1. The Spartacist Revolt Lesson starter
explain why the Weimar Government were unpopular by (give at least 2 reasons)
Ebert

2. We are learning to… I can…
Describe the events of the Spartacist Revolt
Explain how it helped the Nazis
Produce a newspaper article documenting the events of the Revolt
Relate it to the Nazis in my AVU plan
I can…

3. Notetaking/ Reporting task
3 sources: PowerPoint Video materials Textbook (only if required for support) Task: Take quick, key word notes Turn them into a detailed newspaper article

4. Task one: watch the Spartacist Revolt in The Rise of Evil
Write down THREE WORDS which sum up what you see/hear.

6. As a reporter like Fritz Gerlich might do, you are going to take only very brief ‘key word’ notes from the sources of information
This can be just as useful, if not more so, than detailed bullet points and sentences
Get as much useful information as you can in a short space of time

7. Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg were two Germans who were unhappy with the new government They were called The Spartacists

8. In January 1919, Liebknecht and Luxemburg led a movement to try and get rid of Ebert’s government
They wanted to turn Germany into a Communist country like Russia
They started a movement of violence in the streets of Germany
They captured newspaper offices and railway stations
They toppled statues of the Kaiser

11. Spartacists at the Brandenburg Gate

12. The Spartacists had 100,000 people involved in their revolt
The new German leader Ebert was worried
He asked theman leading the army General Groener for his help
Ebert promised Groener that he would not interfere in the army if Groener helped him
Wilhelm Groener

13. They were called The Freikorps (in English – Free Regiments”)
Groener organised a group of violent ex-soldiers to fight the Spartacists
They were called The Freikorps (in English – Free Regiments”)
Over 700 people were killed in the violence that followed
Many of these men would later become Hitler’s SA
The Freikorps

14. The Freikorps were able to put down the Spartacist Revolt
The revolt showed that there was huge opposition to the Weimar Government
It also showed the Weimar government were incapable of running Germany
– Rise of Evil (19-21 mins)
- Clip

17. Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg were executed for their part in the uprising People began to associate the Communists with violence

18. Why did the Spartacist Revolt fail?
Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg did not plan their uprising well enough
Karl and Rosa were killed in police custody
The Government acted very quickly in organising the Freikorps to put down the uprising
The Spartacists were arguing amongst themselves – they were not united
Their supporters started to get bored standing around in freezing Berlin and went home

19. How did this help the Nazis?
People were terrified of these violent Communists who caused such bloodshed – The Nazis gained support because they were anti-Communist
People started to think the Weimar government were incapable of keeping law and order – they wanted a new government
The socialists & communists would never work together now
The men in the Freikorps were recruited by Hitler and Ernst Röhm to become the SA, the Nazi’s paramilitary wing - clip

20. The Munich Reporter
You are going to imagine you are Fritz Gerlich, an eyewitness to the violent Spartacist Revolt in 1919
It is your job to report the events that have unfolded between January and April 1919 to the citizens of Munich and Germany
You should rely on the brief notes you have managed to take and what you saw and heard for yourself. Good Luck!
Readers will want to know;
The aims of the Spartacists
Who was involved
What happened
How many were killed
What this means for the future of German and
the Weimar government
N5+
Include Fritz’s take/ opinion on events