Rise of the nazi party and Hitler in Germany

The Spartacist Revolts

December 1918

Germany communist party setup (KPD)

• Backed by soviet union and were well funded

• 33 daily newspaper and 400 000 members, posing a serious threat to the moderate parties in power

• Key group was the Spartacist League 

  • consisting of extreme socialists from the USPD (independent socialist party based in Berlin)

  • Named after head of slave revolt

1919

Chancellor Ebert fires chief of police, Eichhorn

• Eichhorn is popular with works and tus thousands of workers protest

• Sparcsists see an opportunity to undermine government

  • Call for uprising and strikes

    • 6th Jan in berlin 100k workers take to streets in protest

      • They took over govt newspaper and telegraph offices

• German arm forces weren’t strong enough to put down the revolt as weak from the war

• Ebert had an idea to order Reichswehr officers to organise ex-soldiers into Freikorps units -- Paramilitary groups

• By march 1919, the Freikorps number 250k men

• As revolt grows, Ebert turns these soldiers onto the defenceless rebels

• 13th jan rebels gone

Who were the spartacist

• People on extreme left, “communists”

• Ideology: supported Ebert and central socialist parties however feel like they have not gone far enough

• Aim: factories given to workers, want old standing army fully disbanded and replaced with people's army and controlled by workers

• The Ebert-Groener Pact

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