View source for Bavarian Soviet Republic

{{short description|1919 unrecognized socialist state in Germany}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name            = {{Lang|de|Münchner Räterepublik}}
| conventional_long_name = Bavarian Soviet Republic
| common_name            = Bavarian Soviet Republic
| common_languages       = [[German language|German]]
| status                 = unrecognized state
| year_start             = 1919
| year_end               = 1919
| life_span              = 1919
| date_start             = 6 April
| date_end               = 3 May
| p1                     = Free State of Bavaria (Weimar Republic)
| flag_p1                = Flag of Bavaria (striped).svg
| s1                     = Free State of Bavaria (Weimar Republic)
| flag_s1                = Flag of Bavaria (lozengy).svg
| flag_type              = [[Red flag (politics)|Flag]]
| image_flag             = Socialist red flag.svg
| national_anthem        = {{Lang|de|Die Internationale}}<br /><small>[[The Internationale]]</small><br />[[File:Internationale orchestral arrangement.ogg|centre]]
| national_motto         = "{{Lang|de|Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt Euch!}}"<br /><small>"[[Workers of the world, unite!]]"</small>
| image_map              = Map-WR-Bavaria.svg
| image_map_caption      = Territory claimed by the Bavarian Soviet Republic (in red) shown with the rest of the Weimar Republic (in beige)
| capital                = [[Munich]]
| government_type        = [[Soviet Republic (system of government)|Soviet republic]]
| leader1                = [[Ernst Toller]]
| year_leader1           = 6–12 April 1919
| leader2                = [[Eugen Leviné]]
| year_leader2           = 12 April 1919 – 3 May 1919
| currency               = [[Papiermark|Mark]] (ℳ)
| today                  = [[Germany]]
| era                    = [[Interwar period]]<br />{{·}}[[Revolutions of 1917–1923]]<br />{{·}}[[Political violence in Germany (1918–1933)]]
}}
{{Campaignbox German Revolution of 1918–19}}

The '''Bavarian Soviet Republic''', also known as '''Bavarian Council Republic''' or the '''Munich Soviet Republic''' ({{langx|de|Räterepublik Baiern, Münchner Räterepublik}}), was a short-lived unrecognised [[socialist state]] in [[Bavaria]] during the [[German revolution of 1918–1919]].{{sfn|Gaab|2006|p=58}}

A group of communists and anarchists declared the Bavarian Soviet Republic on 6 April 1919, forcing the government of the existing [[Free State of Bavaria (Weimar Republic)|Free State of Bavaria]] to flee to [[Bamberg]] in northern Bavaria.{{sfn|Bartolf|Miething|2019|pp=226–228}} The members of the new government, led by playwright [[Ernst Toller]], had no political or administrative experience,<ref>{{harvnb|Kershaw|1999|pp=112–116}}; {{harvnb|Mitcham|1996|p=11, 30}}; {{harvnb|Evans|2003|pp=158–161}}</ref> and after just six days in power they were ousted in a putsch organized by the [[Communist Party of Germany]] (KPD). The new head of state, the Russian-German [[Bolsheviks|Bolshevik]] [[Eugen Leviné]], quickly instituted communist measures such as worker control of factories. Food shortages led to popular unrest, and on 3 May the Soviet Republic was put down by soldiers of the [[Reichswehr|German Army]] supported by paramilitary {{lang|de|[[Freikorps]]}} troops. Some 600 people died in the fighting.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=62xSFkgjAdUC&pg=PA112 112]–116}} On 14 August 1919, the democratic [[Free State of Bavaria (Weimar Republic)|Free State of Bavaria]] resumed control over all of Bavaria.

== Background ==
The roots of the Bavarian Soviet Republic lay in the [[German Empire]]'s defeat in the [[First World War]] and the ensuing [[German revolution of 1918–1919]]. Faced with demonstrations and growing unrest in Munich, [[Ludwig III of Bavaria|King Ludwig III]] of Bavaria fled the city on 7 November 1918. [[Kurt Eisner]] of the left-wing [[Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany|Independent Social Democratic Party]] (USPD), with the support of local revolutionary [[German workers' and soldiers' councils 1918–1919|workers' and soldiers' councils]], then became {{awrap|[[Minister-President of Bavaria|minister-president]]}} of the newly proclaimed [[Free State of Bavaria (Weimar Republic)|Free State of Bavaria]].{{sfn|Mitchell|1982|p=65}}{{sfn|Bartolf|Miething|2019|pp=223–224}}{{sfn|Riddell|1986|p=73}} In January, Bavarian voters elected a [[Landtag of Bavaria|Landtag]] (parliament) to draft a republican constitution for Bavaria. On 21 February 1919, the day of the Landtag's first meeting, Eisner was assassinated by a right-wing extremist while on his way to the assembly. After a period during which the workers' councils attempted to form a new government, the Landtag met again on 17 March and chose [[Johannes Hoffmann (SPD politician)|Johannes Hoffmann]] of the moderate [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]] as the new minister-president. He then put together a minority cabinet to govern Bavaria along with the Landtag.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Winkler |first=Heinrich August |author-link=Heinrich August Winkler |title=Weimar 1918–1933. Die Geschichte der ersten deutschen Demokratie |publisher=C.H. Beck |year=1993 |isbn=3-406-37646-0 |location=Munich |page=77 |language=de |trans-title=Weimar 1918–1933. The History of the FIrst German Democracy}}</ref>

