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 Bloc Guide

The Council of the People’s Deputies of the new German Republic, formed in the aftermath of the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm faces a great deal of challenges. The economy is collapsing, the Great War has been lost and revolutionary extremists are on the rise, fighting for further revolution. A coalition has been formed between the Social Democrats and the much more radical Independent Social Democrats, but they must rely on the existing bureaucracy of the Kaiser’s Germany to govern. Further alliances must be made with Germany’s reactionary armed forces, who have far different politics and aims than the more radical members of the new government. These holdovers from the Imperial regime will be most concerned with protecting the integrity and power of the German Reich and suppressing socialist revolution; they share these goals with many of the more conservative socialists and liberal members of the new government. The new government has wide-ranging goals and demands. It must negotiate a peace with the victorious Allies who will demand great costs for peace. It must push through wide-ranging reforms to liberalise society and rebuild the economy upon more progressive principles to assuage the fervour for revolution. It must assert its legitimacy at home and abroad to avoid further revolutions and attacks from the left and the right. It must create a new constitution. And it must do all those things in a manner that is acceptable to both most Germans and most of the political establishment, to avoid further revolution that would see the new German Republic before it can even properly begin. In theory, they possess almost everything: they control the organs of the German state and the economy, one of the most powerful countries in the world, as well as the German armed forces, one of the greatest and most fearsome and powerful armies in the world. In practice, much of this power is shaky. The support of the armed forces is entirely conditional, their leaders sceptical of the radical goals of the provisional government. If they feel that the civilian leadership is failing to keep order or to preserve the integrity and honour of Germany their support may not be guaranteed. On the left, the threat of revolution by communist forces remains strong. The Bolshevik uprisings in Petrograd have shown how quickly and easily a provisional government can collapse and fall to revolutionary fervour, and the strength of the Spartacists in Berlin leaves the government greatly vulnerable. The provisional government must work fast to repel the forces of revolution, either by appeasing revolutionary demands of equality and peace or through military force.

Friedrich Ebert: Chancellor of the German Reich and Chairman of the provisional government. Ebert is a moderate socialist, a “revisionist” who believes that Germany does not need revolution to achieve a socialist democracy. Notably, he convinced the Social Democrats to support the German war effort in 1914, and initially attempted to form an emergency government with the conservative Centre Party towards the end of 1918, showing his reluctance to embrace more revolutionary sentiments. That he then took charge of the socialist dominated government shows his commitment to pragmatism. Ebert is committed to the provisional government’s expressed goals of socialist reform and a democratic republican constitution but he is very comfortable co-operating with the conservative political and military forces of the former German Reich, perhaps even moreso than the more radical parts of the left- he is instinctively hostile towards his coalition partners, having been forced into co-operation with the Independent Social Democrats by SPD colleagues.

Hugo Haase: Joint Chairman of the provisional government and leader of the splin- ter Independent Social Democrats Haase is an experienced politician who by 1918 had been an active left-wing campaigner for over thirty years. A staunch pacifist, Haase opposed Germany’s declaration of war in 1914 and left the Social

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Democrats to form the Independent Social Democrats over the SPD’s support of the war effort. In the provisional government, he has limited powers over Germany’s foreign policy. His long-standing record of pacifism and political dissent make him a figure unafraid of going against established policy and will likely be far less tolerant than many SPD figures of the compromises on pacifist and socialist goals that will demanded of the provisional government.

Paul von Hindenburg- Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces Overseeing the mobilisation of German forces throughout the Great War, Hindenburg was a key figure in the abdication of the Kaiser, accepting that the military would no longer support the embattled leader and that an armistice with the Allies was desperately needed. Hindenberg is a pragmatic figure of immense popularity across Germany, widely considered to be one the greatest war heroes of the Great War. His political credibility and control of the armed forces make his support of the unstable Provisional Government vital. While accepting the need for abdication and armistice he takes a dim view towards the liberal and socialist goals of much of the provisional government and will see the protection of the military’s power and the honour of Germany as important priorities for the provisional government.

Wilhelm Groener - Quartermaster General of the German Army Alongside Hindenburg, Groener forced the abdication of the Kaiser by withdrawing the support of the armed forces, showing the great power he has in Germany. A highly experienced administrator responsible for the rapid deployment of German troops during the Great War, his experience and credibility will be vital for the provisional government. Groener is a staunch anti-communist, supporting the provisional government as a means to prevent communist revolution and will be hostile to any decisions that may appear to be giving ground to communists. Like Hindenburg, he will take a dim view towards the more radical goals of the provisional government and will see the protection of the military’s power and the honour of Germany as his main priorities.

