I found it online searching for communist Germany flags.
Something something google-fu
"Our Struggle": What If Hitler Had Been a Communist?
- Thread starter The Red
- Start date
Something something google-fu
So as I did with your last timeline, belatedly chiming in (because I found it late, and am still back on page six), but I wanted to say I'm enjoying this so far. My only complant is that you all are making it hard to catch up. Anywho, keep up the good work Red, I'll chime back in when I'm on the same page as the rest of you.
Not much but a question the French and British will accept a communist Germany and not try to stop it. Because although Germany becomes communist in 1918 or 1919 Germany will be forced to pay reparations for the war because they lost. Some could say that the Germans would declare that they would not pay anything but I do not agree since if they do not pay the British they could continue with the blockade and although weakened the entante with the American troops could enter in Germany without that the German army can avoid it . The Germans can not ask for help from the Russians because they are in civil war and have no food.
No, they won't.
A Communist Germany means that's a lot of Europe's manufacturing power now in Communist hands, and with Russia, that means most of Eastern Europe is now encircled, and ready to be drafted into their war effort.
Imagine everything East of the Rhine now going Communist, and you'll get their nightmares. No, they won't let Germany go Commie.
Chapter XIII
'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
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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 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
Chapter XIV
'And just because he's human, he doesn't like a pistol to his head,'
~ Ernst Busch, Das Einheitsfrontlied
‘Whilst Liebknecht and Luxemburg crafted their image of a new society, those in the newly formed republican establishment hurried to ensure that their dreams would be strangled in the cradle. The SPD leaders Friedrich Ebert and Gustav Noske were very much the principal actors in this suppression. Though both believed in socialism they maintained that capitalist society would have to transition towards a socialist economy gradually and legislatively to ensure the greatest possibly strength for the new society. To this effect they gave reassurances to the old aristocratic establishment and the industrial magnates that there would be no sudden seizures of industry or land by the new state.~ Ernst Busch, Das Einheitsfrontlied
At the same time they were allying themselves not only with the regular army but also the increasingly large numbers of Freikorps militia, discharged soldiers who had kept their weapons and remained active under increasingly reactionary leadership. Though the Freikorps incoherent political stances were almost always anathema to the social democrats and their formations were anything but disciplined both Ebert and Noske viewed them as the lesser evil, or at least a faction that would have to be temporarily brought on side.
Both men were broadly successful in their efforts, a reactionary counter-revolution was nipped in the bud and temporary stability had been assured for Germany’s new institutions to grow and for a coherent stance to be made towards the victorious entente but their strength was reliant on actors who were largely ambivalent or actively opposed to the republican project. In forging these alliances they had also alienated the far-left, who now took the fatal decision to take matters into their own hands.
Rosa Luxemburg had become somewhat disaffected by Lenin’s actions by January 1919 despite rhetorically advocating many of the measures that the Bolsheviks had implemented in those portions of Russia that they controlled, Liebknecht took a separate conclusion from events to the east and began to push for a workers uprising to topple the new republic and the old establishment. Said action took place in the German capital with the intention of spreading the revolution across the country yet little real success was achieved in this objective before the uprising was brutally crushed.
Ebert had been expecting such a move since Liebknecht’s declaration from the Royal Palace and having safely evacuated their provisional government to Weimar the Freikorps were ordered into Berlin to suppress the revolution. Though Social Democrats would later distance themselves from the atrocities that took place in their name at the time the leadership was ardent in their belief that the Spartacists had to be made an example of.
Gustav Noske, who had previously gone to Kiel in October to try to prevent an armed confrontation, now issued a decree that “everyone found fighting with arms in the hand against government troops is to be immediately shot”. No quarter was to be given in the ensuing bloodbath.’
~ Geoffrey Corbett, Hitler’s First Revolution
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“Looks like this is it!” The man’s voice sounded frantic and as Gerda also peaked over the barrels and sandbags she realised why.“Oh well, never did want to live forever”, the voice behind her was full of brevity but she could also hear the fear under it as well, they were all afraid. The sight coming down the street had assured that.
Gerda had heard stories about the metallic monsters that had dominated the battlefields of France but she had never expected to see one on the streets of Berlin, let alone gradually advancing against her and her friends but, then again, it had been an odd couple of weeks.
She had met many of those already dead or about to die shortly after that first KPD meeting on the day of her arrival in Berlin. It had turned out that Christina was happy to go along with her and they had both joined the new party shortly after. Initially they did very little, Christina had got her a job at a textiles factory that was still employing women and outside of work they had spent much of their free time making the most of the capital with its numerous bars, parks, and cabarets. There seemed to be meetings all the time and they had attended as many as they could, many were related to their work in the textile factory and although Gerda didn’t consider herself much of a speaker she found many of her colleagues willing to see what the party was about.
