Episode 34: The Counter-Revolution: Germany, 1919–1923

In this episode, Katja and Chris explore how the largely peaceful German Revolution of November 1918 descended into terror and bloodshed. Picking up where the previous episode left off, they examine how Friedrich Ebert’s provisional government turned to the army and the Freikorps to crush the so-called Spartacist Uprising of January 1919, leading to the murders of Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg. They trace the wave of revolutionary and counter-revolutionary violence that followed, from the assassination of Kurt Eisner and the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republics to the brutal Freikorps assault on Munich. Along the way, they ask who the Freikorps men really were, challenge the myth that they were brutalised proto-Nazis, and follow the more extreme units such as the Ehrhardt Brigade into the Kapp Putsch, the underground death squads of Organisation Consul, the murders of Matthias Erzberger and Walther Rathenau, and finally Hitler’s failed Beer Hall Putsch of 1923.

Do you like our podcast?
Then please leave us a review, it helps us a lot!

Host: Katja Hoyer & Dr Christopher Dillon
battleguide.co.uk/reichs-republics#host

To comment and ask questions, please join our community: reichs-and-republics.com/supporters

Support via Paypal: battleguide.co.uk/rr-paypal
Merchandise and Shop: reichs-and-republics.com/collections/all

Our WW1 Podcast: listen.not-so-quiet.com
Our WW2 Podcast: listen.both-sides-of-the-wire.com
Untitled History Podcast: listen.untitled-history.com
Battle Guide YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@BattleGuideVT

If you want to keep your finger on the pulse of what the team at Battle Guide have been getting up to, why not sign up to our monthly newsletter: battleguide.co.uk/newsletter

Katjas socials
X (Twitter): x.com/hoyer_kat
Substack: Zeitgeist katjahoyer.uk
General Enquiries: republics@battleguide.co.uk

Credits:
- Host: Katja Hoyer and Dr Christopher Dillon
- Production: Linus Klaßen
- Editing: Jessa Sargento

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices