERMAN SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY PRIOR TO WORLD WAR I • . • 3 The Growth of the German Socialist Movement . 3 The Emergence of DifferentFactions Within the SPD . 7 The Influence of Trade Unions . 12 Principal Political Concepts of the Left Wing . 14 Nationalism Versus Internationalism . 24 General Characteristics of the SPD on the Eve of World War I . 27 2. THE IMPACT OF WORLD WAR I ON THE GERMAN SOCIALIST MOVEMENT • • • . • • • . • • . • . 3] Support of the War Effort by the SPD and the Trade Unions . 31 The Opposition to the War Policies of the SPD . 39 The International Anti-War Effort . 49 Characteristic Political Thought of the Spartacists . 52 The Relation of the Spartacists to the Major Revolutionary Events During the War . 60 PART Two: The November Revolution and the Spartacists 3. THE IMPACT OF THE NOVEMBER REVOLUTION • . • • • 69 Failure of Parliamentarization, October 1918 . 69 The November Revolution in the Reich . 19 The November Revolution in Berlin . 87 The Spartacists in the November Revolution . 91 4. CONSOLIDATION VERSUS CONTINUATION OF THE REVOLUTION •.•••..••••.••••..•••••..•.. 115 The "Limited Revolution" of the SPD . 115 The Left Wing Radicals' Opposition to Consolidation .. 126 The Struggle for Consolidation . 136 The Founding of the Communist Party of Germany .. 149 PART THREE: The Spartacists and the January Uprising 5. "THE SPARTACIST UPRISING" - CIVIL WAR IN BERLIN • • .. • .. •. .. • .. •• .• • . • .. • •• • . •• • •• . 161 The Test of Strength . 161 The Eichhorn Incident - The Immediate Cause of the Uprising . 165 The Major Events of "Spartakus Week" ............ 171 The Spartacists and the January Uprising . 185 The Aftermath ............................... 192 6. THE REVOLUTION IN RETROSPECT .•.....••....••... 199 CONCLUSIONS ..•.......•..•...•.....•..•..•.•...... 211 SUMMARY · .....•.........•.•....•...........•...... 217 BIBLIOGRAPHY •.••.•.•••...••.••••..•..•. .-.. .• . .. .. 225 INDEX ••..••••.•••..•.....................•.••.•..• 241 Introduction HIS STUDY aims at exploring the crisis of the German socialist T movement which grew in intensity from the time of the open split of the Social Democratic Party during the war until its climax in the bloody fightingbetween the radical left and moder­ ate socialists during the so-called Spartacist Uprising of January 1919. In the course of this primary pursuit, two subsidiary aims are served: an analysis of the relationship existing between the theory and practice of the German Communists during their period of political infancy; and an examination of the impact of the Communists on the course of the German Revolution. The organization of this study can be summarized as follows: Part I deals with the emergence of the left-wing socialists and Spartacists, the forerunners of the German Communists, prior to the outbreak of the November Revolution of 1918. Part II exam­ ines the impact of the November Revolution upon the socialists, and discusses the problems created by the different aims for the revolution held by the various parties and factions of the socialist movement. Part III presents the first major crisis of the German labor movement in the post-World War I period, the Spartacist Uprising. It also deals with the revolution in retrospect, indicat­ ing the utilization by present-day German Communists of dis­ torted versions of the revolutionary events of 1918-19 for the sake of contemporary propaganda. Since the importance of ideological concepts of young revo­ lutionary movements is often underestimated, an effort has been made throughout to relate the political theory of the left-wing so­ cialists and Spartacists ( or Communists, as the case may be) to the problems under discussion. It should be remembered that during their early phase almost all revolutionary movements rely heavily on theoretical foundations. The democratic liberal creed was no exception. It is only at a later stage, after consolidation has set in and the revolutionary party or movement acquires ma­ turity, that the pragmatic approach to political problems gains predominance, replacing the earlier ideological guidance and de­ termining party actions. The translations of German quotations in this study are this writer's own. An effort has been made to keep them as close as possible to the original text in order to retain some of the flavor of the period in which they were written. This holds true parti­ cularly for newspaper articles and transcripts of speeches. Ger­ man words and names appearing in this book were hyphenated, when required, according to German syllabication. The phase of German political history into which this study falls is marked by an abundance of source material. The author, therefore, was faced with the problem of a proper selection of representative sources and an evaluation of the highly subjective accounts which were written for the most part within a few years after the events. It is probably characteristic of highly controver­ sial issues, such as the one under discussion, that they frequently · become the subject of many authors who are less interested in a scholarly treatment of the problem than in proving a particular point of view and in justifying the actions and views of their own affiliations. This lack of objectivity even holds true for such re­ cent publications as Ruth Fischer's Stalin and German Com­ munism. Convenient historical oversights and incorrect factual premises are some of the means used frequently by these authors. Fortunately the abundant documentary materials - some in spe­ cific collections, but most of them widely dispersed in secondary works - obviate the need to rely on these partisan accounts, ex­ cept where an analysis of these biased views adds to the over-all understanding of the events under examination. xii The Emergence of the Spartacists The Left Wing Within the German Social Democratic Party Prior to World War I 1. The Growth of the German Socialist Movement Many of the ideological concepts and organizational charac­ teristics of the Spartacists, the forerunners of the German Com­ munists, have their origin in the period which followed the unifi­ cation of the Lassallean workers' organization with the Marxian socialists in 1875. The end product of this fusion was the Social Democratic Party of Germany ( SPD) .1 In the decades following the union, the SPD developed into a strong mass party and along with its allied trade unions became a powerful factor in German political life. During this period, a number of political factions emerged within the
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