bavarikon4U“Nicht schießen. Wir nehmen alles an“ (Don´t shoot. We accept everything, Simplicissimus, 24, 1: 1.4.1919)
The period following the Munich events of 21 February 1919 was marked by anxiety of the bourgeois parties and of the supremacy of the councils. At the council congress, however, it became clear that the majority of Bavarian councils were unwilling to adopt a Soviet Republic based on the Russian model. The council congress’s attempt to form a new government had failed because of the opposition of the Mehrheitssozialdemokraten, who rejected its legitimacy. During this stalemate, the Mehrheitssozialdemokrat Johannes Hoffmann (1867-1930) was finally able to negotiate a compromise with the State Parliamentary parties in Nuremberg and Bamberg at the beginning of March: the State Parliament was to to be constituted and elect a new government, but then to adjourn again. The council congress accepted the proposal and was allowed to send three representatives to cabinet meetings.
To reassure the councils, a government was constituted from the MSPD, the USPD and from the Farmers' Union. The bourgeois parties could only resign themselves. In addition, a legislative function of the State Parliament should be temporarily omitted and the Hoffmann government should remain ready to operate by means of an enabling law. After two days of meetings, the State Parliament was adjourned again. Street pressure prevented a free debate in parliament. The members of parliament had no choice but to approve the new laws and they underlined this external pressure in their speeches during the sessions. The cartoon "Nicht schießen. We accept everything" illustrates the constraints under which the Bavarian State Parliament had to constitute itself on 17 March 1919. The drawing was made by Erich Schilling (1885-1945) and appeared on the cover of the satirical magazine "Simplicissimus".