The German Revolution, 1917-1923 / / Pierre Broué ; translated by John Archer and edited by Ian Birchall and Brian Pearce ; with an introduction by Eric D. Weitz.

• Superior document: Historical materialism book series, 5
• Author: Broué, Pierre.
• TeilnehmendeR: Birchall, Ian H.; Pearce, Brian.
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, 2005.
• Year of Publication: 2005
• Language: English
• Series: Historical materialism book series ; 5.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (xxvii, 991 pages)

On 12 October 1923, Grigory Zinoviev, president of the Communist International wrote the following in Pravda : The German events are developing with the inexorability of fate. The path which it took the Russian Revolution twelve years to cover, from 1906 to 1917, will have taken the German Revolution five years, from 1918 to 1923. ... The proletarian revolution is knocking at Germany's door; you would have to be blind not to see it. ... Very soon, everyone will see that this autumn of 1923 is a turning-point, not just for the history of Germany, but for the history of the whole world. In fact, far from being on the point of triumphing, the German Revolution was on the verge of an irredeemable disaster which would soon inflict terrible consequences on Germany and the world. In this magisterial work, first published 1971 and still unsurpassed, Pierre Broué meticulously reconstitutes the six decisive years during which - between 'ultra-leftism and 'opportunism', 'sectarianism' and 'revisionism', 'activism' and 'passivity' - the German revolutionaries attempted to begin a new chapter in the history of the proletariat.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- The Battlefield -- Social Democracy Before 1914 -- The Lefts in German Social Democracy -- The War and the Crisis of Social Democracy -- The Foundation of the Independent Social-Democratic Party -- The Rise of the Revolutionary Movement -- Problems of the World Revolution -- The November Revolution -- The Period of Dual Power -- The Crisis in the Socialist Movement -- The Foundation of the Communist Party of Germany -- The Uprising of January 1919 -- The Noske Period -- Stabilisation in Germany and World Revolution -- The Communist Party After January 1919 -- The Ultra-Left Opposition and the Split -- The Problem of Centrism -- The Kapp Putsch -- The Communist Party at the Crossroads -- Moscow and the German Revolutionaries -- The Great Hopes of 1920 -- Paul Levi: A German Conception of Communism -- The First Steps of the Unified Communist Party -- The Split in the Italian Socialist Party -- The March Action -- The Aftermath of a Defeat -- The Moscow Compromise -- Unity Preserved With Difficulty -- A New Start -- The Rapallo Turn -- For the United Front Against Poverty and Reaction -- The 'Mass Communist Party' -- The Workers' Government -- The Development of the Tactic -- The Occupation of the Ruhr -- Crisis in the KPD -- An Unprecedented Pre-Revolutionary Situation -- The Overthrow of the Cuno Government -- Preparing the Insurrection -- Moscow's View of the German Revolution -- The German October -- Aftermath of Another Defeat -- History and Politics -- Grafting Bolshevism onto German Stock -- Paul Levi:The Lost Opportunity? -- Karl Radek:The Confusion of Styles? -- Balance Sheet of a Defeat -- Chronology -- Bibliography.