All power to the councils! : a documentary history of the German Revolution of 1918-1919

1 online resource (xxviii, 322 pages)

Gabriel Kuhn’s excellent volume illuminates a profound global revolutionary moment, in which brilliant ideas and debates lit the sky., Marcus Rediker, author of Villains of all Nations and The Slave Ship This remarkable collection, skillfully edited by Gabriel Kuhn, brings to life that most pivotal of revolutions, crackling with the acrid odor of street fighting, insurgent hopes, and ultimately defeat In an era brimming with anticapitalist aspirations, these pages ring with that still unmet revolutionary promise of a better world: I was, I am, I shall be., Sasha Lilley, author of Capital and Its Discontents and coauthor of Catastrophism The German Revolution erupted out of the ashes of World War I, triggered by mutinying sailors refusing to be sacrificed in the final carnage of the war. While the Social Democrats grabbed power, radicals across the country rallied to establish a communist society under the slogan All Power to the Councils! The Spartacus League launched an uprising in Berlin, council republics were proclaimed in Bremen and Bavaria, and workers’ revolts shook numerous German towns. Yet in an act that would tragically shape the course of history, the Social Democratic government crushed the rebellions with the help of right-wing militias, paving the way for the ill-fated Weimar Republic, and ultimately the ascension of the Nazis. This definitive documentary history collects manifestos, speeches, articles, and letters from the German Revolution, Rosa Luxemburg, the Revolutionary Stewards, and Gustav Landauer amongst others, introduced and annotated by the editor. Many documents, such as the anarchist Erich Mühsam’s comprehensive account of the Bavarian Council Republic, are presented here in English for the first time. The volume also includes materials from the Red Ruhr Army that repelled the reactionary Kapp Putsch in 1920 and the communist bandits that roamed Eastern Germany until 1921. All Power to the Councils! provides a dynamic and

Includes bibliographical references and index

Cover; Copyright; Table of Contents; Introduction Gabriel Kuhn; Glossary; Timeline; Wilhelmshaven and Kiel; The Wilhelmshaven Revolt: A Chapter of the Revolutionary Movement in the German Navy, 1918-1919 Icarus; With the Red Flag to Vice-Admiral Souchon Karl Artelt; Berlin; The Revolutionary Stewards; Report by the Executive Council of the Workers’ and Soldiers’ Councils of Great Berlin Richard Müller; The National Assembly Means the Councils’ Death Ernst Däumig; The Council Idea and Its Realization Ernst Däumig; Democracy or Dictatorship Richard Müller

“Revolutionary Gymnastics” Richard MüllerSpartacus; The Next Objectives of the Struggle Gruppe Internationale (Spartakusgruppe); The Beginning Rosa Luxemburg; The Usual Game Rosa Luxemburg; The New Burgfrieden Karl Liebknecht; The National Assembly Rosa Luxemburg; That Which Is Karl Liebknecht; On the Executive Council Rosa Luxemburg; What Does the Spartacus League Want? Rosa Luxemburg; Confront the Counterrevolution! Karl Liebknecht; To the Entrenchments Rosa Luxemburg; National Assembly or Council Government? Rosa Luxemburg; A Pyrrhic Victory Rosa Luxemburg

About the Negotiations with the Revolutionary Stewards Karl LiebknechtDespite It All! Karl Liebknecht; Noske and the Beginning of the Comrades’ Murders Karl Retzlaw; Brunswick; The Revolution Has Come Volksfreund; Bremen; We Fought in Bremen for the Council Republic Karl Jannack; Shame! Bloodshed by the Government Troops Der Kommunist; The Council Idea in Germany Karl Plättner; Bavaria; Letters from Bavaria Gustav Landauer; The United Republics of Germany and Their Constitution Gustav Landauer; From Eisner to Leviné: The Emergence of the Bavarian Council Republic Erich Mühsam

Appendix 1: Ruhr ValleyDocuments from the Red Ruhr Army; Dortmund after the Bielefeld Resolution Anton Kalt; What Has Been Really Bothering Me All Those Years … Johannes Grohnke; Appendix 2: Vogtland; From the “White Cross” to the Red Flag: Youth, Struggle, and Prison Experiences (Excerpts) Max Hoelz; Bibliography; Index

Gabriel Kuhn’s excellent volume illuminates a profound global revolutionary moment, in which brilliant ideas and debates lit the sky., Marcus Rediker, author of Villains of all Nations and The Slave Ship This remarkable collection, skillfully edited by Gabriel Kuhn, brings to life that most pivotal of revolutions, crackling with the acrid odor of street fighting, insurgent hopes, and ultimately defeat In an era brimming with anticapitalist aspirations, these pages ring with that still unmet revolutionary promise of a better world: I was, I am, I shall be., Sasha Lilley, author of Capital and Its Discontents and coauthor of Catastrophism The German Revolution erupted out of the ashes of World War I, triggered by mutinying sailors refusing to be sacrificed in the final carnage of the war. While the Social Democrats grabbed power, radicals across the country rallied to establish a communist society under the slogan All Power to the Councils! The Spartacus League launched an uprising in Berlin, council republics were proclaimed in Bremen and Bavaria, and workers’ revolts shook numerous German towns. Yet in an act that would tragically shape the course of history, the Social Democratic government crushed the rebellions with the help of right-wing militias, paving the way for the ill-fated Weimar Republic, and ultimately the ascension of the Nazis. This definitive documentary history collects manifestos, speeches, articles, and letters from the German Revolution, Rosa Luxemburg, the Revolutionary Stewards, and Gustav Landauer amongst others, introduced and annotated by the editor. Many documents, such as the anarchist Erich Mühsam’s comprehensive account of the Bavarian Council Republic, are presented here in English for the first time. The volume also includes materials from the Red Ruhr Army that repelled the reactionary Kapp Putsch in 1920 and the communist bandits that roamed Eastern Germany until 1921. All Power to the Councils! provides a dynamic and