Germany’s Counterrevolution Paved the Way for the Rise of Nazism
A revolutionary upsurge after 1918 could have democratized German politics. Instead, the brutal repression used to contain that upsurge strengthened the authoritarian right, divided the German workers’ movement, and facilitated the rise of Hitler.
Soldiers of the German Freikorps, a right-wing paramilitary organization, during the Kapp Putsch to overthrow the nascent Weimar Republic and reinstall the monarchy, Berlin, Germany, March 13, 1920. (Bain News Service/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
In recent years, German history during the Weimar Republic has become an increasingly familiar reference point in US politics. Anyone who stands to the left of Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden will find themselves compared to the Communist Party of Germany. Commentators asked if the Capitol Hill riot in January 2021 was a latter-day version of the Kapp Putsch, or even the Reichstag fire.
But the more people talk about Weimar Germany as the master key to our own time, the less we seem to know about its real history. Before we can discuss its lessons for today, we need to understand that history on its own terms.
Sean Larson is a historian who specializes in the German Revolution and the Weimar Republic and an editor at Rampant magazine.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.