PDF file: History - Advanced Higher - Germany - Education Scotland

Part B: The November Revolution
This section covers a remarkable series of events in later October and November 1918
that include Germany becoming a republic and the First World War finally coming to
an end.
The Historian, William Carr, argues that
‘The German Revolution, like the March Revolution in Russia, was spontaneous in its
origins. ….It was also a bloodless revolution.’
Notes will be required on the following aspects:
1. Problems of peace-making
This involves considering:
(i) The German request for an armistice
(ii) President Wilson’s demands
(iii) Ludendorff’s resistance and resignation.
2. Constitutional monarchy is established
This involves considering:
(i) Limitations on the Emperor’s powers
(ii) The establishment of government responsible to the Reichstag
(iii) Controls over the military.
3. Conditions in Germany
This involves considering:
(i) The effects of the allied blockage
(ii) The shock of defeat
(iii) Evidence of differences between classes and between regions; tensions
in society
(iv) Evidence of anti-Semitism.
4. Naval Mutiny
This involves considering:
(i) The mutiny in two cruisers and the reasons for this
(ii) The spread of the mutiny in Kiel
(iii) The widening of protest to include workers and soldiers in Germany
(iv) The setting up of workers’ and soldiers’ councils.
5. Political Revolution
This involves considering:
(i) Different left-wing political groups
(ii) The setting up of the Bavarian Republic
(iii) The Kaiser’s abdication
(iv) Ebert becomes Chancellor.
History: Germany: Versailles to the Outbreak of World War II - 1918-1939 (AH) 13