Wilhelm Solf - Minister of Foreign Affairs, Civil Servant Solf is a long-serving civil servant who served in several key administrative and diplomatic post for Imperial Germany through the Great War. His experience and political credibility at home and abroad will be vital for the provisional government. He has a record of opposing some of the more disastrous policies of the conflict, such as the policy of unrestricted submarine warfare that led to the sinking of the Lusitania. Like the Generals, Solf’s main motivations are political stability, seeking to preserve Germany’s integrity and avoid revolution and less than enthusiastic of some of the more radical proposals of the provisional government. Unlike the generals, he is more likely to be sceptical of the right-wing military establishment of Germany given his record of opposing their less successful policies.

Hugo Preuß - Minister of the Interior, member of the Provisional Government and SPD member. A long-standing liberal political theorist and academic, Preuß’s key role in the provisional government will be to draw up a new constitution for the new German Republic. Preuß will be hoping to strike a balance between liberal and socialist visions for the new Republic but will have to attempt to accommodate competing demands from both the left and right as to the form of the German economy and the German government. Like much of the provisional government his progressive instincts are reformist, sceptical of the pushes towards revolution favoured by some on the left.

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Gustav Noske - Minister of Defence, member of the Provisional Government and SPD member

A moderate within the SPD, Noske made his name supporting the Imperial Germany’s declaration of war and it’s colonial conquests in Africa. He is widely considered to be the party’s military expert and is trusted by Germany’s military establishment. Noske is also an anti-communist, standing staunchly opposed to further revolution and co-operation with revolutionary left-wing forces, and will likely support military crackdowns on the fledgling Spartacists. As Minister of Defence he will have a key role in establishing and enforcing order in a chaotic Germany.

Otto Wels- Member of the Social Democrats, member of the Berlin worker’s council and military commander of the capital A Social Democrat politician since the age of 18, Wels has been thrust into the role of Berlin’s military commander in the aftermath of the German revolution. Having served in worker’s councils with the Independent Social Democrats, he is more comfortable co-operating with the left but his post as military commander puts him in the role of having to repel any and all military action by Spartacist revolutionaries or right-wing paramilitary groups who will likely attempt some kind of revolutionary action in Berlin. His role as military commander means that his voice and decisions will be vital in the short-term viability of the provisional government; if they cannot withstand direct action in their own capital they will not be able to survive.

Eugen Schiffer - Minister of Finance, member of the Provisional Government and liberal politician During the Great War, was an advisor to William Groener at the War Ministry. Schiffer is a monarchist who opposed the German revolution but is a longstanding supporter of increasing the power of parliament. While he will be a great supporter of drawing up a new liberal constitution that will guarantee freedoms often abused by Imperial Germany. At the same time, he will stand in staunch opposition to co-operation with left- wing revolutionaries and more radical proposals by Social Democrats to socialise the Germany economy. As Minister of Finance, he will have the unenviable task of attempting to salvage Germany’s broken economy.

Otto Landsberg - Minister of Justice, member of the Provisional Government and SPD member Landsberg is one of the more experienced and popular members of the new government, a skilled orator and opponent of the Kaiser. At the same time, he is a staunch nationalist will oppose any policies that will compromise Germany’s territorial integrity, such as the giving away of German land as part of any peace treaty. He is a reformist, standing in favour of a strongly liberal and socialist constitution and economy while strongly opposing communist revolution, and will be sceptical of any attempts to negotiate with the Spartacists. As Minister of Justice he will have a key role in law enforcement and drawing up the new constitution of Germany.

Rudolf Wissell - Minister for Economics and Labour, member of the Provisional Gov- ernment and SPD member Wissel’s political background is in the trade union movement, and will be tasked with creating a new welfare state out of Germany’s shattered economy. A member of the SPD’s right flank, he stands staunchly opposed to left-wing revolution and “workers councils” taking the place of parliamentary politics, arguing for negotiation with Germany’s business owners and the political establishment as opposed to with the Spartacists. He is strongly in favour of the Provisional Government nationalising key components of Germany’s economy.

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Philipp Schniederman - Member of the Provisional Government and SPD member Schniederman is one of the most prominent members of the SPD, having supported the declaration of war in 1914 but also being of the key figures in the ousting of the Kaiser and the creation of a German Republic. He is a staunch anti-communist, seeing the provisional government and the establishment of the German Republic as a means by which to avoid further revolution. He is on the right flank of the SPD, hostile to co-operation with the Independent Social Democrats but comfortable working with a multitude of political factions and parties. He will support military action to put down further communist rebellion but will also desire the establishment of a strongly socialised German economy.

Emil Barth - Member of the Provisional Government and Independent Social Demo- crat member A former revolutionary, Barth is one of the most left-wing members of the new provisional government, having opposed the Great War from the start. He has joined the government in the hope of affecting radical change in both the government and the economy and will be strongly opposed to any deals made with the old military establishment of Imperial Germany to keep much of the status quo, as well as military action against communist revolutionaries. Barth is the government member most open to communist revolution, having previously spoken in favour of a “dictatorship of the proletariat” and having strong links with the revolutionary left. If his demands are not reached, he may defect to the Spartacists.

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