jan 16, 1919 - Spartacist Uprising
Description:
Marxist, Communist revolutionaries, who were suffering under the harsh winter and food shortages of the Allied blockade and the unemployment of returned soldiers (around 250,000 unemployed in Berlin). 200,000 workers seized buildings and demanded change in Berlin. However, Ebert had anticipated the Putsch, and had appointed socialist Gustav Noske as Defence Minister. Noske used the Freikorps against the Spartacists, who acted extremely violently. Demonstrated importance of army strength in politics, and created a deep divide between the SPD and the KPD, both left wing parties. This divide empowered far-right parties later on, including the Nazis.
Added to timeline:
Early Days of the Weimar Republic
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