19189 November 1918–15 January 1919 · Berlin

German Revolution and the Spartacist uprising

A dense crowd in front of the Reichstag on 9 November 1918, the day the republic was proclaimed — Archival image: International Film Service (US National Archives). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

With the war lost, sailors' mutinies spread to Berlin, and on 9 November 1918 the Kaiser's abdication was announced. Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed a German republic from the Reichstag, and hours later Karl Liebknecht declared a socialist one from the royal palace. In January 1919 a communist-led rising was crushed by Freikorps troops, who murdered Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg.

Sites

Site 1: Reichstag buildingThe parliament from whose window Scheidemann proclaimed the republic.Map ↗
Site 2: Former State Council building, SchlossplatzGDR building that incorporates the palace portal and balcony where Liebknecht spoke.Map ↗
Site 3: Rosa Luxemburg memorial, LandwehrkanalCanal-side memorial near the bridge where her killers dumped her body.Map ↗

Guides who take you there

History-only · order never for sale

We haven't found an independent history guide for this yet. Guide here? Tell us about your tours.

Also in Berlin

More from the Interwar

Read more: reference. Summary written by History-Tours.com.