Cuno strikes
Cuno strikes | |||
---|---|---|---|
Part of Berlin, Germany | |||
Methods | Wildcat strike | ||
Resulted in | Protests and strikes spread throughout Germany Cuno government resigns | ||
Parties | |||
| |||
Number | |||
|
The Cuno strikes were nationwide strikes in Germany against the government of Chancellor Wilhelm Cuno in August 1923. The wave of strikes demanded, eventually with success, the resignation of the Cuno government, which occurred on 12 August 1923, after only nine months. The strikes also buoyed the hopes of the Communist International of an imminent revolution.
Background
In January 1923, the Cuno government called for
The expenses caused the collapse of the Reichsmark, which had already been inflated. During 1923, the mark fell from 21,000 to the US dollar at the beginning of the year to 6 trillion at the end.
For German society, the result was complete disaster, as people rushed out to buy things before their money lost its value, and people who had had savings saw them evaporate overnight.[3] Considerable portions of the labour movement were as or even more opposed to the German government than to the French occupying forces. Their motto was "Beat Cuno and Poincaré at the Ruhr and at the Spree!"[4]
Strikes
A labour dispute in the Berlin printing industry triggered[5] a wildcat strike, instigated by the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). The Reich printing plant was also affected, causing the banknote presses to be stopped and, before long, a noticeable lack of paper money. Workers from power stations, construction and the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe joined the strike. The wave of strikes demanded the resignation of the Cuno government.[6]
Against the will of KPD party chairwoman Ruth Fischer, Otto Wels, the head of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) was able to forestall a general strike.[5]
Pressured by the SPD, a conference of trade unions on 10 August 1923 rejected the call for a
Nevertheless, the strikes, supported by some in the SPD, spread from Berlin to other cities and regions, such as
Resignation of government
In total, three-and-a-half million workers went on strike[6] indirectly forcing Cuno and his cabinet to resign on 11 August.[4][8]
With the Cuno resignation on 11 August 1923, the strikes soon ended.
Near-revolution
Nonetheless, the Cuno strikes nurtured, in
References
- ISBN 1-58648-994-1
- ^ Llewellyn, Jennifer; Thompson, Steve (25 September 2019). "The Ruhr Occupation". Alpha History. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
- ^ Peter Schwarz, "The German October: The missed revolution of 1923. Part 1" World Socialist Web Site (October 30, 2008). Retrieved July 29, 2011
- ^ a b Wilhelm Cuno biographical timeline German Historical Museum. Retrieved July 30, 2011 (in German)
- ^ ISBN 3-406-43884-9Retrieved July 28, 2011 (in German)
- ^ a b c d e f g h Peter Schwarz, "The German October: The missed revolution of 1923. Part 2" World Socialist Web Site (October 31, 2008). Retrieved July 29, 2011
- ^ a b Erich Wollenberg, "Der Hamburger Aufstand und die Thälmann-Legende" (1964) (PDF) Papiertiger–Kollektiv. Republished in Schwarze Protokolle, No. 6 (1973), p. 10. Retrieved July 28, 2023 (in German)
- ISBN 90-04-13940-0. Retrieved August 5, 2011
- ISBN 0-7190-5116-9Retrieved July 29, 2011
Sources
- Heinrich August Winkler: Germany: The Long Road West. Vol. 1: 1789-1933. Oxford University Press, Oxford (2006) ISBN 978-0-19-926597-8