THE GERMAN REVOLUTION, 1917-1923 HISTORICAL MATERIALISM BOOK SERIES Editorial board PAUL BLACKLEDGE, Leeds - SEBASTIAN BUDGEN, Paris JIM KINCAID, Leeds - STATHIS KOUVELAKIS, Paris MARCEL VAN DER LINDEN, Amsterdam CHINA MIÉVILLE, London - PAUL REYNOLDS, Lancashire THE GERMAN REVOLUTION 1917-1923 By Pierre Broue´ Translated by John Archer and Edited by Ian Birchall and Brian Pearce With an Introduction by Eric D. Weitz BRILL LEIDEN • BOSTON 2005 This book is printed on acid-free paper. Original title: La révolution en Allemagne, 1917-1923 © Pierre Broué, Les Editions de Minuit, 1971 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Broué, Pierre. [Révolution en Allemagne, 1917-1923. English] The German Revolution / by Pierre Broué ; [translated by John Archer and edited by Ian Birchall and Brian Pearce]. p. cm. — (Historical materialism book series, ISSN 1570-1522 ; 5) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 90-04-13940-0 (alk. paper) 1. Germany—Politics and government—1918-1933. 2. World War, 1914-1918—Germany. 3. Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands—History. 4. Germany—History—Revolution, 1918. I. Title. II. Series. DD240.B81613 2004 943.085—dc22 2004040884 ISSN 1570–1522 ISBN 90 04 13940 0 © Copyright 2005 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS CONTENTS Abbreviations and Acronyms ...................................................................... ix Foreword to the English Edition ................................................................ xi Preface ............................................................................................................ xxiii Chapter One The Battlefield .................................................................... 1 Chapter Two Social Democracy Before 1914 ........................................ 11 Chapter Three The Lefts in German Social Democracy ...................... 27 PART ONE FROM WAR TO REVOLUTION: THE VICTORY AND DEFEAT OF ULTRA-LEFTISM Chapter Four The War and the Crisis of Social Democracy .............. 43 Chapter Five The Foundation of the Independent Social-Democratic Party .......................................................................... 73 Chapter Six The Rise of the Revolutionary Movement ...................... 89 Chapter Seven Problems of the World Revolution .............................. 111 Chapter Eight The November Revolution ............................................ 129 Chapter Nine The Period of Dual Power .............................................. 157 Chapter Ten The Crisis in the Socialist Movement .............................. 189 Chapter Eleven The Foundation of the Communist Party of Germany ...................................................................................................... 209 Chapter Twelve The Uprising of January 1919 .................................... 227 PART TWO THE ATTEMPT TO DEFINE THE ROLE OF A COMMUNIST PARTY Chapter Thirteen The Noske Period ...................................................... 261 Chapter Fourteen Stabilisation in Germany and World Revolution .................................................................................................. 285 Chapter Fifteen The Communist Party After January 1919 ................ 299 vi • Contents Chapter Sixteen The Ultra-Left Opposition and the Split .................. 323 Chapter Seventeen The Problem of Centrism ........................................ 333 Chapter Eighteen The Kapp Putsch ........................................................ 349 Chapter Nineteen The Communist Party at the Crossroads .............. 381 Chapter Twenty Moscow and the German Revolutionaries .............. 393 Chapter Twenty-One The Great Hopes of 1920 .................................... 421 Chapter Twenty-Two Paul Levi: A German Conception of Communism ................................................................................................ 449 Chapter Twenty-Three The First Steps of the Unified Communist Party ............................................................................................................ 459 Chapter Twenty-Four The Split in the Italian Socialist Party ............ 475 Chapter Twenty-Five The March Action ................................................ 491 Chapter Twenty-Six Aftermath of a Defeat ............................................ 505 Chapter Twenty-Seven The Moscow Compromise .............................. 527 PART THREE FROM THE CONQUEST OF THE MASSES TO A DEFEAT WITHOUT A FIGHT Chapter Twenty-Eight Unity Preserved With Difficulty ...................... 