The SPD belongs to the old Second International. Before the war, it had never held power, only opposition. Class cooperationists, the SPD supported the war. Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht are both executed by the state. Russian Bolsheviks had counted on a successful German revolution for the survival of their own revolution.
German monarchy folds, the Weimar Republic is born.
The first Weimar cabinet is headed by the SPD , and their Chancellor Philipp Scheidemann, in coalition with two capitalist parties, the Catholic Center Party and the German Democratic Party . All revolutionary opportunity has passed. Inflation soars, the working class launches massive strikes, the middle class has savings wiped out. It's an extreme crisis and the government is helpless. But KPD leadership, guided by the Comintern, misses the opportunity.