== First Toller government ==
On the night of 6–7 April, communists and [[anarchism|anarchists]], energized by the news of a [[Hungarian Soviet Republic|communist revolution in Hungary]], declared a [[soviet republic]], with [[Ernst Toller]] as chief of state.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Ernst Toller |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/598659/Ernst-Toller |access-date=17 Feb 2012}}</ref>{{sfn|Bartolf|Miething|2019|p=225}} Toller called on the non-existent Bavarian Red Army to support the new [[dictatorship of the proletariat]] and ruthlessly deal with any [[counter-revolutionary]] behaviour.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mühsam |first=Erich |author-link=Erich Mühsam |title=Von Eisner bis Leviné |publisher=Fanal Verlag |year=1929 |location=Berlin |page=47 |language=de |trans-title=From Eisner to Leviné}}</ref>{{sfn|Mitcham|1996|pp=32–33}} The KPD reluctantly took part in the newly formed soviet republic, although the party's chairman, [[Paul Levi]], denounced the republic as "revolutionary adventurism".{{sfn|Heynen|2019|pp=52–53}}

The Hoffmann government fled Munich and took its seat in [[Bamberg]] in northern Bavaria.{{sfn|Burleigh|2000|p=40}}{{sfn|Mitcham|1996|p=33}}

Initially, the Bavarian Soviet Republic was ruled by USPD members such as [[Ernst Toller]] and anarchists like writer [[Gustav Landauer]], economist [[Silvio Gesell]] and playwright [[Erich Mühsam]].{{sfn|Bronner|2019|p=244}} Toller, who was also a playwright, described the revolution as the "Bavarian Revolution of Love".{{sfn|Gaab|2006|p=59}} Among the café society of [[Schwabing]], the new government became known as "the regime of the coffeehouse anarchists".{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=158–161}}

Toller's cabinet picks were controversial. For instance, a burglar with a conviction for moral turpitude was chosen as police president of Munich.{{sfn|Mitcham|1996|p=33}} Most infamous was the Commissar of Foreign Affairs [[Franz Lipp]], who had been admitted several times to psychiatric hospitals. He declared war on [[Württemberg]] and [[Switzerland]] over the Swiss refusal to lend 60 locomotives to the Republic.<ref>{{cite book |last=Taylor |first=Edumund |title=The Fall of the Dynasties: The Collapse of the Old Order |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |year=1963 |location=London |page=365}}</ref>{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=158–161}} He claimed to be well acquainted with [[Pope Benedict XV]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Noske |first=Gustav |author-link=Gustav Noske |title=Von Kiel bis Kapp |publisher=Vero Verlag |year=2015 |isbn=978-3-737-22351-5 |location=Norderstedt |page=136 |language=de |trans-title=From Kiel to Kapp}}</ref> and informed [[Lenin]] and the Pope by cable that the ousted former Minister-President Hoffmann had fled to Bamberg and taken the key to the ministry toilet with him.<ref>{{cite book |last=Frölich |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Frölich |title=Die Bayerische Räte-Republik. Tatsachen und Kritik |date=2001 |publisher=Neuer Isp Verlag |isbn=978-3-929-00868-5 |location=Cologne |page=144 |language=de |trans-title=The Bavarian Soviet Republic. Facts and Criticism}}</ref>

Toller's brief government was characterized by bold declarations without real enforcement. The minister for public housing published a decree saying that no house could thereafter contain more than three rooms and that the living room must always be above the kitchen and bedroom. It was also declared that Finance Minister Silvio Gesell's concept of [[Freigeld]] ({{Lit|free money}}) would be implemented, although it never was.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=158–161}}

Members of the Toller cabinet were:<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bischel |first=Matthias |date=22 March 2019 |title=Räterepublik Baiern (1919) |trans-title=Bavarian Soviet Republic |url=https://www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de/Lexikon/R%C3%A4terepublik_Baiern_(1919) |access-date=11 June 2024 |website=Historisches Lexikon Bayerns |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Khunchukashvili |first1=David |last2=Kliewer |first2=Natalja |last3=Lisov |first3=Maja |last4=Piorun |first4=Carolin |last5=Rikić |first5=Bojana |last6=Türmer |first6=Philipp |last7=Winterer |first7=Beate |title=Die Verflechtungen zwischen der Oktoberrevolution 1917 und der Münchner Räterepublik |trans-title=The Entanglements between the October Revolution of 1917 and the Munich Soviet Republic |url=https://www.osmikon.de/themendossiers/muenchen-und-die-russische-revolution/oktoberrevolution-und-muenchner-raeterepublik/ |access-date=8 August 2024 |website=Fachinformationsdienst Ost-, Ostmittel- und Südosteuropa |language=de}}</ref>

{{Cabinet table start|hiderefcol=y}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title                  = President
 | minister1              = [[Ernst Toller]]
 | minister1_termstart    = 
 | minister1_termend      = 
 | minister1_party        = Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title                  = Foreign Minister
 | minister1              = [[Franz Lipp]]
 | minister1_termstart    = .
 | minister1_termend      = .
 | minister1_party        = Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title                  = Finance Minister<ref>{{cite book |last=Onken |first=Werner |author-link=:de:Werner Onken |title=Silvio Gesell in der Münchener Räterepublik. Eine Woche Volksbeauftragter für das Finanzwesen im April 1919 |language=de |trans-title=Silvio Gesell in the Munich Soviet Republic. One week as People's Representative for Finance in April 1919 |location=Oldenburg |date=2018 |isbn=978-3-933891-31-0}}</ref><!-- this is citing the title -->
 | minister1              = [[Silvio Gesell]]
 | minister1_termstart    = .
 | minister1_termend      = .
 | minister1_party        = Independent
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title                  = Interior Minister
 | minister1              = [[Fritz Soldmann]]
 | minister1_termstart    = .
 | minister1_termend      = .
 | minister1_party        = Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title                  = Minister of Military Affairs
 | minister1              = {{ill|Wilhelm Reichart|de}}
 | minister1_termstart    = .
 | minister1_termend      = .
 | minister1_party        = Communist Party of Germany
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title                  = Minister of Transportation
 | minister1              = {{ill|Gustav Paulukum|fr}}
 | minister1_termstart    = .
 | minister1_termend      = .
 | minister1_party        = Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title                  = Minister of Education
 | minister1              = [[Gustav Landauer]]
 | minister1_termstart    = .
 | minister1_termend      = .
 | minister1_party        = Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title                  = Minister of Welfare
 | minister1              = {{ill|August Hagemeister|de}}
 | minister1_termstart    = .
 | minister1_termend      = .
 | minister1_party        = Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title                  = Minister of Justice
 | minister1              = {{ill|Konrad Kübler|de}}
 | minister1_termstart    = .
 | minister1_termend      = .
 | minister1_party        = Bavarian Peasants' League
}}
{{Cabinet table minister
 | title                  = Ministry of Social Welfare
 | minister1              = Martin Steiner
 | minister1_termstart    = .
 | minister1_termend      = .
 | minister1_party        = Bavarian Peasants' League
}}
|}

== Eugen Leviné government ==
[[File:Eugene Levine1.jpg|thumb|right|207x207px|Eugen Leviné, head of the second and more radical government of the Bavarian Soviet Republic]]
On Saturday 12 April 1919, only six days into Toller's regime, the KPD seized power, led by three Russian-German [[Bolsheviks]], with [[Eugen Leviné]] as head of state and [[Max Levien]] as the chairman of the Bavarian KPD.{{sfn|Gaab|2006|p=58}}<ref name=bullock70>{{cite book |author-link=Alan Bullock |last=Bullock |first=Alan |date=1991 |title=Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives |location=New York |publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf]] |page=70 |isbn=0-394-58601-8}}</ref>{{sfn|Bartolf|Miething|2019|pp=230–231}} The communists managed to secure power after the [[Palm Sunday Putsch]], when the Bavarian Red Army – which consisted of factory workers and members of the [[German workers' and soldiers' councils 1918–1919|workers' and soldiers' councils]] under the command of [[Rudolf Egelhofer]] – defeated the Bavarian militia forces of the Republican Defense Troop.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Sepp |first1=Florian |last2=Bischel |first2=Matthias |date=23 September 2021 |title=Palmsonntagsputsch, 13. April 1919 |url=https://www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de/Lexikon/Palmsonntagsputsch,_13._April_1919 |access-date=10 December 2021 |website=Historisches Lexikon Bayerns}}</ref>{{sfn|Bartolf|Miething|2019|pp=230–231}} Twenty men died in the fighting.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=158–161}}

