Political violence in Germany (1918–33)

Political violence in Germany (1918–33)
Johann Lehner (*1901) photographed on May 3, 1919, moments before being murdered by government troops mistaking him for a Bavarian Soviet Republic official.
Date November 1918–1933 Location Germany Result Nazi Party seizes power, all opposition political parties are banned, Nazi totalitarian state established.
Belligerents
Weimar Republic Iron Front Reichsbanner Moderates	Far-left Communists Bavarian Soviet Republic Free Workers' Union of Germany Anarchists	Far-right Freikorps Stahlhelm Organisation Consul Nazi Party
Commanders and leaders
Friedrich Ebert Paul von Hindenburg	Rosa Luxemburg † Paul Levi Karl Radek Ernst Thälmann Kurt Eisner † Ernst Toller Gustav Landauer † Eugen Levine † Erich Mühsam	Erich Ludendorff Wolfgang Kapp Hermann Ehrhardt Alfred Hugenberg Adolf Hitler Ernst Röhm

Substantial political violence existed in Germany from the fall of the House of Hohenzollern and the rise of the Weimar Republic through the German Revolution of 1918–19 until the rise of the Nazi Party to power in 1933 when a Nazi totalitarian state was formed and opposition figures were arrested.

Due to unrest left from the change of government from a monarchy, based on social standing, to a democratic republic, the people of Germany turned to riots and violence. The drastic change allowed for mobility amongst the classes and new voices to be heard. Many large cities, especially Berlin, experienced political rallies which resulted in violence from opposition. The quick overturn of leaders also influenced crises in the interwar period. Ultimately the National socialists took advantage of the radical setting of Germany but leading to this there was great amounts of political violence.

Further reading

• Blasius, Dirk (2008). Weimars Ende. Bürgerkrieg und Politik 1930-1933 [The end of Weimar. Civil war and politics 1930-1933] (Paperback ed.). Frankfurt: S. Fischer Verlag. ISBN 978-3-596-17503-1.
• Brown, Timothy S. 2009. Weimar Radicals: Nazis and Communists Between Authenticity and Performance. Berghahn.
• Schumann, Dirk. 2009. Political Violence in the Weimar Republic, 1918-1933: Fight for the Streets and Fear of Civil War. Berghahn.

See also

• Beer Hall Putsch
• German Revolution of 1918–19
• Revolutions of 1917–23