The Spartacist Revolt
In January 1919 a group of revolutionaries called the Spartacists, threatened the Weimar Republic.
The aims of the Spartacists
The Spartacists were communists. They wanted power and wealth to be shared equally among the population. They wanted to achieve this by:
- overthrowing the central government
- establishing soviets (workers鈥 and soldiers鈥 councils) in German towns and cities to replace central government
- using violent methods
The Spartacists were led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg.
The revolt
In January 1919, 50,000 workers went on strike and protested in the centre of Berlin.
This demonstration was taken over by the Spartacist leadership. Newspaper and communication buildings were seized and the demonstrators armed themselves.
The government, which had moved to Weimar to avoid the violence, employed the Freikorps to put down the rising.
The Freikorps were ex-army soldiers who hated the Communists. Over 100 workers were killed during what became known as 鈥楤loody Week鈥.
The aftermath
- Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg were arrested and brutally murdered.
- The Communists and many of Germany鈥檚 working class developed a hatred of the main political party, the Social Democrats.
The Spartacist Revolt had serious repercussions for the Weimar Government. The Communist and Social Democrat parties could not work together even to stop the Nazis.