The Spartacist Revolt Lesson starter Why were people

The Spartacist Revolt Lesson starter Why were people so unhappy with the Weimar government? Ebert

We are learning to… • Describe the events of the Spartacist Revolt • Explain how it helped the Nazis I can… • Produce a newspaper article documenting the events of the Revolt

Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg were two Germans who were unhappy with the new government They were called The Spartacists

1 • In January 1919, Liebknecht and Luxemburg led a movement to try and get rid of Ebert’s government • They wanted to turn Germany into a Communist country like Russia • They started a movement of violence in the streets of Berlin • They captured newspaper offices and railway stations

2 • The Spartacists had 100, 000 people involved in their revolt • The new German leader Ebert was worried • He asked the leading army General Groener for his help • Ebert promised Groener that he would not interfere in the army if Groener helped him Wilhelm Groener

3 • Groener organised a group of sacked exsoldiers to fight the Spartacists • They were called The Freikorps • Over 700 people were killed in the violence • These men would later become Hitler’s SA The Freikorps

4 • The Freikorps were able to put down the Spartacist Revolt • The revolt showed that there was huge opposition to the Weimar Government • It also showed the Weimar government needed help to run Germany • The allies were unhappy about the Freikorps – they felt Germany was trying to get round the 100, 000 army limit set by the Treaty of Versailles

Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg were executed for their part in the uprising People began to associate the Communists with violence

Why did the Spartacist Revolt fail? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Karl Liebnecht and Rosa Luxemburg did not plan their uprising well enough Karl and Rosa were killed in police custody The Government acted very quickly in organising the Friekorps to put down the uprising The Spartacists were arguing amongst themselves – they were not united Their supporters started to get bored standing around in freezing Berlin and went home

How did this help the Nazis? 1. People were terrified of these violent Communists who caused such bloodshed – The Nazis gained support because they were anti – Communist 2. People started to think the Weimar government were incapable of keeping law and order – they wanted a new government 3. The men in the Freikorps were recruited by Hitler and Ernst Röhm to become the SA, the Nazi’s private army

Task 1. Create a newspaper from the time of the Spartacist Revolt 2. Your newspaper should describe the events of the uprising as well as its consequences 3. You need; ü A suitable German newspaper name ü A headline ü A detailed description ü Names/ facts and figures ü A picture