March Action: Difference between revisions

March Action
	Part of the Revolutions of 1917–23
	; Arrested revolutionary workers escorted by police in Eisleben.
Date	17 March – 1 April 1921; (2 weeks and 1 day);
Location	Mansfeld Land, Germany
Result	Government victory
Belligerents
Weimar Republic	Communist Party; Communist Workers Party
Strength
	200,000 strikers
Casualties and losses
35 police dead	6,000 arrested; 4,000 sentenced
	180 dead

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit Next edit →

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Revision as of 16:20, 23 August 2019

The March Action (German "März Aktion" or "Märzkämpfe in Mitteldeutschland" ("The March battles in Central Germany")^[1] was a 1921 workers revolt, led by the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), the Communist Workers' Party of Germany (KAPD), and other radical left-wing organisations. It took place in the industrial regions located in Halle, Leuna, Merseburg, and Mansfeld.^[1] The revolt ended in defeat for the workers, and a weakening of contemporary communist influence in Germany.

Events

Otto Hörsing, a member of the Majority Social Democratic Party of Germany was Oberpräsident of Free State of Prussia. On March 16, he announced that the police were going to occupy the mining district of Mansfeld with the aim of disarming the workers. Police troops occupied the communist stronghold that was the Halle-Merseburg district. This occupation led the Communist Party to call for armed revolt. The revolt failed to gain support from those in other political parties, and soon fell to military defeat.^[2]

The Leuna works was a particularly strong bastion of influence of KAPD, where half of the 20,000 strong workforce belonged to their associated workplace organisation, the General Workers' Union of Germany (AAUD).^[3] During their strike they fought with rifles and automatic weapons. They also built their own tank, which they deployed against the police.^[4] The authorities only retook the plant with the use of artillery.^[3]

Gallery

March Action posters on the Plauen town hall
Scenes from a rail-yard during the March Action

References

^ ^a ^b "Die Märzkämpfe in Mitteldeutschland 1921" (in German). Deutsches Historisches Museum. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
^ "Working-Class Politics in the German Revolution: Richard Müller, the ..." Google Play. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
^ ^a ^b Roth, Gary (2015). Marxism in a Lost Century: A Biography of Paul Mattick. Brill. ISBN 9789004227798. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
^ David Priestland. The Red Flag: A History of Communism. (2009) p. 129

This German history article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[Deutsches_Historisches_Museum_-_Die_Märzkämpfe_in_Mitteldeutschland_1921-1] "Die Märzkämpfe in Mitteldeutschland 1921" (in German). Deutsches Historisches Museum. Retrieved 28 March 2014.

[Working-Class_Politics_in_the_German_Revolution:_Richard_Müller,_the_...-2] "Working-Class Politics in the German Revolution: Richard Müller, the ..." Google Play. Retrieved 24 July 2016.

[Roth-3] Roth, Gary (2015). Marxism in a Lost Century: A Biography of Paul Mattick. Brill. ISBN 9789004227798. Retrieved 27 August 2018.

[4] David Priestland. The Red Flag: A History of Communism. (2009) p. 129

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 }}
-[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 119-2303-0019, Märzkämpfe, Plakatwand.jpg|thumb|March Action posters on the [[Plauen]] town hall]]
 The '''March Action''' ([[German language|German]] "März Aktion" or "Märzkämpfe in Mitteldeutschland" ("The March battles in Central Germany")<ref name="Deutsches Historisches Museum - Die Märzkämpfe in Mitteldeutschland 1921">{{cite web|url=http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/weimar/innenpolitik/maerzkaempfe/index.html|title=Die Märzkämpfe in Mitteldeutschland 1921|publisher=[[Deutsches Historisches Museum]]|language=German|accessdate=28 March 2014}}</ref> was a 1921 workers revolt, led by the [[Communist Party of Germany]] (KPD), the [[Communist Workers' Party of Germany]] (KAPD), and other radical [[left-wing]] organisations.  It took place in the industrial regions located in [[Halle, Saxony-Anhalt|Halle]], [[Leuna]], [[Merseburg]], and [[Mansfeld]].<ref name="Deutsches Historisches Museum - Die Märzkämpfe in Mitteldeutschland 1921"/>  The revolt ended in defeat for the workers, and a weakening of contemporary communist influence in Germany.
@@ Line 49: / Line 48: @@
 The [[Leuna works]] was a particularly strong bastion of influence of KAPD, where half of the 20,000 strong workforce belonged to their associated workplace organisation, the [[General Workers' Union of Germany]] (AAUD).<ref name="Roth">{{cite book |last1=Roth |first1=Gary |title=Marxism in a Lost Century: A Biography of Paul Mattick |date=2015 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9789004227798 |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Marxism_in_a_Lost_Century.html?id=o9DXoQEACAAJ&redir_esc=y |accessdate=27 August 2018 |language=en}}</ref> During their strike they fought with rifles and automatic weapons. They also built their own tank, which they deployed against the police.<ref>David Priestland. The Red Flag: A History of Communism. (2009) p. 129</ref> The authorities only retook the plant with the use of artillery.<ref name="Roth"/>
+==Gallery==
+<gallery mode="packed">
+File:Bundesarchiv Bild 119-2303-0019, Märzkämpfe, Plakatwand.jpg|March Action posters on the [[Plauen]] town hall
+File: Bundesarchiv Bild 119-2303E, Märzkämpfe, Eisenbahnattentate.jpg|Scenes from a rail-yard during the March Action
+</gallery>
 ==See also==