Lin Wei saw this news in the newspaper and could only pray that nothing happened to Stark's family.
It has been two months since Lin Wei returned to his hometown of Essen. He once wanted to go out and see the city where he grew up, but his father Gustav Krupp strictly prohibited him from going out. He once asked the butler Crick to secretly take it out once, but what he saw was a state of depression. The people he saw were all skinny, and the doors of the bustling shops in the past were locked. The return of a large number of German soldiers who were physically and mentally damaged during the war also made the security of this famous German steel city even worse, and a large number of violent incidents occurred frequently. occur. However, Lin Wei, who had been confined at home for two months, did not know that not only the city of Essen, but also the entire German Empire at this time (the name of the Weimar Republic was the name of later historians and was never the official name of the republic. The official name was still The German Empire) was also on the verge of collapse.
Beginning in 1916, the German Empire was actually ruled by the Supreme Army Command, a military dictatorship headed by Paul von Hindenburg. When Germany seemed to be defeated, the Third Supreme Commander called for a civilian government to negotiate peace with U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. Bulgaria, one of the neutral countries, had withdrawn from the camp in September, so it was difficult for Germany to resist. The new German Chancellor Max von Baden proposed a ceasefire agreement to Wilson on October 3. On October 28, the German government amended the 1871 constitution to implement a parliamentary system that it had refused to accept for many years. The Prime Minister was henceforth responsible to Parliament, not to the Emperor.
However, the plan to transform Germany into a British-style constitutional monarchy soon failed as Germany gradually fell into a state of near chaos. Even left-wing forces who attended the funeral of a leader assassinated by right-wing elements had infighting and started fighting.
The military leadership ordered the German High Seas Fleet to attack without government consent. This would be a military impossible task and would only lead to failure of negotiations. As a result, the rebellion broke out on October 29th. The crews of two warships in Wilhelmshaven were the first to mutiny. The mutiny in Wilhelmshaven grew into a nationwide rebellion when the military captured a thousand sailors and sent them to Kiel. Other sailors, soldiers, and workers responded to the arrested sailors' uprising, established Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies like the Russian workers in the October Revolution of 1917, and seized military power in many cities. On November 7, the German Revolution spread to Munich, causing King Ludwig III of Bavaria and his family to flee.
Initially, the Soviets simply asked the military to release the sailors. Moreover, the Soviets did not have a single communist leader, unlike the Bolsheviks led by Lenin a year earlier. However, with the rise of Soviet Russia, uprisings frightened the ruling class and even the middle class. Germany was about to become a socialist country.
Prime Minister Max von Baden handed over power to SPD Chairman Friedrich Ebert. However, Baden's behavior did not satisfy the masses. Therefore, the next day a revolutionary government called the Assembly of People's Deputies was established, consisting of three representatives each from the Social Democratic Party and the Independent Social Democratic Party, led by Albert and Hugo Haas respectively. Although the new government was recognized by the Workers' and Soldiers' Parliament in Berlin, it was opposed by the Spartacist League led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. In the National Assembly that Albert convened for parliament from December 16 to 18, his Social Democratic Party won a majority of seats. As a result, Albert was able to immediately convene the National Assembly in order to draft a constitution and establish a complete parliamentary system, so the support for the establishment of a socialist republic weakened.
From November 1918 to January 1919, Germany was actually ruled dictatorially by the Parliament of People's Representatives. Within these three months, the new government was surprisingly active and issued a large number of decrees. Most of its activities are limited to a few areas, including the eight-hour working day, domestic labor reform, agricultural labor reform, the rights of public servant unions, local social welfare (divided into national and federal state levels), national health insurance, the return to work of laid-off workers, Crack down on forced redundancies and introduce an appeals system, the regulation of salary agreements and the introduction of universal suffrage for all classes of people aged 20 and over at local and national levels.
Germany's destiny has always been greatly affected by the politically backward German workers' movement. The stalwarts of the socialist movement often faced great difficulties and always relied on opportunity to form alliances based on sentimental loyalties rather than acting on real political needs. Without the support of millions of workers who stand between the parliamentary system and the far left, it would be impossible for socialists to work together. Political chaos makes it easy for the extreme left and the extreme right to engage in fierce struggles. The political situation in Germany at that time could be described as precarious.
On November 23, Albert asked the Supreme Army Command to suppress the mutiny in Berlin, officially splitting the Social Democratic Party and the Communist Party. Soldiers captured the Berlin city commander and cordoned off the Chancellor's residence, home to the People's Assembly. The bloody suppression of the incident by the Wehrmacht led to the left officially breaking off on the grounds that the Social Democratic Party had become reactionary. As a result, the USPD withdrew from the Assembly of People's Representatives after just seven weeks. In December, several leftist groups, including leftists from the USPD and the Spartacist League, formed the German Communist Party.