Having received the blessings of [[Lenin]] – who at the annual May Day celebration in [[Red Square]] said: "The liberated working class is celebrating its anniversary not only in Soviet Russia but in ... Soviet Bavaria"<ref name="bullock70" />{{sfn|Burleigh|2000|p=40}}{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=158–161}} – Leviné began to enact more communist reforms, which included forming a "Red Army" from factory workers, seizing cash, food supplies, and privately owned guns, expropriating luxurious apartments and giving them to the homeless, and placing factories under the ownership and control of their workers. One of Munich's main churches was taken over and made into a revolutionary temple which would be presided over by "Goddess Reason". Bavaria was to be in the vanguard of the Bolshevization of central Europe, with all workers to receive military training.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=158–161}}

Leviné also had plans to abolish paper money and reform the education system, but he did not have time to implement them. There was time, however, for Max Levien, following Lenin's orders, to arrest [[German nobility|aristocrat]]s and members of the middle class as hostages.{{sfn|Evans|2003|pp=158–161}}

During Leviné's short reign, food shortages quickly became a problem, especially the absence of milk. Public criticism over the milk shortage turned political, precipitating the communist government to publicly declare: "What does it matter? ... Most of it goes to the children of the bourgeoisie anyway. We are not interested in keeping them alive. No harm if they die – they'd only grow into enemies of the proletariat."{{sfn|Burleigh|2000|p=40}}

== Second Ernst Toller government ==
On 27 April, due to disputes over whether negotiations should be held with the Hoffmann government, Leviné's committee resigned and re-elected Toller to lead the Bavarian Soviet Republic.{{sfn|Bronner|2019|p=244}}

The rival governments – Hoffmann's seated in Bamberg and the Bavarian Soviet Republic located in Munich – clashed militarily at [[Dachau, Bavaria|Dachau]] on 18 April when Hoffmann's 8,000 soldiers met the Soviet Republic's 30,000. The BSR forces led by Ernst Toller were victorious in the first battle at Dachau, but Hoffmann made a deal that gave him the services of 20,000 men of the {{lang|de|Freikorps}} under Lt. General {{ill|Burghard von Oven|de}}. Oven and the {{lang|de|Freikorps}}, along with loyalist elements of the [[Reichswehr|German Army]] – called the "White Guards of Capitalism" by the communists – then took Dachau and surrounded Munich.{{sfn|Bartolf|Miething|2019|p=225}} In the meantime, supporters of the BSR had occupied the rooms of the Thule Society in the [[Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten (Munich)|Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten]] on 26 April and arrested Countess Hella von Westarp, the society's secretary, and six others, who were to be held as hostages.{{sfn|Bracher|1970|pp=109–110}} Rudolf Egelhofer, had these seven and three other hostages executed on 30 April.{{sfn|Burleigh|2000|p=40}}{{sfn|Bartolf|Miething|2019|p=225}} They included the well-connected [[Prince Gustav of Thurn and Taxis]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Timebase Multimedia Chronology: Timebase 1919 |url=http://www.humanitas-international.org/showcase/chronography/timebase/1919tbse.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060929134934/http://www.humanitas-international.org/showcase/chronography/timebase/1919tbse.htm |archive-date=29 September 2006 |access-date=23 September 2006 |website=humanitas-international}}</ref> The executions were carried out despite Toller's efforts to prevent them.{{sfn|Mitcham|1996|pp=34–35}}

The {{lang|de|Freikorps}} broke through the Munich defences on 1 May,{{sfn|Mitcham|1996|pp=34–35}} leading to bitter street fighting that involved "flame-throwers, heavy artillery, armoured vehicles, even aircraft".{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=112–116}} At least 606 people were killed, of whom 335 were civilians.{{sfn|Burleigh|2000|p=40}}{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=112–116}} Leviné was later condemned to death for treason and shot by a firing squad in [[Stadelheim Prison]]. Gustav Landauer was killed by the {{lang|de|Freikorps}},<ref>{{cite web |author=Horrox |first=James |title=Gustav Landauer (1870–1919) |url=http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/bright/landauer/landauerbioHorrox.html |access-date=20 October 2015 |website=Anarchy Archives}}</ref> and Egelhofer was murdered without trial after being arrested.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Egelhofer, Rudolf |url=https://verwaltungshandbuch.bavarikon.de/VWH/Egelhofer,_Rudolf |access-date=10 April 2025 |website=Bavarikon |language=de}}</ref> Numerous others were given prison sentences, such as Toller (5 years) and the anarchist writer [[Erich Mühsam]] (15 years); others received longer sentences, 6,000 years' worth in all, some of it to hard labour.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=112–116}}

