Imperial Council Congress

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The Reichsrätekongress , also known as the Reichskongress der Workers 'and Soldiers' Councils , was the first regular central assembly of the workers 'and soldiers' councils after the November Revolution of 1918 and met from December 16 to 21, 1918 in the building of the Prussian House of Representatives in Berlin .

Preparation and composition

First Reich Congress of Workers 'and Soldiers' Councils in the Prussian House of Representatives in Berlin. On the ministerial bench from right to left the people's representatives Barth , Ebert , Landsberg , Scheidemann

The convening of the congress was initiated by the Berlin Executive Council of Workers 'and Soldiers' Councils , which saw itself only as a provisional head of the workers 'and soldiers' councils. There was no general mode of voting, the way in which delegates were determined was left to the local councils. There was one delegate for every 200,000 inhabitants. An envoy for 100,000 soldiers was elected for members of the army. The elections themselves mostly took place at the state, district or provincial level through the respective council organizations.

Most of the elected delegates also supported the moderate left. Of the total of 490 councils - 406 workers 'councils and 84 soldiers' councils - the supporters of the MSPD made up 298 delegates, the representatives of the USPD were represented by 101 delegates. Among these, the supporters of the Spartacus group with 10 delegates were a tiny minority. There were also 25 members of the Democrats , 2% syndicalists ; 26 soldiers 'councils and 49 workers' councils gave no information about their political affiliation. Only two of the delegates were women: Klara Noack , a Dresden MSPD politician, and Käthe Leu , a Gdańsk USPD member, who spoke on the last day of the session and spoke on the proposal: "The Congress declares it the special task of the revolution, to actively promote the interests of women, which have hitherto been neglected in all areas of life. "The Berliner Tageblatt wrote:" She speaks with a remarkable skill for the expansion of revolutionary achievements, which is only possible through unity. "

Ossip K. Flechtheim tried to use the information provided by Richard Müller to identify the delegates according to various professional groups. According to this, 71 delegates were assigned to the group of intellectuals. 195 worked full-time as editors, union or party secretaries or the like for the workers' parties or unions. After all, 179 were blue-collar or white-collar workers.

Friedrich Seger (USPD), Robert Leinert (MSPD) and Josef Gomolka as representatives of the soldiers were elected as chairmen of the meeting , Richard Müller , the chairman of the Berlin Executive Council, gave the opening speech.

Negotiations and results

Council system or parliamentary democracy

Berlin House of Representatives (around 1900)

There was a minority of staunch supporters of a political council system in the assembly, including Richard Müller . Significant for the weakness of the left wing was that Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg could not win a mandate and the application to recognize both as guests with an advisory vote failed. Even Ernst Däumig (USPD) by the Revolutionary Shop Stewards was an advocate of a pure soviet system, and introduced a proposed resolution. This envisaged making the council system the basis of the constitution of the German socialist republic and assigning the highest legislative and executive power to the workers 'and soldiers' councils. But the majority situation made this position a minority opinion and the motion was rejected by 344 to 98 votes. Richard Müller later expressed what the disappointed revolutionary left thought of this result:

"This central congress was the first revolutionary tribunal in Germany, but there was no sign of revolutionary air. I did not set my expectations too high beforehand, but I did not believe that this congress would become a political suicide club."

The result of the congress was ultimately a confirmation of the policy of the Council of People's Representatives around Friedrich Ebert . At the request of the majority Social Democrat Max Cohen , around 400 against 50 delegates voted for the election of the National Assembly on January 19, 1919 . This was a significantly earlier date than the Council of People's Representatives sought. Not without good reason, the left criticized that the moderate wing had intended to bring the revolution to an end with an early election.

Conflicts over the tasks of the Central Council of Workers 'and Soldiers' Councils

Opening speech by Richard Müller

A central council to be elected by the Congress should replace a parliament with the government and monitor its decisions. On this point there were considerable differences between the MSPD and the USPD. Hugo Haase , the chairman of the USPD, defined the monitoring mandate in such a way that all laws were to be submitted to the Central Council and the most important ones to be discussed with it. The majority of the USPD delegates wanted to enforce a further regulation. According to this, the Central Council should have the full right to approve or reject laws. The majority Social Democrats, however, saw the political freedom of movement of the Council of People's Representatives in danger and threatened to withdraw from the government in the Reich and in Prussia if the majority of the USPD assembly followed. Within the USPD, the left wing prevailed against Haase's opposition by proposing a boycott of the Central Council election.

The result was that only majority Social Democrats were represented in the 17-member body. Without the participation of the USPD or even further left or right political forces, the Central Council of the German Socialist Republic played no significant role as a counterweight to the Council of People's Representatives. On February 4, 1919, the Central Council, which until then had dealt with issues of social and labor policy, transferred its already limited powers to the Weimar National Assembly.

The creation of the Central Council was essentially the only centralization approach of the council movement. A planned Reich headquarters of the soldiers' councils, for example, never met. One of the reasons for the lack of activity at the headquarters was that it was mainly provided by the MSPD , which had long since decided in favor of the parliamentary route and the election of a national assembly .

The conflict over the Central Council was of significance for the political direction as a whole, because it helped to increase the mistrust between the coalition partners MSPD and USPD, which ultimately led to the breakup of the government after the Christmas battles.

Socialization and the military issue

While the majority Social Democrats could be satisfied with the results of the congress with regard to the future constitution, there were clearly more “left” negotiation results on other issues. This included the decision, which was adopted by a large majority, to immediately initiate the socialization of the mature industries, particularly mining.

