Cuno strikes

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As Cuno strikes refers to a wave of strikes , which in August 1923 against the government of Chancellor Wilhelm Cuno taught. The protests actually contributed to the resignation of the government, at the same time they increased the vain hope of an impending revolution in the communist camp.

history

In January 1923, after the occupation of the Ruhr area by Belgian and French troops, the Cuno government called for passive resistance, which significantly accelerated inflation . Substantial sections of the labor movement turned against the government and the French occupiers alike. Their motto was: "Beat Cuno and Poincaré on the Ruhr and on the Spree!"

The strike movement was triggered by a labor dispute in the Berlin printing industry. At the instigation of the KPD , the Reichsdruckerei was also affected . The Reich's printing press was shut down and a shortage of paper money soon became apparent. The strike was also joined by the workers of the electricity works, construction workers and the employees of the Berlin transport company . While it succeeded Otto Wels to prevent a general strike next. However , the KPD did not want to accept the defeat in the trade union bodies of the ADGB . On August 11, 1923, it called a general meeting of the revolutionary works councils of Greater Berlin. This called for a general strike until the Cuno government was overthrown. However, because of the ban on the Red Flag , this appeal could not be widely spread.

Nevertheless, the strikes in Berlin continued to spread and spread to other cities and regions. Hamburg , Lausitz , the province of Saxony and the Free States of Saxony and Thuringia were affected . There were no strikes in the Ruhr area . Instead, passive resistance was exercised. Factories were occupied and factory management chased away by communist-minded workers.

The strikes lasted only briefly, but were successful in that Cuno resigned on August 12, 1923. However, there was also a political development behind this. On August 10, the KPD introduced a motion of no confidence in the Cuno government in the Reichstag . The SPD , also driven from its grassroots, which partly supported the Cuno strikes, saw no other political alternative than the formation of a grand coalition to avert a civil war-like situation and a possible revolution. Against parts of the left around Paul Levi , Rudolf Hilferding in particular pleaded for such a path and urged Gustav Stresemann to take over government responsibility.

After the resignation of the Cuno government, work resumed in the next few days. The KPD failed to turn the social crisis into the beginning of a revolutionary upheaval. Instead, a solution was found within the framework of the parliamentary system. However, the Cuno strikes in the Executive Committee of the Comintern raised hopes for a revolution in Germany. The result was that with the so-called German October an attempted coup should be dared.

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