alternatehistory.com
Chapter XIII
On the 9th of November the peace campaigner and socialist Karl Liebknecht declared the birth of “the Socialist Republic of Germany”. Unlike Kurt Eisner’s bloodless coup in Bavaria it was not an immediate victory, for it had occurred almost simultaneously alongside Philip Schiedemann’s declaration of the provisional government that would eventually form the Weimar Republic. Nonetheless both Liebknecht and Luxemburg remained active in the period between the proclamation of their “Socialist Republic” and their eventual demise in trying to implement it by force, in doing so they built what would be their true impact on both Germany and eventually the world.
The Communist Party of Germany (KPD) was born near the end of 1918. In its early form the party was very much an expression of the times and its aim was to ensure that the revolution that had emanated from Kiel would progress to a victorious conclusion. In this regard the republican institutions being woven by the social democrats and liberals were to be disregarded. The soldiers and workers councils that had sprung up across Germany were to the basis of the new society.
Decision making would be formed collectively from the lower level. Workers would be released from long hours and poor conditions by having the power over their workplaces and in shorter hours provided by the inclusion of all into the new economy. This ‘socialisation of labour’ would also eradicate class barriers and free women from bondage by putting them on an equal footing with men in both the economy and in wider society. It was an image that inspired many across the country, though inevitably it was one that caused sleepless nights amongst those who regarded the ‘flame of revolution’ as no more than a promise to engulf Germany in the same revolutionary chaos that was taking place in Russia.’
~ Geoffrey Corbett, Hitler’s First Revolution
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The train was unbearably warm even amidst the winter misery, it was not the sort of experience that Gerda would have deemed cosy. She and her fellow passengers found themselves crammed together in the carriage like sardines and with each stop things seemed to get worse. She was glad to be relatively near the window amidst this crush, although it was so fogged over with condensation that she struggled to see anything of the outside world at all.
The train had been packed since it had left Essen and it seemed as if all the passengers were either laid off factory workers like her or soldiers who had made their way back from what had been the front. The atmosphere was tense, not helped by the fact that most of the soldiers still seemed to have their rifles and who knew what else. The traditions of men returning from the front were in play though amidst the defeat they took a bleak and spiteful nature.
There was no cat-calling, no flirting, no joviality whatsoever though she had felt herself being caressed and grabbed all over her body by invisible hands whenever the train had entered a tunnel. She had shouted the first few times only for no-one to react, several other women had screamed as well but whenever the light returned there were only grim looks and vacant expressions. Germany was undoubtedly a depressed and shaken nation but there was little sympathy amongst these men for the people who had made sure they were kept equipped and replenished on the front. Every sense in her felt a desperation to get off but she feared it would be no better on any other train. There seemed to be soldiers on the move everywhere and unemployed women with them.
The armistice had barely been declared before Krupp announced that there was no longer any place for female workers in the factory. The war was over and the men would soon be returning home to take up their old jobs. With two week’s pay and a hastily scrawled reference Gerda was told to get on her way.
She had sat idle for several days in her small flat, waiting for her a rent bill that she wouldn’t be able to pay, pondering going back to the farm and to her old pre-destined future. Then her old friend Christina had sent her a letter. Christina had left Essen in the spring beforehand, back when everyone had been so certain of victory that the Kaiser had declared a new public holiday to celebrate the inevitable drive towards Paris. Christina had run afoul of the celebrations based around that fact and an “unladylike” incident with Frau Heidemann on the Saturday shift had seen her being sent to another armaments factory in the outskirts of Berlin, in a twist of fate this had apparently been a blessing in disguise.
Whilst Krupp were busily laying off their women workers in Essen Christina’s letter told of companies in Berlin that were actively looking for them, Gerda suspected this was due to the fact they felt compelled to pay women less for the same work, though a job was a job. She had left Essen in high spirits, though the arduous journey was not helping to keep her upbeat. Now all she could wonder was whether her fellow women passengers were looking for work like her, going home, or simply getting out after it was rumoured that a French occupation force would be arriving shortly.
Eventually, after what seemed to be an eternity, Gerda pushed through the huddled passengers to emerge in Berlin. It did not take long for her to notice that the atmosphere in the city was noticeably different from Essen. The platform and station both seemed to be alive, such was the great number of activities ongoing amongst the large crowds both arriving and departing. Several different newspaper vendors shouted various and occasionally contradictory headlines about the events of the day whilst accordions and trumpets from street buskers joined them in a melody that, though confused and loud, seemed to convey to her an overwhelming sense of life and joy. Having barely left the station, Gerda had already fallen for the city.
