Formation of the Councils, November 1918

Characteristic of the revolutionary events throughout the German Reich was the formation of councils modelled after the Russian October Revolution of 1917. The first Workers' and Soldiers' Councils had already been formed in Munich on the evening of the revolution. The photo shows cheering soldiers in front of the brewery on 8 November 1918; in particular, the so-called “Revolutionary Workers' Council” saw itself as the radical nucleus of the revolution. In the following months, its members advocated a council system based on the Russian model. Nonetheless, the councils formed in the rural regions of Bavaria were predominantly in favour of a rapid transition to parliamentary democracy.

In the days immediately following the political uprising, councils had already been established in the larger cities, but also in smaller communities in Bavaria. During the course of November and December 1918, the revolutionary government issued its own ordinances calling for this activity and regulating the powers of the councils. Councils of citizens, peasants and people were now founded in many municipalities. These councils ought to be democratically elected and in turn send representatives at the level of today's districts. At state level there was a state soldiers' council, a state workers' council and a state farmers' council, which was not elected but recruited from members of the Bavarian Farmers' Union. The committees of the National Councils were fully represented in the Provisional National Council.

There were different views within the revolutionary government regarding the powers of the councils. While Kurt Eisner (1867-1919) understood the councils as "planting schools" of democracy, Home Secretary Erhard Auer (1874-1945) advocated a strict limitation of their rights. Under no circumstances should they be granted genuine monitoring or even intervention rights with respect to the authorities in order not to further jeopardise the supply of food.

To the digitised copy of the flyer of the foundation of the Workers' and the Soldiers' Council

To the digitised copy of the photography of cheering soldiers in front of the Munich Mathäserbräu