One of the most significant turning points in the 20th century, and not a peep from text books. The world may be a very different place had the German Revolution succeeded.
What a great series. In my view the defeat of the German Revolution and the birth of Nazism are the most essential lessons that any person can study and analyze. One point I would like, not necesserily by you, someone to emphasize are the fascist militias and how are they trained during peace-time. Revolutionaries when they have to constantly face state oppression can't aspire to have the same venues of training. And as weapons become more and more technical this will be a major issue. The fasists have (as academies of violence and their building of their organisations - as history has shown-) i) organised crime, ii) ultras and hooliganism, iii) the police, iv) the military, v) paramilitary organisations and/or nazi or nazi-affiliated parties. The left doesn't have access, of course, to these venues of "training". I haven't seen that much focus given to this. Of course one must never forget that all reactionaries are paper tigers and history has shown that if fighting between right-wing armies and left-revolutionary armies are to happen the right-wing is almost always defeated. The greater threat for actual defeat for revolutionaries is from inside. But our victories always reguired a strong communist party. But in the years that have followed since the great revolutions the "left", especially in the western world, has gradually becoming less and less militirized to a point of basically accepting defeat.
Thanks! Very important points you've raised here, I think I have done them some justice in my newer videos on Italian fascism. But definitely important to mention here, too.
Yes some v interesting points. Ive witnessed it in ireland, the pro treaty forces had military might and weaponry but above all as peader odonell said, more of a stomach for the killing. I find libertarianism contradictory, who defends citizens and workers when they rise? Theres an obvious contradiction im not in either camp but respect both libertarian marxism and authoritarian marxism. Sometimes mistakenly, i think people look to the old social democratic wing of marxists as the democratic marxists. But your documentary explains the idelogical pulls between social democrats and marxists. Perhaps Luxembourg was trying to keep unity, but the centrists pulled further to the right. Great analysis and comments. Thanks
I admire your work and appreciate your clear understanding of the historical nature of the German Workers Revolution and how it was betrayed. It is most impressive. Thank you.
I doubt that people at the time truly understood how apt Engels was when predicted that there could only be Socialism or Barbarism. I wonder, if the German people knew what was in store for them, would they have made the same choice?
Thank you for the work you do. I've never anticipated a history video as much as I'm waiting for part 3 of this series. I have been recommending this to groups that I'm a part of, it is essential forgotten history. Most history YT channels only mention Ebert in passing, without revealing his role in undermining the revolution.
I maybe just haven't gotten enough sleep lately this video literally made me cry. Just at the thought of what could have been if the marxists were organized in Germany at the time. I've never learned the details of the lead up to the first world war in Germany so thoroughly before. I hope the algorithm picks it up by some strange happenstance. Just to think at what could be different in the world if they had succeeded and it spread to America and Britain and France. I can imagine a world where no human starves and there are no homeless people no billionaires or millionaires or borders or private property just people working together to create a better quality of life for everyone with the understanding of limited resources on a planet that has finite. I can imagine humans having already been well off to space and trying to meet other intelligent life and just being in a totally different relationship with the earth and really life itself. Instead we have a death cult of capitalism running full speed at some type of apocalyptic event. We need to learn from this fast.
Don't cry, jessebarr3648! Revolution just couldn't win in Germany. Socialist revolutions were crushed everywhere in Europe. Cause capitalism was strong there. It was weak only in Russia. That's why Socialist Revolution won. And that's why there will be no socialist revolution in Europe or America in the nearest future. Capitalism is still strong there! Don't live in your fantasy pinky world. Wake up! Lenin, Stalin and many other marxists were also dreamers first........but later they had to face severe reality.
Holy shit this is awesome! I remember seeing the "the luffy guy" on twitter and shared around lefty social media spaces, didn't know you had a based youtube channel! I didn't see the other video, and I understood who everyone was (cause reading and such) but I still watched the other one.
Amazing work, thank you! I always wondered to what extent Lenin’s squashing of anarchists and independent councils mirrors Ebert’s betrayal of the German councils. Maybe the topic of another video?
Petrograd was "brewing with revolutionary fervor" in July 1917, too, but Lenin and Trotsky understood that it was not the time to seize power because the Bolsheviks, having built a broad, disciplined organization among the workers and soldiers across Russia, had a firm grip on realities. Large masses in the streets of the capital are not enough. The Spartacists waited too long to break from the Social Democrats, forge an organization of their own at the roots. Liebknecht and Luxemburg were carried away by the "fervor" of the masses in January 1919, did not lead it, and paid the price the Bolsheviks avoided.
Bro stop using the word evil if you're Marxist. Using material conditions and class analysis is much better. The fossil fuel industry grinds the earth down because that makes em profit, not because they're just bad people
What gets me about these socialist movements , at this time , is their lack of interpersonal social skills beyond slogans and polemics. Socialism is social first, evonomic second. Thevruling class knows this already.
What a wonderful series...keep on going...how about you cover some other topics as well...like venezuela cuba and other countries...and how stalin killed the revolution in spain
Bes D. Marx, don't regret about something that couldn't happen. You should understand simple and natural things - there is no "if" in history. Instead of regretting about something that couldn't happen better think about why it didn't happen. Everything is developping by its laws, history as well. If you understand its laws you will see the future and understand its past.
LOL - als ich mir das Video anschaute, fiel mir plötzlich diese Büchlein auf der linken Seite auf - das mir meine Eltern bei einem Besuch mitgebracht hatten: drive.google.com/file/d/19p9UH8i12f-Tcx-sEcADuWdLtu6DQ6DG/view?usp=sharing ...ironisch 😛 Tolles Video!