Amongst the general noise and bustle a number of street stalls offered various food, trinkets, religious salvation and, most commonly, some sort of political message. The busiest had a banner that sat atop it declaring its message to those not within earshot.
The flag next to the banner was a vivid scarlet and there was something captivating in the way it fluttered in the breeze, the banner did not have the same effect though Gerda was curious all the same. She wasn’t aware that there was a ‘Socialist Republic of Germany’ though as she walked towards the group gathered around the stall she did recall that she had heard various mutterings in the latter stages of her work at Essen about communists and how they wanted to tear up the country. These had usually been derogatory though it was curious to see them in the flesh, why would someone proclaim such views if they were openly subversive?
The moment she stood trying to make sense of it was apparently enough to attract the attention of the stall. A woman not much older than her was walking towards her with a bunch of leaflets in her hand. There seemed to be an odd air of sincerity to her, she was dressed in dirty overalls as if she had just finished a shift in a factory though not nearly as worn out as most would be after a day’s work.
The woman asked Gerda if she was new in the city and Gerda responded in the affirmative, it must have been fairly obvious by the way that she had been looking about at the surroundings of the new environment. She introduced herself as Hilda, though Gerda had only just told her own name before she launched into a spiel about a women’s event that night that would explain their position on full employment and women’s. Gerda asked her who exactly “they” were but she seemed very short with detail, only that there would be food and drink and that it would be a good place to meet new people.
“You should definitely come”, Hilda broke out into an even larger smile with this further encouragement. Gerda felt that there was something off about this woman, she was obviously eager but the more positive she became the more relaxed she also appeared, as if she had just heard that everything was going to be alright forever. That alone counted for something in these troubled times.
Gerda didn’t have the heart to tell her she wasn’t interested, and promised to ask her friend when she got to her new lodgings. Soon she had plans for her first night in the new city, she just hoped that Christina wouldn’t react too badly to her press ganging them both into the KPD.
---
The painting is The Funeral by George Grosz
'In periods of prosperity proletarian women’s movements have fought for higher wages and better jobs; in periods of economic crisis women have had to fight to retain the right to work.'
~ Marlene Dixon
‘The Spartacist Revolt was likely always doomed to failure in the January of 1919, however the stillborn revolution’s impact on the future direction of the KPD, and especially Hitler’s ideological and organisational outlook, leave it arguably more relevant today than it ever could have been in the early months of 1919.~ Marlene Dixon
On the 9th of November the peace campaigner and socialist Karl Liebknecht declared the birth of “the Socialist Republic of Germany”. Unlike Kurt Eisner’s bloodless coup in Bavaria it was not an immediate victory, for it had occurred almost simultaneously alongside Philip Schiedemann’s declaration of the provisional government that would eventually form the Weimar Republic. Nonetheless both Liebknecht and Luxemburg remained active in the period between the proclamation of their “Socialist Republic” and their eventual demise in trying to implement it by force, in doing so they built what would be their true impact on both Germany and eventually the world.
The Communist Party of Germany (KPD) was born near the end of 1918. In its early form the party was very much an expression of the times and its aim was to ensure that the revolution that had emanated from Kiel would progress to a victorious conclusion. In this regard the republican institutions being woven by the social democrats and liberals were to be disregarded. The soldiers and workers councils that had sprung up across Germany were to the basis of the new society.
Decision making would be formed collectively from the lower level. Workers would be released from long hours and poor conditions by having the power over their workplaces and in shorter hours provided by the inclusion of all into the new economy. This ‘socialisation of labour’ would also eradicate class barriers and free women from bondage by putting them on an equal footing with men in both the economy and in wider society. It was an image that inspired many across the country, though inevitably it was one that caused sleepless nights amongst those who regarded the ‘flame of revolution’ as no more than a promise to engulf Germany in the same revolutionary chaos that was taking place in Russia.’
~ Geoffrey Corbett, Hitler’s First Revolution
---
The train was unbearably warm even amidst the winter misery, it was not the sort of experience that Gerda would have deemed cosy. She and her fellow passengers found themselves crammed together in the carriage like sardines and with each stop things seemed to get worse. She was glad to be relatively near the window amidst this crush, although it was so fogged over with condensation that she struggled to see anything of the outside world at all.
The train had been packed since it had left Essen and it seemed as if all the passengers were either laid off factory workers like her or soldiers who had made their way back from what had been the front. The atmosphere was tense, not helped by the fact that most of the soldiers still seemed to have their rifles and who knew what else. The traditions of men returning from the front were in play though amidst the defeat they took a bleak and spiteful nature.
