The betrayal

Treason is a book by the author Sebastian Haffner . It was first published in 1968 as a series in Stern magazine under the title “ The Great Treason ” . In 1969 followed the book edition with the title " The betrayed revolution - Germany 1918/1919 ". Titles also used later are: " The German Revolution 1918/1919 " and " 1918/1919 - a German Revolution ".

In this book Haffner deals with the events during the November Revolution of 1918/19, which brought about the overthrow of the monarchy and the transition to the Weimar Republic in Germany at the end of the First World War .

content

Erich Ludendorff

Friedrich Ebert

Gustav Noske

Haffner lectures on the history of the revolution of 1918/1919. General Ludendorff , who had effectively risen to become a military dictator since 1917, after his efforts to avert the defeat of the German Reich militarily, now consistently set about organizing the defeat that had become inevitable. His aim was to enable the forces that supported the state of the empire to survive politically and to open up the chance of an immediate restoration .

With the flick-like transfer of political leadership to the forces of the opposition led by the SPD and the ultimate demand for an immediate ceasefire , the latter should be forced to take political responsibility for the surrender . The leading functionaries of the SPD, in addition to Ebert , Scheidemann and Wels , responded to this, attracted by the prospect of taking over the representative government offices and the possibility of being able to introduce profound social reforms from this position of power after overcoming the crisis. Neither the abolition of the monarchy nor a social or economic revolution was wanted by them.

Beyond these forces around Ebert, there was no real revolutionary potential in the German Reich - not even in the people of Luxemburg and Liebknecht , who are described as isolated intellectuals. Only the Bavarian Prime Minister Eisner , who was murdered after a short time, was assigned such potential. However, as a "one-man show" it almost necessarily had to fail. The SPD of the Empire had lost its orientation towards a revolution due to its decades of success in the Reichstag and its elections, just as its leaders had learned to enjoy the comforts of life as "parliamentary dignitaries". Not even a theoretical concept for a fundamental reshaping of the social, political and economic conditions was left. Even the abolition of the monarchy under pressure from the Allies under the leadership of US President Wilson had given the SPD a lot of trouble, which would have preferred to remain an “imperial German social democracy”.

That the SPD - or their leaders - playful this unique opportunity and at the same time - according to the original plan Ludendorff - the attack of the stab darboten, Haffner sees paving the way for themselves immediately under Hitler transforming Nazism , which as a powerful movement from right to the place of conservative restoration had taken place, which Ludendorff actually wanted to serve with his plan.

In evaluating and presenting the events of the November Revolution , the political forces and the characterization of the people involved, Haffner largely follows the presentation as presented by the spokesman for the Berlin Revolutionary Obleute , Richard Müller , in his comprehensive history of the November Revolution as early as 1924. He quotes extensively from the book, sometimes without identifying citations or their source.

criticism

The historian Martin Sabrow characterized Haffner's portrayal as "a historical indictment [...] against the German social democracy, which at a brief historical moment had its great opportunity and did not use it". Especially Haffner's settlement with the German social democracy met with criticism. Sabrow explains that Haffner's central allegations about Ebert's hatred of the revolution were based on subsequent omissions by Philipp Scheidemann and Wilhelm Groener, which were of dubious source value. His curse on Ebert “personalized in an unjust way the creeping transformation of the revolutionary workers party SPD into a party of 'revolutionary attentism ' ( Dieter Groh ) through institutional bureaucratization and political integration. Haffner ultimately misjudged the framework conditions that weighed down on a democratic new beginning, which were shaped by the pre-democratic legacy and the lost war. ”At the same time, however, the book was a great success of lasting importance because it reflected the revolutionary content of the events of 1918 / 19 and relegated the danger of an impending Bolshevization of Germany to the realm of legend. Contemporary historical research continued on this path.