General von Oven declared the city secured on 6 May, ending the reign of the Bavarian Soviet Republic.{{sfn|Mitcham|1996|pp=34–35}} Although the Hoffmann government was restored, power in Munich had shifted to the right.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shirer |first=William L. |author-link=William L. Shirer |title=The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |year=1960 |location=New York |page=33}}</ref>

The republican {{ill|Bamberg Constitution|de|Bamberger Verfassung}} was enacted on 14 August 1919, creating the [[Free State of Bavaria (Weimar Republic)|Free State of Bavaria]] as a constituent state of the new [[Weimar Republic]].

== Aftermath ==
The tumultuous period of the Bavarian Soviet Republic created fear and hatred of "Bolshevism" in Bavarian society.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=115}} The period during which the two states existed was popularly remembered as one of shortages, censorship, restrictions on freedom, violence and general disorder.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|pp=114–115}}<!-- The anonymous author Josef Karl referred to the Bavarian Soviet Republic as {{lang|de|die Schreckensherrschaft}} ("The Reign of Terror") in his 1919 book of the events. Josef Karl sought to portray the republic as criminal and being led by "madmen".<ref>{{cite book |last=Plöckinger |first=Othmar |date=2013 |title=Unter Soldaten und Agitatoren: Hitlers prägende Jahre im deutschen Militär 1918–1920 |language=de |trans-title=Among soldiers and agitators: Hitler's formative years in the German military 1918–1920 |publisher=Ferdinand Schöningh |isbn=978-3-506-77570-2}}</ref> --> The many separate strands of Bavarian conservatism found a common enemy in the far left, and Bavaria became profoundly "reactionary, anti-Republican, [and] counter-revolutionary".{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=115}}{{sfn|Heynen|2019|p=53}} The fact that some of the prominent figures of the Soviet Republic were Jewish was used to push the conspiracy theory of "[[Jewish Bolshevism]]" in Bavaria.<ref>{{cite book |last=Friedländer |first=Saul |title=Das Dritte Reich und die Juden. Die Jahre der Verfolgung 1933–1939. Die Jahre der Vernichtung 1939–1945. Die Jahre der Vernichtung 1939–1945 |date=2007 |publisher=Beck |isbn=978-3-406-56681-3 |edition=One-volume special |location=Munich |page=1072, footnote 80 |language=de |trans-title=The Third Reich and the Jews. The Years of Persecution 1933–1939}}</ref>{{sfn|Bronner|2019|pp=237, 252}}

== Notable people ==
One notable supporter of the Soviet Republic was the artist [[Georg Schrimpf]], then aged 30, who was arrested when the movement was crushed.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Modernist Masterpieces. The Haubrich Collection at Museum Ludwig |publisher=König |year=2012 |isbn=978-3-863-35174-8 |editor-last=Friedrich |editor-first=Julia |location=Munich}}</ref> His friend, the writer [[Oskar Maria Graf]], who was also arrested, wrote about the events in his 1927 autobiographical novel, {{Lang|de|Wir sind Gefangene}} (Prisoners All). The famed anarchist novelist Ret Marut (later known as [[B. Traven]]) was an active participant in the establishment of soviet power and worked as head of the Press Department of the Soviet Republic.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Richter |first=Armin |date=1970 |title=B. Traven und die Münchner Zensur : unveröffentlichte Dokumente aus der Zeit des 1. Weltkrieges |trans-title=B. Traven and the Munich Censors: Unpublished Documents from the Time of the First World War |journal=Geist und Tat |language=de |volume=4 |issue=October-December |pages=225–233 |oclc=86154513}}</ref> During the early days of the Soviet Republic, representatives of cultural life also played an important role in the revolution. Some intellectuals such as the economist [[Lujo Brentano]], the conductor [[Bruno Walter]] and the writers [[Heinrich Mann]] and [[Rainer Maria Rilke]] formed the {{lang|de|Rat der geistigen Arbeit}} (Council of Intellectual Work) with Mann as its chairman''.''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gross |first=David |date=1973 |title=Heinrich Mann and the Politics of Reaction |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/260072 |journal=[[Journal of Contemporary History]] |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=125–145 |doi=10.1177/002200947300800107 |issn=0022-0094 |jstor=260072 |s2cid=155049742|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Veitenheimer |first=Bernhard |title=Heinrich Mann und der Politische Rat geistiger Arbeiter München – Versuch einer Chronik |trans-title=Heinrich Mann and the Political Council of Intellectual Workers in Munich – Attempt at a Timeline |url=https://literaturkritik.de/heinrich-mann-und-der-politische-rat-geistiger-arbeiter-muenchen-versuch-einer-chronik,25091.html |access-date=12 October 2021 |website=literaturkritik.de |language=de}}</ref>

