The Bolshevists, who at this point were by no means representing a majority interest of the people but one of many socialist factions, then moved to destroy the democratically elected constituent assembly of Russia in January 1918 - exactly one year before the events of the Spartacist uprising. The Russian February Revolution had toppled the Czar, but of course the successive coalition government was in turn destroyed by Lenin's Bolshevists in the October Revolution. Both were born out of the war and dissatisfaction with aristocratic leadership, both were in the beginning marked by a coalition of various revolutionary factions. One crucial background to the majority Social Democrats' assessment was their quite understandable comparison of post-revolutionary Germany to the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Whether their assessment of the uprising and the preceding Christmas crisis of 1918 in the capital was correct is a different debate (and what a debate!), but we have to keep in mind that people of the past jugded a situation on their own terms, by their own knowledge, without the benefit of hindsight. In that case, a counter-revolution might threaten the German democracy achieved just mere months ago. Either the Spartacists would succeed and replace the (in the eyes of the MSPD) legitimate provisional government with their own, or, just as likely, the military would react on their own to a left-wing insurgency in the capital. Indeed, the majority Social Democrats were of the opinion that the uprising was a coup attempt by a radical left-wing faction that was threatening the revolution itself. So conversely, you might ask who were the left-wing Spartacists fighting against when they tried to take control of Berlin in January 1919? went into exile in the Netherlands, and on November 9, the republic had been declared in Berlin, and the armistice of November 11 had ended WWI. After all, on November 3, 1918, German sailors had refused to set sail for a last suicidal, "honourable" battle against the Royal Navy, their mutiny in Kiel led to a larger revolution, Kaiser Wilhelm II. Ebert and the Social Democrats of the provisional government held that the revolution had already happened. But of course that's a matter of perspective. Since it dealt with a topic related to this, I adapted the answer to fit your question instead.ĭepending on who you ask, you might indeed get the answer that the Social Democrats, or more precisely the provisional government led by the majority Social Democrats (generally called the MSPD then), betrayed the revolution by calling in the military to crush the uprising in Berlin. Around half a year ago, I started writing an answer to a question about the murders of Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg during the military suppression of the Spartacist uprising in January 1919, but I never finished it. Sorry for the late answer, but I had to dig something out for this. Previous AMAs | Previous Roundtables Featuresįeature posts are posted weekly. May 25th | Panel AMA with /r/AskBibleScholars Please Subscribe to our Google Calendar for Upcoming AMAs and Events To nominate someone else as a Quality Contributor, message the mods. Our flaired users have detailed knowledge of their historical specialty and a proven record of excellent contributions to /r/AskHistorians. Please Read and Understand the Rules Before Contributing. Report Comments That Break Reddiquette or the Subreddit Rules. Serious On-Topic Comments Only: No Jokes, Anecdotes, Clutter, or other Digressions. Provide Primary and Secondary Sources If Asked. Write Original, In-Depth and Comprehensive Answers, Using Good Historical Practices. Questions should be clear and specific in what they ask, and should be able to get detailed answers from historians whose expertise is likely to be in particular times and places. Nothing Less Than 20 Years Old, and Don't Soapbox. Be Nice: No Racism, Bigotry, or Offensive Behavior. Downvote and Report comments that are unhelpful or grossly off-topic.Upvote informative, well sourced answers.New to /r/AskHistorians? Please read our subreddit rules and FAQ before posting! Apply for Flair This Week's Theme is Clothing & Costumes.
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