Novemberrevolution 1918

Hetalia © by Hidekaz Himaruya

this for the contest on

Prussia/Gilbert Beilschmidt representing the German Empire and his younger brother Germany/Ludwig Beilschmidt representing the revolution.

In november 1918, when the First World War finally came to an end and it got obvious, that Germany would be defeated, the Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) planned to go for one last and great, yet completely useless battle.
Over the whole war, the navy, the most precious part of the german army by Kaiser Wilhelm II., did not roll out for any notable battle, except the Battle of Jutland with the british Royal Navy in 1916 (which ended with a draw).
Now, in the final moments of the Great War, high command of the navy prefered honourable defeat in battle than just formal capitulation.
When the german sailors got to knew this, they didn't want to waste their lives just for the ideals of the high command and did not just refused to obey, but muteneered and revolted.

The so called "Novemberrevolution" (november revolution) started in the city and port of Kiel in northern Germany, where the headquarters and main base of the imperial navy was located.
Quickly, it spread out and armed sailors, soldiers and workers revolted, often showing the revolutionary red flag while driving and walking through the streets.
They formed their own "Arbeiter- und Soldatenräte" (worker's and soldier's councils) after socialist model in many cities throughout Germany. Many would declare to be dedicated to the socialist rebulic.
However, there was no revolutionary movement as a whole, but the rising disobedience of soldiers and civilians became a threat to the Reich (Empire).

Due to the downbreak of public order, many citizens armed themselves as well and patrolled through the streets.
This was, when the quote "Brüder! Nicht schießen!" (Brothers! Don't shoot!) came up as a call to keep peace and prevent a civil war, like it happened in Russia in 1917.

November 9th, 1918 became a vital date.
Already in october, the Kaiser had appointed a new Reichskanzler (empire's chancellor), prince Max von Baden, who was believed to be rather liberal. The new chancellor formed a new parlamentary government, now with representants of the most powerful political party, the SPD (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (Social-Democratic Party of Germany)), for the first time.
However, the rising of the revolutionaries in november caused the Max von Baden, eager to safe monarchy as an institution, to declare all by himself, Kaiser Wilhelm II. had resigned, on november 9th.
But Wilhelm II. did not know about this, so he was equally furious, when he got to knew about it. It was too late, after all and he had to acknowledge in writing in the aftermath.

In the following, Max von Baden handed over government to to one of the representants of the SPD, Friedrich Ebert, the same day.
Still, after the former institution of monarchy got disbanded, the public was in pressing need of a clear statement for a new political direction. This caused the other representant of the SPD, Phillip Scheidemann, to publicly declare the (democratic) republic, still on november 9th.
Soon after, the socialist (council-) republic was declared by Karl Liebknecht, leader of the communist left wing party "Spartakusbund" (Spartacus League), on the same day.
However, Scheidemann's earlier proclamation was the one getting valid.

The first german, constutional republic was founded, the "Weimarer Republik" (Weimar Republic).
However, it suffered from heavy inner crisis, due to shortcomings in the constituiton an contempt by left and right wing movements
(for e.g., german nationalists accused the democrats to have backstabbed the otherwise victorius german army and communists accused the republic of "social-facism").

Despite the proclamation of a new state, a hard time of chaos followed, marked by violent struggles between democrats, socialists and nationalists. It calmed a bit down during the Roaring Twenties ("Goldene Zwanziger" (Golden Twenties)), but inner crisis worsened much due to the Great Depression of 1920.
Until a formerly just small, right wing party, rose to power under the lead of an original austrian men, the NSDAP (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (Nationalsocialist German Worker's Party)) under Adolf Hitler in 1933.


(However, there is one obvious fault in the picture: Wilhelm II., the Kaiser, would have never used his left arm for posing. Due to complication during his birth, his left arm was shorter and he could hardly move it)

(About Prussia's/Gilbert's and the german infatrymen's uniforms:
Prior to the First Wolrd War, the german Heer (ground-forces of the army, aside of navy (Kriegsmarine) and later airforce (Luftwaffe)), changed the colour of their former prussian-blue field-uniforms to field-grey (a mixture of brown, green and grey) to enhance camouflage a bit (in difference to e.g. the French, who maintained their blue and red uniforms at first). Also, common soldiers wore shirt-collars instead of the former stand-up collars, which were now subjected for officers and parade-uniforms. Officers were also allowed to wear lace-up shoes with high and slim leathern gaiters instead of boots.
However, the Germans maintained the characteristic prussian Pickelhaube (spicked helmet; officially "Helm mit Spitze" (helmet with spike)), made of black tinged leather and the spike and eagle made of brass/tombak or sheet metal (but the decoration on the front differed by the federal country, it came from, or by the status of the unit). For field-service, the Pickelhaube was covered with a field-grey or brown cloth.
As the Pickelhaube proved inferior to the needs of a modern headgear on the bloody fields of the First World War, a more protective steel helmet (Stahlhelm) was produced at the end of 1915 an distributed to the troops at the front at the beginning of 1916. It had a rather long peak at the front and over the neck, thus was rather heavy and bulky. After the end of the First World War, it was maintained but the peaks over the eyes and the neck were shortened. This modified model was then used by the Wehrmacht in the Second World War.
Instead of Pickelhaube or Stahlhelm, german soldiers also wore "Krätzchen", a round field cap made of cloth and without peak. Officers could wear peaked-caps. On the front of the caps, two cockades were displaced: the upper one in the national/imperial colours black-white-red, the lower one in the respective federal colours of the unit. The Krätzchen had been introduced in the prussian army already during the Napoleonic Wars, by then in prussian blue, which was later changed to field-grey, as well.
The Reichswehr of the Weimar Republic introduced peaked-caps for common soldiers and NCOs, as well. Later, in the Wehrmacht, an elongated field-cap (Feldmütze) with peak, adopted from the austrian mountain-cap in the First World War, and a side-cap (Schiffchen) saw service as headwear for german soldiers aside of the steel-helmet.)