Wild Socialism: Workers Councils in Revolutionary Berlin, 1918-21 by Comack Martin

Author:Comack, Martin [Comack, Martin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780761859048
Publisher: University Press of America
Published: 2012-09-11T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

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Revolution

In September of 1918 the Allies penetrated the Hindenburg Line on the Western Front, and General Ludendorff advised the government to seek an armistice. The following month a constitutional monarchy was declared, and for the first time in German history, the Social Democrats were invited into the government. Cognizant of the political shift, and fearful of the popular mood, the German industrialists hastened to shore up their relations with the traditional labor organizations. Hans von Raumer of the Berlin electro-technical industry initiated talks between business leaders and the trade union hierarchy in the second week of October. As unrest increased, and it was feared that the unions might forfeit all influence and lose control of their members, the General Commission and management jointly agreed to procedures for the general demobilization and the provision of labor exchanges, the eight hour day, and the institution of industry-wide collective agreements. Coming when it did, this recognition by employers breathed life back into the traditional labor organizations (Moses 1982: 219-222).

At the beginning of November, revolutionary councils of sailors led mutinies in the Imperial fleet at the Kiel and Wilhelmshaven naval bases (Horn 1969: 220-266) Their example quickly spread and, against hardly any resistance, councils of workers and soldiers assumed power in one locality after the other across Germany. This was due perhaps less to the strength and coherence of the revolutionary movement than to the weakness of the old regime (Haffner 1986: 56-58; Kluge 1985: 59). Many such councils were actually composed of SPD and union functionaries with their own organizational agendas, skilled at the manipulation of public meetings. Usually only in the great cities and industrial areas like Berlin and Hamburg did the election of representative councils follow the pattern set by the mass strike committees of 1917 and 1918 (Muller 1971b: 57-78; Gluckstein 1985: 109-110; Comfort 1960: 41-46). Occupying the vacuum left by the disintegration of the Imperial order, it is not too much to claim that the councils at this point represented not merely workers and soldiers but also the mass of the war-weary German people.

The powers and functions of the councils varied from place to place, depending upon the composition of the membership, mode of selection and local circumstances. Of necessity, the councils immediately undertook to improvise a network of local and regional administration to deal with the vital problems of provisioning and demobilization. For these purposes alliances of convenience had to be made between the councils and local governmental administrations, political parties and unions. The general consciousness of mutual dependence of local groups one upon the other lessened political disagreements on all sides. In any case, most councils probably did not regard themselves as alternatives to a democratic, parliamentary system, but rather as auxilaries to it (Kluge 1985: 59-60; Kolb 1962: 285-286).

The workers and soldiers councils of 1918 can be divided into two general groups, radical and democratic. The latter, usually with a high percentage of soldiers within their ranks, saw their organizations as temporary expedients

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