A People’s History of the German Revolution, 1918–1919

In October 1918, war-weary German sailors mutinied when the Imperial Naval Command ordered their engagement in one final, fruitless battle with the British Royal Navy. This revolt, in the dying embers of the First World War, quickly erupted into a full scale revolution that toppled the monarchy and inaugurated a period of radical popular democracy. The establishment of the Weimar Republic in 1919 ended the revolution, relegating all but its most prominent leaders to a historical footnote. In A People's History of the German Revolution, William A. Pelz cuts against the grain of mainstream accounts that tend to present the revolution as more of a 'collapse', or just a chaotic interregnum that preceded the country's natural progression into a republic. Going beyond the familiar names of Karl Liebknecht, Rosa Luxemburg or Clara Zetkins, Pelz explores the revolution from the bottom up, focusing on the active role that women, rank-and-file activists, and ordinary workers played in its events. Rejecting the depiction of agency as exclusively in the hands of international actors like Woodrow Wilson or in those of German elites, he makes the compelling case that, for a brief period, the actions of the common people shaped a truly revolutionary society. In October 1918, war-weary German sailors mutinied rather than engage in one final, fruitless battle with the British Royal Navy. That revolt, coming as World War I slowly ended, quickly became far bigger, erupting into a full-scale revolution that toppled the monarchy and inaugurated a brief period of radical popular democracy. This book tells that mostly forgotten story, going beyond the handful of familiar names such as Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknechtto present the revolution from the bottom up. Through stories of the actions of rank-and-file activists and ordinary workers, Willam A. Pelz builds a compelling case that, for a brief period, the actions of the common people shaped a truly revolutionary society. A myth-busting popular history of the German Revolution focusing on the roles of women, workers and ordinary people William A. Pelz ; Foreword By Mario Kessler. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 140-173) And Index.