Spartacists Bloc Guide
German Civil War DIRECTOR CRISIS MANGERS Aadi Thulasingam Zoë Grossman and Jozef Grygorcewicz CHAIRS MODERATORS Martin Concagh and Nesta Muthunawagonna Qaasim Karim and Amy Zhou UTMUN 2021 JCC Intro Revolution in Germany! With the collapse of the German Army following the failure of the Kaiserschlacht offensive in the West, the Imperial Government was forced to cede power to a civilian government to negotiate a peace with the Western powers, facing massive labour strikes and famine due to British blockade. The new chancellor, the liberal Prince Max of Baden invited the centre-left SPD (Social Democratic Party) into government, the largest party in the Reichstag, in coalition, into power. The SPD, which had purged its radical left-wing, due to their opposition to the war, who formed the USPD, or independent Social Democrats could not keep pace with the revolutionary events happening in Germany. The strikes in January 1918 had led to the establishment of worker’s councils throughout Germany, on the model of the Soviets that had played such a central role in the recent October Revolution. In response to a suicidal order from the Imperial Naval Command to engage in a final battle against the Royal Navy, the sailors of Germany, mutinied on the 24th of October 1918. Taking control of the ports of the country from Kiel outward, the naval rebellion was followed by other strikes and soldier’s mutinies, and the establishment of “Workers’ and Soldiers’ Councils” throughout the country. With chaos enveloping the country, the Kaiser is forced to abdicate, on the 9th of November, the date, the date this committee begins on.
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