The decisions on military policy, the so-called “ Hamburg Points ” because of their originators from the Hanseatic city , were by no means on Ebert's line. The council congress demanded that the government exercise military command only under the control of the newly created central council of workers and soldiers' councils. As a symbol of the fight against militarism , all badges of rank and the wearing of arms outside of the service were abolished. More important, however, was that the soldiers themselves should choose their leaders in the future and that the soldiers' councils should ultimately be responsible for maintaining discipline. The standing army was to be replaced by a militia-like people's armed forces.

The people's representatives Ebert, Scheidemann and Lansberg did not take a public position against these decisions, but they did not acquire any practical significance. Wilhelm Groener and the still existing Supreme Army Command (OHL) succeeded in enforcing an ultimatum that the points should only apply to the Home Army, but not to the field army. Ebert's tactics against the council decision led to a serious conflict with Hugo Haase in the council of people's representatives and ultimately to the resignation of Haase and the two other USPD members of the government. In the further course there were initially further possibilities for the creation of a republican army, but at the latest with the passing of a law on the creation of a provisional Reichswehr by the National Assembly on March 6, 1919, nothing remained of the Hamburg points in practice.

Despite the rejection of the council system as the basis of a coming socialist constitutional order, which the delegates firmly assumed, this did not automatically mean that the congress would give itself up. Instead, Congress called for the councils to be incorporated into the parliamentary system. In addition to the socialization of key industries, this was also a demand of the March strikes, which in spring 1919 represented the last attempt to save the council system.

Second Reich Councilor Congress

The 2nd Reichsrätekongress, which met in April 1919 and was convened on the initiative of Richard Müller , among others, followed up on these demands . The Congress spoke out in favor of the establishment of “Chambers of Labor”. In view of the result of the election to the National Assembly, which instead of a socialist supremacy brought about a government of the Weimar coalition of the MSPD, the center and the DDP , these plans no longer had a chance of being realized.

Logs

  • General congress of workers and soldiers' councils in Germany. 16. – 20. December 1918 Berlin - Stenographic reports, new edition for the 100th anniversary , edited by Dieter Braeg and Ralf Hoffrogge , Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-9819243-6-7 .

literature

  • Gerhard Engel (ed.): Gross-Berliner workers 'and soldiers' councils in the revolution 1918/19. Documents of the plenary meetings and the executive council. From the 1st Reichsrätekongress to the general strike decision on March 3, 1919 . Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-05-003061-5 .
  • Ossip K. Flechtheim : The KPD in the Weimar Republic . Bollwerk-Verlag, Offenbach am Main 1948, p. 43f.
  • Dieter Braeg (Hrsg.), Ralf Hoffrogge (Hrsg.): General Congress of Workers 'and Soldiers' Councils of Germany from December 16 to 20, 1918 in the Berlin House of Representatives, stenographic reports , reprint, new edition, 1st edition, Die Buchmacherei, Berlin , 2018, ISBN 978-3-9819243-6-7 .
  • Ralf Hoffrogge: Richard Müller. The man behind the November Revolution . Karl-Dietz-Verlag Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-320-02148-1 ( History of Communism and Left Socialism 7).
  • Richard Müller : Eine Geschichte der Novemberrevolution, Berlin 2011. ISBN 978-3-00-035400-7 (New edition of the three volumes: From the Empire to the Republic , The November Revolution , The Civil War in Germany , Vienna / Berlin 1924-1925.)
  • Ulrich Kluge: Modern German History. From the Reformation to the Reunification. The German Revolution 1918/19 . Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1984, ISBN 3-518-11262-7 , pp. 101-104.
  • Erich Matthias: Between councilors and privy councilors. The German revolutionary government 1918/19, Droste-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1970.
  • Teo Panther (Ed.): All power to the councilors! Texts on the council movement in Germany 1918/19 . Volume 1: November Revolution 1918 . Unrast, Münster 2007, ISBN 978-3-89771-910-1 ( classic of the social revolt 12).
  • Teo Panther (Ed.): All power to the councilors! Texts on the council movement in Germany 1918/19 . Volume 2: Council power in discussion . Unrast, Münster 2007, ISBN 978-3-89771-914-9 ( classic of the social revolt 16).
  • Sabine Roß : Biographical manual of the Reichsrätekongresse 1918/19 . Droste, Düsseldorf 2000, ISBN 3-7700-5231-5 ( handbooks on the history of parliamentarism and political parties 11).
  • Sabine Roß: Revolution without revolutionaries? Collective biography of the delegates of the German Reichsrätekongress 1918/19 ( Memento from June 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ). In: Historical Social Research 23, 1998, pp. 38-57.
  • Heinrich August Winkler : Weimar 1918–1933. The history of the first German democracy . Beck, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-406-37646-0 , pp. 50-51.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Richard Müller: A History of the November Revolution. Malik Verlag, Berlin 1924/1925. Reprint, Die Buchmacher, Berlin 2011, p. 427 ISBN = 978-3-00-035400-7
  2. ↑ http://www.ossietzky.net/21-2018&textfile=4558
  3. ↑ https://www.weimarer- Republik.net/1411-0-Aufruhr-im-Reichsraetekongress---Genossin-Leu-sracht-fuer-Ruhe.html
  4. ↑ Berliner Tageblatt of December 20, 1918
  5. ^ Müller at the general assembly of the Berlin workers' councils on December 23, 1918, cf. Gerhard Engel et al., Greater Berlin Workers 'and Soldiers' Councils, vol. 2, p. 16 and Ralf Hoffrogge, Richard Müller - The man behind the November revolution, Berlin 2008, p. 94.
  6. ↑ On the course of the strike in Berlin cf. Ralf Hoffrogge, Richard Müller - The Man Behind the November Revolution, Berlin 2008, p. 116ff.