Impact of war, the political crisis of October to November 1918, and the establishment of the
Weimar Constitution.
The abdication of the Kaiser
9th November 1918, Belgium, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany was brought the news that his abdication
had been announced in Berlin. His companions advised him that his only hope of safety was to travel
northwards to Holland which had remained neutral during the war.
The October Reforms
In October, following the recommendations of Ludendorff, the Kaiser began a series of reforms that
effectively ended his autocratic rule:
- He appointed Prince Max of Baden as Chancellor. The Chancellor was to be responsible to the
Reichstag.
- He established a new government based on the majority parties in the Reichstag, including
the German Social Democratic Party (SPD).
- the armed forces were put under the control of the civil government.
These reforms were a major constitutional transformation in Germany, but they did not come about
because of popular pressure, nor because of pressure from the main democratic parties in the
Reichstag. They amounted to a ‘revolution from above’ which was not only designed to save Germany
from humiliation, but also to save the Kaiser’s rule.
The Peace Note
On 3rd October, Prince Max wrote to President Wilson asking for an armistice. It took nearly three
weeks for Wilson to reply, mainly because he was suspicious that Germany was asking for an
armistice to buy time and prepare a new offensive. In his reply, Wilson demanded Germany evacuate
all occupied territory, call an end to submarine warfare, and fully democratise its political system.
Ludendorff felt he could not accept Germany having to surrender and forced abdication of the Kaiser.
He tried but failed to gather support for a last military effort to resist, he then resigned and fled to
Sweden. The reforms failed to meet his objectives.
The news that Germany asked for an armistice shattered the morale of the German people and the
armed forces. The Peace Note was an admission that Germany had lost the war and it was the first
time that German people had learned the truth about their country’s hopeless military situation.
Civilians who had faced the hardships of food shortages were no longer prepared to show restraint
and many soldiers and sailors lost respect for their officers. The Kaiser was increasingly seen as an
obstacle to peace as he refused to abdicate, during a strike in Friedrichshafen on 22nd October,
workers shouted, ‘The Kaiser is a scoundrel’ and ‘up with the German Republic.’
The November Revolution of 1918
On 28th October, when the German navy’s high command, in one last act of resistance, ordered ships
from Wilhelmshaven to attack British ships in the English Channel, the crews of two cruisers refused
to obey orders. This small example of naval mutiny was the beginning of a much broader revolution.
Unrest in the navy spread to the main German naval base at Kiel. On the 3rd November, sailors
mutinied against their officers and took control of the base and on the following day the revolt spread
to the city, and workers’ and soldiers’ councils were established. Despite attempts by the government
to meet the mutineers’ demands, the revolt spread to many other German ports and cities. By the 6th
, November workers and soldiers’ councils were springing up all over Germany, most members of the
councils were patriotic Germans who wanted the Kaiser to abdicate and a democratic republic to be
established.
Once the authority of military officers, government officials and police had been successfully
challenged and the regime collapsed at an extraordinary speed. 8th November, a republic was
proclaimed in Bavaria and the Bavarian monarchy was deposed. 9th November, the SPD called on
workers in Berlin to join a general strike to force the Kaiser to abdicate, additionally, they threatened
to withdraw support from Prince Max’s government unless the Kaiser abdicated in 24 hours. Max
knew he could not govern without the SPD, yet the Kaiser still refused. Max took matters into his own
hands and on 9th November he released a press statement claiming that the Kaiser had abdicated, a
desperate move to try to keep some control. On the same day, Prince Max resigned as Chancellor and
handed his position to Freidrich Ebert, leader of the SPD. Philip Scheidemann (another leader of the
SPD) stood on the Reichstag balcony and declared the German Republic was now in existence. The
Kaiser was therefore forced to abdicate.
Struggle for power
Ebert had come to power through a revolutionary act and was therefore conscious of the fact that his
government lacked legitimacy and so, was determined to establish a new constitution as quickly as
possible. His priority was to organise elections for a Constitution Assembly.
Ebert urged Germans to keep essential services running, to avoid street demonstrations and, to
maintain law and order. His problem was that his authority did not extend much beyond Berlin where
disorder and violence was becoming the norm. After the armistice and the demobilisation of much of
the army, bands of angry, disillusioned and, workless ex-soldiers roamed the streets. Street
demonstrations, strikes, and armed clashes became regular occurrences.
Pressure from the left
Ebert’s efforts to contain the revolution were further threatened by pressure for radical change from
the left. They were not about to allow Ebert’s government to take the key decisions without reference
to them. 22nd November, an agreement was reached between the new government and the Berlin
workers and soldiers’ councils whereby the government accepted that it is only exercised power in
the name of those councils – it was merely a temporary compromise. Many in the USPD, whose
leaders were part of Ebert’s government, whose leaders were a part of Ebert’s government, saw the
councils as the true expression of the revolutionary will of the people and how the revolution could
be extended. They believed that the autocratic system of government would not finally be abolished
unless the aristocratic estates were broken up, the army, civil service, and judiciary were
democratised, and the key industries were nationalised under workers’ control.
Pressure from the army and the Ebert-Groener pact
The survival of Ebert’s government depended on the support of the army. Most army officers came
from aristocratic backgrounds, had been loyal to the Kaiser, and were vigorously opposed to
democracy – they had no wish to see Germany become a republic. In 1918, officers became
concerned with the political instability and feared the danger of a Bolshevik revolution (like Russia’s in
October 1917), which would lead to civil war and possible occupation from Allied forces. Their first
concern was to prevent the revolution from spreading and on the 10th November, General Groener
telephoned Ebert to assure him that the army leadership would support the government if Ebert