There was a political atmosphere in the air and even outside of the party their participation in the workers council at the textile factory left her wanting to know more about what the realities of what the party promised, the liberation of women in society with better working conditions and shorter hours for all. In the practical side of this she had made a name for herself on the council and in a matter of weeks found herself earning extra money in organising for the party, helping to make banners and flags for what she assumed would be some sort of mass protest. She had already heard weaponry being discussed and had seen a few rifles but she had thought little of it. Given that so many soldiers had come back with their rifles it was no longer a surprise to see people carrying them about.
It was in the middle of the night that Christina and herself were woken up with a knock on the door and one of their comrades standing there informing her that the revolution was moving on to a more assertive stage, the communists were seizing control of Berlin and both women were now expected to be a part of it.
She wasn't quite able to enjoy those few initial days of peace, she had barely slept in doing party work trying to help the new administrators of those parts of the city that were in their hands, nonetheless she was motivated. The Socialist Republic of Germany would soon be a reality, something she had continued to reassure herself of when the first sounds of gunfire could be heard in the outskirts of the city.
As the tank rolled onto Leipzigstrasse where she had helped build the temporary barricade she noticed that it had a large skull and crossbones on its side, like an old pirate ship out of a book of stories, the large numbers of men huddled behind her wore their helmets and uniforms from the front, as many of them ran out to find cover in the alleys and the broken shopfronts. A few shots barked out from her comrade's small collection of rifles but none of them hit anything important. It was clear that these men knew what they were doing, Gerda wouldn’t have said the same for those on her side and she couldn’t escape the dread that they had badly misjudged this situation. She lacked a rifle of her own as she had no experience in firing one though she feared that that was the same for those bearing them.
It was ironic to think that only a few months beforehand she was helping to make sure the men advancing up the steeet had a ready supply of ammunition, now they were advancing alongside the giant machine to murder her and everyone else. She couldn’t help pondering whether or not it would be a bullet that she had pressed that would kill her, it was a thought she had to cut short as several bullets slammed into the sandbags and the stone wall behind her.
She shook the dust off her coat and reached for the kitchen knife she had brought from Christina’s flat, she didn’t know where her friend was in the city or even if she was still alive but Gerda had resolved that if she had to die it wouldn’t be out of a lack of being able to defend herself. If the barricade was going to be stormed then she would go out trying to stab something important.
As the firing ended she tried to peak out of the barricade again, only her a large hand to force her head down. She turned to see one of her comrades, a man named Friedrich staring at her with a determined look in his eyes.
“These bastards have got us outgunned, they’ll cut us to pieces if we try to run now but you should go, you don’t have a weapon and you’re no good to us without one.”
She protested as more bullets ricocheted off the wall behind them. She lost her words as one of her comrades was sent flying backwards, one had gone straight through his eye. Gerda had seen several people die in the last few days and she couldn’t help feel more annoyed that the man didn’t at least have a rifle for her to take. Friedrich didn’t even seem to notice.
“The movement won’t die today, not if there are still comrades left alive to avenge us, there’ll be other opportunities, believe me!"
He tried to laugh only to cough on the mist of dust. Everyone seemed to be shouting now, Gerda couldn’t see but it appeared the monster's cannon was beginning to move.
Friedrich told her to run and without thinking she did, ducking as more bullets surely aimed at her screamed over her head. She ran down in alleyway into a small street where civilians huddled together waiting for the nightmare to end, they beckoned her to come inside though their calls were drowned out by a nearby explosion.
Glass shattered, a smoke plume began to appear behind and Gerda only began to run again when the screams of her comrades began to fill the air.
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Youtube have unfortunately taken down kampflier.de and Ernst Busch's english version of Das Einheitsfrontlied with it but the German ones nice to listen to as well.
The painting depicts the crushing of the Chicago commune in Jack London's The Iron Heel, unfortunately I couldn't find an artist but it's not too uncommon for it to be used as the book's cover art so I'm going to keep trying.
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Now, if only Lenin would roll over those tiny Baltic nations, he'd be right on the gates of East Prussia and then could help the Spartacists...
Oh, wait. SYKE! Lithuania is in their way! Based Silvestras Žukauskas just casually crushing Germany's dreams to go Communist.
Great update! I wonder if Luxemburg and Liebknecht will be relevant later on. Not to mention Gerda. Gerda's cute.
Oh, wait. SYKE! Lithuania is in their way! Based Silvestras Žukauskas just casually crushing Germany's dreams to go Communist.
Great update! I wonder if Luxemburg and Liebknecht will be relevant later on. Not to mention Gerda. Gerda's cute.
The Death's Head was an old thing in the German army. IIRC, the Black Brunswickers, and some Freikorps of the Napoleonic period also used it.