The political changes of 1918: The revolution from above and the revolution from below.

Connector

Outcomes All students to know how the German constition changed in 1918 Most students to know how this was caused by World War 1 and the policies of the elite and Wilhelm II Some students to see how this would cause problems in the future for Germany

A country of two ideals Nationalist Militaristic Conservative Run by elite Traditional values Socialist ideals Trade unions Expanding economy Social benefits Democracy Reichstag

Revolution from Above On the verge of defeat by the Allies and now the USA von Ludendorf persuaded Kaiser Wilhelm to transform the Second Reich into a virtual parliamentary democracy by handing power to a civilian government who had support of the Reichstag He then urged for a peace negociation as soon as possible In October 1918 the new government based in the Reichstag was formed and the revolution from above was complete. It was led by Prince Max of Baden and passed some reforms

But why... He hoped that a cilvian government would get better peace terms than a military one He cynically hoped that the civilian government would be blamed for Germany's defeat as it ended the war This would mask the responsibility of the Generals , preserve reputations and help then retain their positions in the post war world He even went as far as to blame these groups for starting the war in the first place

Revolution from Below? In the failure of the reforms to suppress the appetite of economic and military failure Germany erupted into a wave of unrest In October the naval bases of Kiel and Wilhelmshaven the sailors refused to obey an order to set sail to salvage Germany honour in a final battle. The hoisted the red flag and took over Kiel News of the mutiny spread over Germany and encouraged the creation of sailors, soldiers and workers councils challanging the authority of the state

Then.. Prince Max announced the abdication of the Kaiser to prevent full scale revolution and handed over leadership to the moderate socialist Friedrich Ebert Moderate and radical socialists were competing for leadership of the revolution. To outmanoeuvre the Radicals Philip Scheidemann , an SDP leader, declared a republic to the crowds in Berlin, whilst Karl Liebnect the leader of the Spartacist communist movement declared a Soviet republic from another

The end Ebert was furious a republic had been declared illegally but then had to accept the monarchy had collapsed. Two days later the armistice was signed on November 11th 1918

Read the sources Discuss source Who are they blaming? Who supports the new Reich?

Task Research the revolution of 1918