Editions and editions

1st edition: The betrayed revolution - Germany 1918/19 . Stern -buch, Hamburg 1969 (without ISBN)
2nd edition: The German Revolution 1918/1919 - how was it really? A contribution to German history . Munich, Kindler Verlag 1979, ISBN 3-463-00738-X
3rd edition, 1st edition: 1918/1919 - a German revolution . Reinbek near Hamburg: Rowohlt, 1981, ISBN 3-499-17455-3
- 3rd edition, 2nd edition: 1918/1919 - a German revolution . Reinbek near Hamburg: Rowohlt, 1986, ISBN 3-499-17455-3
- 3rd edition, 3rd edition: 1918/1919 - a German revolution . Reinbek near Hamburg: Rowohlt, 1988, ISBN 3-499-17455-3
4th edition, 1st edition: The betrayal. Germany 1918/19 . Berlin, Verlag 1900 , 1993, ISBN 3-930278-00-6
- 4th edition, 2nd edition: The betrayal. 1918/1919 - when Germany became what it is . Berlin, Verlag 1900, 1994, ISBN 3-930278-00-6
- 4th edition, 3rd edition: The betrayal. 1918/1919 - when Germany became what it is . Berlin, Verlag 1900, 1995, ISBN 3-930278-00-6
- 4th edition, 4th edition: The betrayal . Berlin, Verlag 1900, 2000, ISBN 3-930278-00-6
- 4th edition, 5th edition: The betrayal. Germany 1918/1919 . Berlin, Verlag 1900, 2002, ISBN 3-930278-00-6
5th edition: The German Revolution - 1918/19 . Kindler, 2002, ISBN 3463404230
6th edition: The German Revolution - 1918/19 . rororo paperbacks, 2004, ISBN 3-499-61622-X
7th edition: The German Revolution - 1918/19 . Anaconda Verlag, 2008, ISBN 3-86647-268-4

literature

Martin Sabrow: Contemporary history as political enlightenment. Sebastian Haffner's book about the November Revolution as a diagnosis of the “German disease” . In: Jürgen Danyel u. a. (Ed.): 50 classics of contemporary history . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, pp. 118–122

Individual evidence

↑ Richard Müller: A History of the November Revolution . Ed .: Jochen Gester, Ralf Hoffrogge, Rainer Knirsch. 14th unchanged edition Edition. Die Buchmacherei, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-00-035400-7 .
↑ Martin Sabrow: Contemporary history as political enlightenment. Sebastian Haffner's book about the November Revolution as a diagnosis of the “German disease” . In: Jürgen Danyel u. a. (Ed.): 50 classics of contemporary history . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, p. 118.
↑ Martin Sabrow: Contemporary history as political enlightenment. Sebastian Haffner's book about the November Revolution as a diagnosis of the “German disease” . In: Jürgen Danyel u. a. (Ed.): 50 classics of contemporary history . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, pp. 119f.
↑ Martin Sabrow: Contemporary history as political enlightenment. Sebastian Haffner's book about the November Revolution as a diagnosis of the “German disease” . In: Jürgen Danyel u. a. (Ed.): 50 classics of contemporary history . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, p. 121f.

[1] Richard Müller: A History of the November Revolution . Ed .: Jochen Gester, Ralf Hoffrogge, Rainer Knirsch. 14th unchanged edition Edition. Die Buchmacherei, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-00-035400-7 .

[2] Martin Sabrow: Contemporary history as political enlightenment. Sebastian Haffner's book about the November Revolution as a diagnosis of the “German disease” . In: Jürgen Danyel u. a. (Ed.): 50 classics of contemporary history . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, p. 118.

[3] Martin Sabrow: Contemporary history as political enlightenment. Sebastian Haffner's book about the November Revolution as a diagnosis of the “German disease” . In: Jürgen Danyel u. a. (Ed.): 50 classics of contemporary history . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, pp. 119f.

[4] Martin Sabrow: Contemporary history as political enlightenment. Sebastian Haffner's book about the November Revolution as a diagnosis of the “German disease” . In: Jürgen Danyel u. a. (Ed.): 50 classics of contemporary history . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2007, p. 121f.