The Berlin council movement of 1919-20 proves that there was a left alternative beyond Social Democracy and Stalinism in the German Revolution. The movement combined an impressive mass mobilisation with extensive socialist and democratic aspirations that pointed far beyond the Weimar order. Berlin was not just the centre of the November Revolution of 1918, but also the most important arena of the Second Revolution that followed. For the first time, the movement is analysed here in all its diversity and on the basis of a broad range of sources. Beside the workers' and factory councils, it also includes councils of students, women, the unemployed and intellectuals. Central events such as the 1919 general strike and the struggle against the Kapp Putsch of 1920 are also examined.
Author(s): Axel Weipert
Series: Historical Materialism Book, 284
Publisher: Brill
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 468
City: Leiden
Contents
Foreword to the English Edition
About the Author
Abbreviations
Introduction
The Subject, Its Historical Context and Its Significance
The Present State of Research
Methodology and Sources
Chapter 1. The March 1919 General Strike in Berlin
The Course of Events – a Brief Outline
Strikes in the Other Regions
Objectives of the Leadership and Measures Taken
Cross-Regional Coordination
Pressure from below: The Rank and File of the Movement
Official Strike Demands
Scope and Capacity for Mobilisation
Organisation of the Strike Movement
Citizens’ Council and General Strike
The Role of the Media
Street Fighting during the Strike
The Response of the Governments
Interim Conclusion
Chapter 2. The Demonstration outside the Reichstag on 13 January 1920
The Opposition Is Forming
The Course of Events at the Demonstration
Consequences
Contradictory Interpretations
The Role of the Security Police and Military
Interim Conclusion
Chapter 3. The Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch and the Council Movement
Starting Shot from the Right: The Putsch
Backlash from the Left: the General Strike in Germany and Berlin
Workers’ Organisations: For and against the Councils
A Second Spring for the Councils? Reconstruction and Activities
Interim Conclusion
Chapter 4. The Revolutionary Central Office of Factory Councils
Foundation and Organisational Structure
Programme
Rivalry with the Trade Unions
Interim Conclusion
Chapter 5. Pupil Councils
A Special Case: Gustav Wyneken’s Attempt at Reform
The Starting Point: Vocational Schools and the Youth Workers’ Movement
Structure of the Pupil Councils
The School Strike in the Summer of 1919
Relationship to the ‘Actual’ Council Movement
Interim Conclusion
Chapter 6. Unemployed Councils
Unemployment in Berlin
Organisational Development of the Unemployed Councils
Objectives and Activities
Relations with the Other Sections of the Workers’ Movement
Interim Conclusion
Chapter 7. The ‘Political Council of Intellectual Workers’
Chapter 8. Women and the Council Movement
Contemporary Reflections on the Integration of Women into the Councils
Women in Council Practice
Interim Conclusion
Chapter 9. The Council Policies of the Left Parties and Trade Unions
Origins and Contents of Article 165 of the Weimar Constitution and of the Factory Councils Act
Free Trade Unions: General German Trade Union Federation, DMV and AfA
SPD
KPD
USPD
Interim Conclusion
Chapter 10. Summary and Conclusion
Aims and Concepts
Organisational Structures
Modes of Action
Relationship to the State
Council Movement and Revolution
Bibliography
Index
