Ebert’s Coalition Government
Ebert’s concerns about the extreme left and returning troops were the main reasons why he
and the SPD leadership were ready to make agreements with the army and industrialists in
the following months. These agreements came in the form of the Ebert-Groener agreement
and the Stinnes-Legien agreement.
The Ebert Groner Agreement
November 1918 Ebert made an agreement with general Groener (clear threat of Spartacist
revolution and Ebert could not rely on army)
AGREEMENT: EBERT PROMISED THE ARMY SUPPLIES AND PROTECTION OF ITS STATUS
AGAINST THE ARMED MILITIAS OF THE WORKERS' AND SOLDIERS' COUNCILS.
Stinnes-Legien agreement
Who were they?
Karl Legion: leader of trade unions
Hugo Stinnes: Leader of the industrial employers
What was the agreement?
A deal where the trade unions made a commitment not to interfere with private ownership
and the free market in return for workers committees, 8 hour working days and full legal
recognition.
Why did Ebert’s government endorse it?
Because the German trade unions were a powerful movement that traditionally was closely
tied with the SPD.
Why have these two agreements (Ebert-Groener and Stinnes-Legien) been criticised?
These two agreements have been heavily criticised by the left wing. Critics have accused
Ebert of having supported compromises with the forces of conservatism. The army was not
reformed at all and was not really committed to democracy.
‘The battle of Christmas eve’
The Skirmish of the Berlin Schloss i.e., Christmas Eve struggle or rebellion, was a small
skirmish between the socialist revolutionary Volksmarinedivision and regular German army
units on 24 December 1918 during the German Revolution of 1918–19. It took place around
the Berlin Schloss also known as "Stadtschloss" in the centre of Berlin, Germany. Around 34
people were killed, and the event marked the point at which the previously largely bloodless
revolution turned more violent. The fighting was the immediate cause for the more radical
members to leave the revolutionary government and caused resentment among the workers
against the Social Democratic government of Friedrich Ebert. This set the scene for the much
larger-scale violence of January 1919, known as the Spartacist Uprising. Since the
revolutionary sailors defeated the regular army force sent against them, the engagement
was also an important episode in the rise of the right-wing Freikorps on which the
government increasingly relied.
Ebert’s concerns about the extreme left and returning troops were the main reasons why he
and the SPD leadership were ready to make agreements with the army and industrialists in
the following months. These agreements came in the form of the Ebert-Groener agreement
and the Stinnes-Legien agreement.
The Ebert Groner Agreement
November 1918 Ebert made an agreement with general Groener (clear threat of Spartacist
revolution and Ebert could not rely on army)
AGREEMENT: EBERT PROMISED THE ARMY SUPPLIES AND PROTECTION OF ITS STATUS
AGAINST THE ARMED MILITIAS OF THE WORKERS' AND SOLDIERS' COUNCILS.
Stinnes-Legien agreement
Who were they?
Karl Legion: leader of trade unions
Hugo Stinnes: Leader of the industrial employers
What was the agreement?
A deal where the trade unions made a commitment not to interfere with private ownership
and the free market in return for workers committees, 8 hour working days and full legal
recognition.
Why did Ebert’s government endorse it?
Because the German trade unions were a powerful movement that traditionally was closely
tied with the SPD.
Why have these two agreements (Ebert-Groener and Stinnes-Legien) been criticised?
These two agreements have been heavily criticised by the left wing. Critics have accused
Ebert of having supported compromises with the forces of conservatism. The army was not
reformed at all and was not really committed to democracy.
‘The battle of Christmas eve’
The Skirmish of the Berlin Schloss i.e., Christmas Eve struggle or rebellion, was a small
skirmish between the socialist revolutionary Volksmarinedivision and regular German army
units on 24 December 1918 during the German Revolution of 1918–19. It took place around
the Berlin Schloss also known as "Stadtschloss" in the centre of Berlin, Germany. Around 34
people were killed, and the event marked the point at which the previously largely bloodless
revolution turned more violent. The fighting was the immediate cause for the more radical
members to leave the revolutionary government and caused resentment among the workers
against the Social Democratic government of Friedrich Ebert. This set the scene for the much
larger-scale violence of January 1919, known as the Spartacist Uprising. Since the
revolutionary sailors defeated the regular army force sent against them, the engagement
was also an important episode in the rise of the right-wing Freikorps on which the
government increasingly relied.