There was no cat-calling, no flirting, no joviality whatsoever though she had felt herself being caressed and grabbed all over her body by invisible hands whenever the train had entered a tunnel. She had shouted the first few times only for no-one to react, several other women had screamed as well but whenever the light returned there were only grim looks and vacant expressions. Germany was undoubtedly a depressed and shaken nation but there was little sympathy amongst these men for the people who had made sure they were kept equipped and replenished on the front. Every sense in her felt a desperation to get off but she feared it would be no better on any other train. There seemed to be soldiers on the move everywhere and unemployed women with them.
The armistice had barely been declared before Krupp announced that there was no longer any place for female workers in the factory. The war was over and the men would soon be returning home to take up their old jobs. With two week’s pay and a hastily scrawled reference Gerda was told to get on her way.
She had sat idle for several days in her small flat, waiting for her a rent bill that she wouldn’t be able to pay, pondering going back to the farm and to her old pre-destined future. Then her old friend Christina had sent her a letter. Christina had left Essen in the spring beforehand, back when everyone had been so certain of victory that the Kaiser had declared a new public holiday to celebrate the inevitable drive towards Paris. Christina had run afoul of the celebrations based around that fact and an “unladylike” incident with Frau Heidemann on the Saturday shift had seen her being sent to another armaments factory in the outskirts of Berlin, in a twist of fate this had apparently been a blessing in disguise.
Whilst Krupp were busily laying off their women workers in Essen Christina’s letter told of companies in Berlin that were actively looking for them, Gerda suspected this was due to the fact they felt compelled to pay women less for the same work, though a job was a job. She had left Essen in high spirits, though the arduous journey was not helping to keep her upbeat. Now all she could wonder was whether her fellow women passengers were looking for work like her, going home, or simply getting out after it was rumoured that a French occupation force would be arriving shortly.
Eventually, after what seemed to be an eternity, Gerda pushed through the huddled passengers to emerge in Berlin. It did not take long for her to notice that the atmosphere in the city was noticeably different from Essen. The platform and station both seemed to be alive, such was the great number of activities ongoing amongst the large crowds both arriving and departing. Several different newspaper vendors shouted various and occasionally contradictory headlines about the events of the day whilst accordions and trumpets from street buskers joined them in a melody that, though confused and loud, seemed to convey to her an overwhelming sense of life and joy. Having barely left the station, Gerda had already fallen for the city.
Amongst the general noise and bustle a number of street stalls offered various food, trinkets, religious salvation and, most commonly, some sort of political message. The busiest had a banner that sat atop it declaring its message to those not within earshot.
‘THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF GERMANY WILL TRIUMPH WITH YOUR SUPPORT ‘
The flag next to the banner was a vivid scarlet and there was something captivating in the way it fluttered in the breeze, the banner did not have the same effect though Gerda was curious all the same. She wasn’t aware that there was a ‘Socialist Republic of Germany’ though as she walked towards the group gathered around the stall she did recall that she had heard various mutterings in the latter stages of her work at Essen about communists and how they wanted to tear up the country. These had usually been derogatory though it was curious to see them in the flesh, why would someone proclaim such views if they were openly subversive?
The moment she stood trying to make sense of it was apparently enough to attract the attention of the stall. A woman not much older than her was walking towards her with a bunch of leaflets in her hand. There seemed to be an odd air of sincerity to her, she was dressed in dirty overalls as if she had just finished a shift in a factory though not nearly as worn out as most would be after a day’s work.
The woman asked Gerda if she was new in the city and Gerda responded in the affirmative, it must have been fairly obvious by the way that she had been looking about at the surroundings of the new environment. She introduced herself as Hilda, though Gerda had only just told her own name before she launched into a spiel about a women’s event that night that would explain their position on full employment and women’s. Gerda asked her who exactly “they” were but she seemed very short with detail, only that there would be food and drink and that it would be a good place to meet new people.
“You should definitely come”, Hilda broke out into an even larger smile with this further encouragement. Gerda felt that there was something off about this woman, she was obviously eager but the more positive she became the more relaxed she also appeared, as if she had just heard that everything was going to be alright forever. That alone counted for something in these troubled times.
Gerda didn’t have the heart to tell her she wasn’t interested, and promised to ask her friend when she got to her new lodgings. Soon she had plans for her first night in the new city, she just hoped that Christina wouldn’t react too badly to her press ganging them both into the KPD.
---
The painting is The Funeral by George Grosz
- The Red
- Word Count: 1.6k