Revolution of the Proletariat! ... oh wait, need signiture

[warrenpeace]

I'm reading "THE KINGS DEPART the Tragedy of Germany: Versailles and the German Revolution" by Richard M. Watt (Simon and Shuster: New York 1968). It's the first book I've read about this facinating topic of the German Revolution, and I'm coming accross great tidbits.  

One is how as a mass of Majority Socialists gathered around the Reich Chancellery on January 7, 1919 to defend the building from the Independent Socialists, Communists, and Revolutionary Shop Stewards, they carefully refrained from standing on the grass because there were signs forbidding this!

Another is how the detachment of the People's Naval Division that was sent by Karl Liebknecht to occupy the Ministry of War in Berlin on January 6, 1919, displayed their written warrant authorizing their seizure of the building. The officer left in charge (Noske and the staff had left) examined the paper and pointed out that it was not properly signed.  The sailors took a look and saw that it wasn't signed.  They went back to Liebknecht and got him to sign the warrant.  On the return march to the Ministry of War it apparently dawned on the sailors that this was not a great way to conduct a revolution.  The leader threw away the warrant and the sailors went away!

Wow! Revolution German style! ::

[Poliorketes]

I guess this is what makes us germans so horrific to other people - we do everything in a rigid, humourlos way without compromise. Even our modern greens and ultra-leftists are that way.

But I guess a revolution in the UK 1918 wouldn't have been very different. Imagine a crowd storming buckingham palace - everyone arranges in a queue and waits to be called inside...  ::

[Florin]

there is a saying (i think it's from berthold brecht), that revolutionaries in germany in order to occupy a trainstation would first buy a ticket that allows them to enter there. ::

i saw somesthing alike in the 90ies, when during a huge student-strike a group of students broke throgh a police-line at the bavarian parliament an was then turned away by the portier who told them, that it was forbidden to enter the building without proper papers inviting you in.  :roll:  seems there hasn't changed much.

[area23]

People! The Revolution is more difficult than you think!
-to paraprhrase marquis the Sade.

It's why Lenin claimed the German revolt was premature, and talked about infants disease even, iirc (not that I pretend to be a scholar on these matters). Slaughtering thousands was much more visionary.  

Us Dutch are much worse in a way, they never even tried any revolution. Some Dutch radicals were in involved in the German Revolution though.

[Florin]

Some Dutch radicals were in involved in the German Revolution though.

pannekoek (hope i spelld the name right)

[Torben]

The Danes had a pretty funny revolution as well, although it was much earlier than those already listed.

When the people wanted Democracy instead of the Monarcy, they went to the King and demanded that he stepped down from the throne and gave the power to the people... Or else!

The problem was that the King at the time simply said: "Fair enough, I didn't want to run this country anyway" and didn't attempt to stop them at all. This left the revolutionaires stunned and they had to ask for his permission to come back again the next day with our constitutional laws - because they had been more hotheaded about starting a revolution than actually planning anything

 ::

[Captain Blood]

Don't forget we Brits had our revolutions - in the 1640's, when we chopped our King's head off, and then again, fairly conclusively in 1688.

[Poliorketes]

People! The Revolution is more difficult than you think!
-to paraprhrase marquis the Sade.

It's why Lenin claimed the German revolt was premature, and talked about infants disease even, iirc (not that I pretend to be a scholar on these matters). Slaughtering thousands was much more visionary.  

Us Dutch are much worse in a way, they never even tried any revolution. Some Dutch radicals were in involved in the German Revolution though.

Not sure if the circumstances of the de Witt in the 17th century brothers fall could be called a revolution, but the belgian made a revolution against the netherlands in the 1830ies.

[Florin]

and maybe you could call the whole war against spanish-habsburg a revolution. (at least it didn`t only get the former spanish netherlands independet but changed the form of gouverment too). but thats some while ago...

[Lazarus Long]

there is a saying (i think it's from berthold brecht), that revolutionaries in germany in order to occupy a trainstation would first buy a ticket that allows them to enter there.

I thought this was Lenin and Brecht said somthing with this not entering the greens story.

Anyway Wladimir was a clever guy, he got his ticket for Russia payed by Luddendorf, so no problem with trainstations...

[Florin]

Anyway Wladimir was a clever guy, he got his ticket for Russia payed by Luddendorf, so no problem with trainstations...

 ::