555 Chapter Twenty-Nine A New Start .......................................................... 585 Chapter Thirty The Rapallo Turn ............................................................ 599 Chapter Thirty-One For the United Front Against Poverty and Reaction ...................................................................................................... 607 Chapter Thirty-Two The ‘Mass Communist Party’ .............................. 627 Chapter Thirty-Three The Workers’ Government ................................ 647 Chapter Thirty-Four The Development of the Tactic .......................... 665 Chapter Thirty-Five The Occupation of the Ruhr ................................ 685 Chapter Thirty-Six Crisis in the KPD ...................................................... 699 Contents • vii Chapter Thirty-Seven An Unprecedented Pre-Revolutionary Situation ...................................................................................................... 709 Chapter Thirty-Eight The Overthrow of the Cuno Government ...... 733 Chapter Thirty-Nine Preparing the Insurrection .................................. 755 Chapter Forty Moscow’s View of the German Revolution ................ 779 Chapter Forty-One The German October .............................................. 791 Chapter Forty-Two Aftermath of Another Defeat ................................ 817 PART FOUR AN UNDERTAKING CONDEMNED BY HISTORY? Chapter Forty-Three History and Politics .............................................. 839 Chapter Forty-Four Grafting Bolshevism onto German Stock .......... 851 Chapter Forty-Five Paul Levi: The Lost Opportunity? ........................ 875 Chapter Forty-Six Karl Radek: The Confusion of Styles? .................... 889 Chapter Forty-Seven Balance Sheet of a Defeat .................................... 899 Chronology ...................................................................................................... 913 Bibliography .................................................................................................... 935 Biographical Details ...................................................................................... 959 This page intentionally left blank Abbreviations and Acronyms AAU – Allgemeine Arbeiter-Union, ‘unionist’ organisation of an ultra-leftist tendency. ADGB – Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund, workers’ trade-union confederation. AfA – Allgemeiner freier Angestelltenbund, white-collar trade-union confederation. Agit-prop – Department of the Central Committee for propaganda and agitation. Bezirk – Party district; grouped together to form Oberbezirk, subdivided into Unterbezirk. BL – Bezirksleitung, Party leadership in a district. Comintern – Communist International. DMV – Deutscher Metallarbeitverband, metalworkers’ union. IKD – Internationale Kommunisten Deutschlands, organisation of the ‘left radicals’ in 1918, successor to the ISD. Inprekorr – Internationale Presse-Korrespondenz, Comintern information bulletin. ISD – Internationale Sozialisten Deutschlands, organisation of the ‘left radicals’ before 1918. ISR – Red International of Labour Unions. KAG – Kommunistische Arbeitsgemeinschaft, group organised by Levi and his supporters in the summer of 1921. KAP (or KAPD) – Kommunistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands, left- Communist party founded in 1920. KJVD – Kommunistischer Jugendverband Deutschlands, organisation of the Communist Party youth. KO – Kampforganisation, combat group of the KPD(S). KPD – Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, name of the Communist Party from November to December 1920 and after August 1921. KPD(S) – Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands (Spartakusbund), name of the Communist Party from January 1919 to November 1920. KPO (or KPD-O) Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands (Opposition), organisation of the ‘right’ Communists, with Brandler, after 1929. Leninbund – Lenin League, organisation of the ‘left’ Communists, with Urbahns, after 1928. x • Abbreviations and Acronyms Oberbezirk – See Bezirk. Orgburo – Organisation Bureau of the Zentrale. Orgesch – Organisation Escherisch, extreme right-wing terrorist group. Orgleiter – Party member with organisational responsibility. Polburo – Political bureau of the Zentrale. Polleiter – Communist Party member with political responsibility. Profintern – Red International of Labour Unions. SAP (or SAPD) – Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands, left Social- Democratic Party