According to biographer [[Ian Kershaw]], {{anchor|Hitler}}[[Adolf Hitler]]'s longstanding chauffeur and first leader of the ''[[Schutzstaffel]]'' (SS) [[Julius Schreck]] signed up and served as a member of the Red Army in late April 1919. Balthasar Brandmayer, one of Hitler's closest wartime friends, remarked "how he at first welcomed the end of the monarchies" and the establishment of the republic in Bavaria.{{sfn|Kershaw|1999|p=119}}

Active participants in the {{lang|de|Freikorps}} units – those of Oven, [[Franz Ritter von Epp]], and [[Marinebrigade Ehrhardt|Hermann Erhardt]] – that suppressed the Bavarian Soviet Republic included future powerful members of the [[Nazi Party]], including [[Rudolf Hess]], a member of the {{lang|de|Freikorps Epp}}.{{sfn|Mitcham|1996|p=35}}<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Manvell |first1=Roger |author-link=Roger Manvell |title=Hess: A Biography. |last2=Fraenkel |first2=Heinrich |author-link2=Heinrich Fraenkel |publisher=MacGibbon & Kee |year=1971 |isbn=0-261-63246-9 |location=London |page=20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Padfield |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Padfield |title=Hess: The Fuhrer's Disciple |publisher=Cassell & Co. |year=2001 |isbn=0-304-35843-6 |location=London |page=13}}</ref>

In his 1952 memoir ''Witness'', [[Whittaker Chambers]] named Eugene Leviné as one of three people whom he most admired as he joined the [[Communist Party USA]], along with [[Felix Dzerzhinsky]] and [[Yegor Sozonov|Igor Sazonov]]:<ref name="Witness">{{Cite book |last=Chambers |first=Whittaker |author-link=Whittaker Chambers |url= |title=Witness |date=1952 |publisher=[[Random House]] |location=New York |page=6 |access-date=}}</ref>

{{Quote|text=During the Bavarian Soviet Republic in 1919, Leviné was the organizer of the Workers and Soldiers Soviets. When the Bavarian Soviet Republic was crushed, Leviné was captured and courtmartialed. The court-martial told him: "You are under sentence of death." Leviné answered: "We communists are always under sentence of death." That is another thing that it meant to be a Communist.
}}

=== Hitler's role ===
Adolf Hitler was present in the Munich area at the time of the Bavarian Soviet Republic as part of the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=John Frank |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9WdTxOQjqvcC |title=Corporal Hitler and the Great War 1914-1918: The List Regiment |date=2005 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-415-35854-5 |location=London |page=1 |language= |access-date=}}</ref> He had been appointed a deputy battalion representative (deputy {{Lang|de|Vertrauensmann}}) for his army regiment on April 3 – before the soviet period – a position that was created by the German Army High Command; part of the duties of the role were education and propaganda.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Simms |first=Brendan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t3WGDwAAQBAJ&dq=high+command+vertrauensmann&pg=PT3 |title=Hitler: A Global Biography |publisher=Basic Books |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-541-61820-6 |location=New York |pages=Chapter 3. The 'Colonization' of Germany (e-book)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1= |first1= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UdelqRn46SgC&q=vertrauensleute |title=Studies Prepared for the President's Commission on an All-Volunteer Armed Force |date=1971 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |volume=2 |location=Washington, D.C. |page=III-2-104 |language= |access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=den Hertog |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fooFEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA46 |title=Why Did Hitler Hate the Jews?: The Origins of Adolf Hitler's Anti-Semitism and its Outcome |publisher=Pen & Sword Books |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-526-77241-1 |location=Barnsley, UK |pages=46}}</ref> Although authors such as [[Ian Kershaw]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kershaw |first1=Ian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YadFavyLuGEC&pg=PA69 |title=Hitler: A Biography |date=18 January 2010 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0-393-07562-5 |location=New York |page=69 |language=en |access-date=11 July 2025}}</ref> and others claim that Hitler held the role as early as February, it contradicts evidence put forth by Othmar Plöckinger in his book {{Lang|de|Unter Soldaten und Agitatoren}} ("Among Soldiers and Agitators").<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Longerich |first1=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5jCoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA982 |title=Hitler: A Biography |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-005673-5 |location=Oxford |page=982 |language=}}</ref> The idea that Hitler attended Eisner’s funeral and supported the Soviet Bavarian Republic originate with German journalist and documentarian [[Guido Knopp]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hayman |first1=Ronald |title=Hitler and Geli |date=4 September 1999 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-58234-036-4 |page=55 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Hitler_and_Geli/BB3A_n2SzLcC?hl=en |language=en}}</ref> (In 2004, a group of international historians warned that documentaries like the ones produced by Knopp could reduce important historic facts to mere [[infotainment]].<ref>[http://www.whoswho.de/templ/te_bio.php?PID=1780&RID=1 German Who is Who]</ref>)

