Spartacist Revolt, 1919

What was the Spartacist Revolt?

The Spartacist Revolt, or Spartacist uprising, was an attempted revolution to overthrow the Weimar Republic by an extreme left-wing group called the Spartacists.

When was the Spartacist Revolt?

The Spartacist Revolt took place between 5th and 12th January, 1919.

Who led the Spartacist Revolt?

The Spartacists were an extreme left-wing group that supported the German Communist Party. They were extreme socialists from the Independent Socialist Party (USPD). They were led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht.

Where was the Spartacist Revolt?

The Spartacist Revolt took place in Berlin.

Why did the Spartacist Revolt occur?

There were 3 key reasons why the Spartacist Revolt occurred:

• ❖ It took place because Chancellor Ebert sacked the chief of police of Berlin, Emil Eichhorn, on 4th January, 1919. The workers supported Eichhorn so there were protests.
• ❖ The Spartacists used this as an opportunity to stage an uprising on 5th January.
• ❖ They wanted Germany to be run by small councils of soldiers and workers similar to what was set up in Russia in the February Revolution of 1917.

What were the key events of the Spartacist Revolt?

There were 7 main events of the Spartacist Uprising:

• ❖ The party launched a bid for power on the 5th of January 1919, led by both Liebknecht and Luxemburg.
• ❖ They were soon joined by resentful soldiers and sailors and there was a mass demonstration of 100,000 other workers.
• ❖ The Spartacists took over key buildings, including the newspaper and telegraph offices, and the government lost control.
• ❖ However, some anti-communist soldiers formed another group called the Freikorps who were not supportive of the Spartacists.
• ❖ Ebert made an agreement with the Freikorps, so long as they crushed the Spartacists along with the help of the army.
• ❖ The two sides fought on the streets, and there were resulting high losses. The Freikorps were victorious, and Luxemburg and Liebknecht were murdered.
• ❖ The Spartacist uprising had failed, however other revolutions soon followed.

How did the Weimar Republic react to the Spartacist Revolt?

The government reacted in 3 main ways:

• ❖ The government needed military support. However, the German Army, the Reichswehr, was too weak, so Ebert ordered it to use the Freikorps, ex-soldiers who had kept their weapons from the First World War.
• ❖ The Freikorps were used by the government to crush the Spartacist Revolt. By March 1919, there were approximately 250,000 members of the Freikorps. They were very right-wing and hated the communists.
• ❖ The Freikorps arrested and brutally murdered Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg on 16th January, 1919. Several thousand communist supporters were arrested and killed during the uprising.

Why was the Spartacist Revolt important?

The Spartacist uprising was important for 3 key reasons:

• ❖ It showed that the Weimar Republic was weak and unpopular.
• ❖ It gave the Freikorps a lot of power as they were allowed by the government to attack and kill the Spartacists without being arrested themselves.
• ❖ The Weimar Republic survived and the German Army had supported it when it was needed.