Debates on the German Revolution of 1918-19

This book examines how historians have interpreted the German revolution of 1918-19 from its inception to the present day. It charts how the debate on this revolution changed during the Weimar republic, the Nazi period and the second world war, in the time of Germany’s division from 1949 to 1990, and finally in the years since German reunification. -- .

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In November 1918 a revolution overthrew the old imperial system in Germany and inaugurated a republic. The revolution was formally completed in August 1919 when the social democrat Friedrich Ebert was sworn in as president. By this time, however, many of the revolution’s original aims and intentions had been swallowed up by new political concerns and lived experiences. For contemporaries the meaning of ‘9 November’ changed, becoming increasingly contested between rival parties, military experts and scholars.

This book examines how the debate on the revolution has evolved from August 1919 to the present day. It takes the reader through the ideological battles of the 1920s and 30s into the equally politicised historical writing of the cold war period. It ends with a consideration of the marginalisation of the revolution in academic research since the 1980s, and its revival from 2010. -- .