Hitler's unit and regiment declared themselves neutral and refused to join the Bavarian Red Army (an act of passive resistance). They did not give their allegiance to the new regime nor were they under its control. Author Sjoerd de Boer notes that there is no evidence of Hitler having aided the Soviet Republic personally, despite the claim of some authors. In fact, information originating from Hitler's barracks assisted the advancing ''Freikorps'' units in capturing the city.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=de Boer |first=Sjoerd J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pylsEAAAQBAJ&dq=hitler+deputy+battalion+othmar&pg=PT55 |title=The Hitler Myths: Exposing the Truth Behind the Stories About the Führer |publisher=Pen & Sword Books |year=2022 |isbn=978-1-399-01906-4 |location=Barnsley, UK |pages=(e-book)}}</ref> After the fighting ended, Hitler was part of a committee that prosecuted soldiers for aiding the soviet revolt. Hitler was next employed by the occupying ‘"White" forces in the information bureau led by Captain [[Karl Mayr]] of [[Reichswehr]] Gruppen Kommando 4, which was responsible for countering soviet activity. Mayr had likely been impressed by Hitler’s role on the prosecuting committee, making it extremely unlikely that he would have brought him on had he been involved with the soviet forces.{{Sfn|den Hertog|2020|pp=47–48}} In order to prevent the troops in his barracks from joining the Red Army in 1919, Hitler was recorded as saying “we are no Revolutionary Guard” for Jews (whom he called vagrants).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Toland |first1=John |title=Adolf Hitler: The Definitive Biography |date=23 September 2014 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group |isbn=978-1-101-87277-2 |page=8 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Adolf_Hitler/ZzBkAwAAQBAJ?hl=en |language=en}}</ref>

Certain authors have argued that Hitler was in attendance at Kurt Eisner’s funeral.<ref name="Hitler - Eline Bilanz by Guido Knopp2">{{cite book |last1=Knopp |first1=Guido |url=https://archive.org/details/hitlereinebilanz0000unse/page/112/mode/2up |title=Hitler – Eine Bilanz |date=2002 |publisher=Orbis-Verlag |isbn=978-3-572-01338-8 |location=Munich |pages=111–114 |language=de |trans-title=Hitler – A Balance |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="Hitler's First War by Thomas Webber2">{{cite book |last1=Weber |first1=Thomas |url=https://archive.org/details/hitlersfirstwara0000webe_y3h4/page/250/mode/2up |title=Hitler's First War |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |location=Oxford |page=251 |url-access=registration}}</ref> A separate photo and video have been used as evidence that he was: in a photograph, a man purported to be Hitler (based on physical appearance) is shown observing a memorial procession from the side while Russian prisoners of war carry a portrait of Eisner. In the footage of Eisner's funeral, another man (actually participating) is claimed to be Hitler.<ref name="Hitler's First War by Thomas Webber2" /> Historians debate about the authenticity of the claim, especially with regard to the graininess of the footage. Thomas Weber believes that Hitler did attend but concluded that it was impossible to know for sure; other historians dismiss the claim outright.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Weber |first1=Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XqY5DwAAQBAJ |title=Becoming Hitler: The Making of a Nazi |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-199-66462-7 |location=Oxford |page=351 |access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Brenner |first1=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vtU-EAAAQBAJ |title=In Hitler's Munich: Jews, the Revolution, and the Rise of Nazism |date=2022 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-19103-4 |location=Princeton |page=169 |access-date=}}</ref> Representatives of Hitler’s unit were ordered to attend a memorial procession for Eisner, but that was on 3 April 1919, separate from the funeral in February.<ref name=":0" /> As of May 1919 Hitler was an informant for the ''Reichswehr''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Harper |first1=David |title=Exposing the Reich: How Hitler Captivated and Corrupted the German People |date=2023 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |isbn=978-1-538-18090-7 |location=Lanham, Maryland |page=38}}</ref> Author Peter den Hartog has concluded Hitler’s attendance at Eisner's funeral can safely be considered a myth.<ref name=":1" />