Berlin's workers attempted to implement parliamentary communism through more radical and bloody methods, but were suppressed by the Freikorps, a paramilitary organization composed of volunteer soldiers. Among them, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were brutally murdered on January 15. Later, with Abbott's approval, the murderer was punished by a military court instead of a civilian court. Therefore, the penalty was lighter, which of course did not make the left more accepting of Abbott.
On January 19, Germany held a general election for the National Assembly. Left-wing parties, including the Independent Social Democratic Party and the Communist Party, are loosely organized, resulting in moderates winning the majority of seats. To avoid being affected by the violence in Berlin, parliamentarians convened the National Assembly in Weimar instead.
During the National Assembly, the Bavarian Soviet Republic was established in Munich, but was quickly overthrown by the Free Corps and the regular army. Such conservative forces led to the development of far-right movements and organizations in Bavaria, including the newly formed Nazi Party. Street fighting continues. In eastern Germany, the royalist forces attempted to attack the Republic, while the Poles launched the Greater Poland Uprising and the Three Silesian Uprisings in Posen Province and Upper Silesia respectively to fight for Polish independence.
Under the threat of left and right extremists, the Republic was beset with crises from the very beginning: the left accused the Social Democratic Party of betraying the interests of workers by preventing the communist revolution; the right opposed the democratic system and insisted on returning Germany to the imperial system of the past. Moreover, in order to destroy the Republic, the right wing, especially those including the military, claimed that it had betrayed Germany and caused the country's defeat in World War I.
After four years of war and suffering from hunger and cold, the situation in Germany could be described as dire. The German mark depreciated significantly. Hyperinflation, high unemployment, sharp decline in living standards, political chaos, and bloody conflicts between various factions often occur. Moreover, the German army had a chance to win last year, but suddenly failed. Therefore, after Germany's defeat in 1919, the disappointed and enlightened troops returned home and indirectly caused political chaos. The royalists, the right and the left were at odds with each other. Such chaos deeply affected the German psyche.
Large and small parties emerged in endlessly in various places. Within a few months, nearly a hundred parties appeared to promote their own political ideas. The German people were suddenly divided into evenly matched left and right factions, opposing and striving against each other. During this period, a small and inconspicuous party appeared in Munich - the German Workers' Party. If Lin Wei heard the news at this time, he would definitely jump up, because this German Workers' Party was the later famous Nazi (German National Socialist Workers' Party) ).
On February 6, 1919, Germany established the Weimar Republic, hoping to write a new page in its history. The parliamentarians who attended the rally left the chaotic city of Berlin to gather in Weimar. Weimar is a cultural center and the hometown of Goethe and Schiller. The parliamentarians elected Friedrich Albert as president of the new republic. It is expected that Philippe Scheinman will be nominated as prime minister. This rally also exchanged information with the Austrian rally. Both parliaments expressed the hope that German Austria would soon be reunited with Germany. After Lin Wei heard the news, he could only mourn in advance for this short-lived republic in his heart.
After seeing the depressed scene of Essen outside, Lin Wei had no desire to continue shopping, so he returned home with Butler Creek.
Lin Wei wanted to go back to the room secretly so that his father Gustav Krupp would not know, but he immediately knew that he was wrong, because Gustav Krupp was sitting in Lin Wei's bedroom waiting for him . "Lampard, what did you do? Didn't you listen to me and ran out secretly?" There was no emotion or anger on Gustav Krupp's face. "Father, how dare I disobey you?" Lin Wei still wanted to surrender and resist. "Lampard, you are not a child anymore, and I don't want to discipline you too strictly. I just hope that you will use your brain more when doing things in the future." Gustav Krupp's tone revealed deep care. "I'm sorry, father, I shouldn't have lied to you," Lin Wei said with his head hanging down.
"The empire is signing a contract with Britain and France in Versailles. Since we lost the war, we will not be treated fairly at all. After the treaty is signed, there will be more chaos outside. You should stay at home these few months." Gustav & Krupp Bo said.
"Yes, father" Lin Wei replied. "It will be your birthday in a few months. You have been studying in the military academy for the past few years. I will definitely celebrate your birthday well this year." Gustav and Krupp said as they walked out. Well? Lin Wei really couldn't understand why his father suddenly thought of celebrating his birthday when Germany had just been defeated. But when he thought that he would be grounded for another few months, Lin Wei began to feel depressed again.