== See also ==
{{col-begin|width=80%}}{{col-break}}
* [[Aftermath of World War I]]
* [[History of Bavaria]]
* [[Bremen Soviet Republic]]
* [[Soviet (council)]]
{{col-end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Works cited ===
{{refbegin|colwidth=30em}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Riddell |editor-first=John |date=1986 |title=The German Revolution and the Debate on Soviet Power: Documents: 1918-1919 Preparing the Founding Congress |publisher=Pathfinder Press}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Bartolf |first1=Christian |last2=Miething |first2=Dominique |chapter=Gustav Landauer and the Revolutionary Principle of Non-violent Non-cooperation |title=The German Revolution and Political Theory |editor1-last=Kets |editor1-first=Gaard |editor2-last=Muldoon |editor2-first=James |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2019 |issn=2524-7131 |isbn=978-3-030-13917-9 |pages=215–236 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-13917-9_11}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bracher |first=Karl Dietrich |author-link=Karl Dietrich Bracher |title=The German Dictatorship |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |year=1970 |isbn=0-14-013724-6 |location=New York |page=110 |translator-last=Steinberg |translator-first=Jean}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Bronner |first1=Stephen Eric |chapter=Revolutionary Principles and Strategy in the November Revolution: The Case of the USPD |title=The German Revolution and Political Theory |editor1-last=Kets |editor1-first=Gaard |editor2-last=Muldoon |editor2-first=James |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2019 |issn=2524-7131 |isbn=978-3-030-13917-9 |pages=237–254 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-13917-9_12}}
* {{Cite book |last=Burleigh |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Burleigh |url={{Google books|YkekBwYc1_wC|plainurl=yes}} |title=The Third Reich: A New History |publisher=Hill and Wang |year=2000 |isbn=0-8090-9325-1 |location=New York}}
* {{cite book |last=Evans |first=Richard J. |author-link=Richard J. Evans |date=2003 |title=The Coming of the Third Reich |location=New York |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |isbn=0-14-303469-3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Gaab |first=Jeffrey S. |title=Munich: Hofbräuhaus & History: Beer, Culture, and Politics |publisher=Peter Lang |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-820-48606-2 |location=Lausanne, Switzerland}}
* {{cite book |last=Hett |first=Benjamin Carter |year=2018 |title=The Death of Democracy |location=New York |publisher=St. Martin's |isbn=978-1-250-21086-9}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Heynen |first1=Robert |chapter=The German Revolution and the Radical Right |title=The German Revolution and Political Theory |series=Marx, Engels, and Marxisms |editor1-last=Kets |editor1-first=Gaard |editor2-last=Muldoon |editor2-first=James |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2019 |issn=2524-7131 |isbn=978-3-030-13917-9 |pages=45–68 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-13917-9_3}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kershaw |first=Ian |author-link=Ian Kershaw |url={{Google books| 62xSFkgjAdUC|plainurl=yes}} |title=Hitler: 1889–1936 Hubris |publisher=[[W. W. Norton & Company]] |year=1999 |isbn=0-393-04671-0 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mitcham |first=Samuel W. Jr. |author-link=Samuel W. Mitcham |title=Why Hitler? The Genesis of the Nazi Reich |publisher=Praeger |year=1996 |isbn=0-275-95485-4 |location=Westport, Connecticut}}
* {{cite book |last=Mitchell |first=Allan |author-link=:de:Allan Mitchell |title=Revolution in Bayern 1918/1919. Die Eisner-Regierung und die Räterepublik |language=de |trans-title=Revolution in Bavaria 1918/1919. The Eisner government and the Soviet Republic |publisher=Beck |location=Munich |edition=2nd |date=1982 |isbn=3-406-02003-8}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Bavarian Council Republic}}
* [http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1919/apr/27.htm Lenin: Message of Greetings to the Bavarian Soviet Republic]

{{States of the Weimar Republic}}
{{Socialism by state}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Bavarian Soviet Republic| ]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1919]]
[[Category:Communism in Germany]]
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[[Category:Former countries in Europe]]
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[[Category:Former states and territories of Bavaria]]
[[Category:History of Munich]]
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