page_title: Berlin March Battles
section_title: General strike in Berlin
hierarchical_section_title: Berlin March Battles / General strike in Berlin
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Gustav Noske (1868–1946), Minister während der Weimarer Republik
context_page_description: The Berlin March Battles of 1919 were the final decisive phase of the German Revolution of 1918–1919. The events were the result of a general strike by the Berlin working class to enforce the widely anticipated socialization of key industries, as well as the legal safeguarding of the workers' and soldiers' councils and thus the democratization of the military. The strike action was met with violence from the paramilitary Freikorps, resulting in street fighting and house-to-house fighting around the Alexanderplatz and the city of Lichtenberg.
  On 3 March, workers from AEG Hennigsdorf drafted a resolution for a general strike in order to enforce the so-called "Hamburg Points" that had been approved by the Reichsrat Congress in Berlin in December 1918. The strike was supported by the Communist Party of Germany and the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany. The German government, under the leadership of the Majority Social Democratic Party of Germany, responded with the imposition of a siege on Berlin and Spandau by the military on the orders of Defence Minister Gustav Noske.
context_section_description: The workers' councils in Berlin had, since mid-February, sought to reorganize the Reichsrat Congress in order to enforce the demands of the November Revolution. The soldiers' councils sought similar goals, seeing the dominance of the Freikorps and former imperial officers over the military as a threat to democratization and reform. The Central Council, solely controlled by the MSPD and in charge of the reorganization of a new Reichsrat Congress, hesitated in addressing the demands.
  In the general assembly of the Berlin Workers' Council from 26–28 February, a resolution that called for the institution of the Hamburg Points and condemned the Weimar National Assembly was passed with a wide majority that included MSPD-aligned members. The outcome of the resolution as well as information about the general mood of the factory workers was telegraphed to the government in Weimar. Although supportive of the demands, the USPD and KPD were cautious about engaging in street protests due to previous experiences with the Freikorps. Instead they believed the workers should focus on organizing in their workplaces: "Do not let yourselves be drawn into fresh gun-fights! Noske is waiting just for that to provoke fresh bloodshed!"
  On February 28 delegates from AEG Hennigsdorf requested a vote on a resolution for a general strike. However, the vote would be postponed until the next meeting on 3 March. Before the conclusion of the meeting, an election was held to the Central Council in which the Independent Social Democrats won 7 seats, followed by 7 for the Majority Social Democrats, 2 for the Communists and 1 for non-left "Democrats". This gave the Independents and Communists a majority. In the next meeting on 3 March, delegates from many large industries reported that the strike had already begun, which prompted nearly all MSPD-aligned members to support the general strike resolution in spite of the Berlin MSPD's warning against a strike in a Vorwärts article just the previous day. The final vote was decisively in favor of the call for a general strike. Several strike goals were outlined:
  Recognition of the workers' and soldiers' councils
  Complete implementation of the Hamburg Points
  Release of all political prisoners
  Lifting of the state of siege
  Arrest of all those involved in political murders
  Organization of the workers' guard
  Dissolution of the Freikorps
  Resumption of political and economic relations with the Soviet Republic
  On the same day, the Prussian state government declared a state of siege over Berlin. Gustav Noske, the Defence Minister, was subsequently provided with extensive civil and military powers. Public demonstrations were banned by his decree along with the distribution of newspapers. Force was authorized against those infringing on the decree. From 3–4 March, violent encounters occurred between police and striking workers. The industry, commerce and transport of Berlin had largely ceased to function by 4 March. Looting of shops by strikers was reported, which was denounced by the revolutionaries. However, Noske used these incidents as a pretext to send the Freikorps into Berlin. On the same day, the Communists withdrew from the strike committee in opposition to the participation of the MSPD. In particular there was a conflict over the printing of newspapers. The printers did not initially join the strike, which allowed the MSPD newspaper, Vorwärts, to be published. The Berlin Workers' Council agreed that no newspapers should be published, but the Communists insisted that only the KPD newspaper Die Rote Fahne and USPD newspaper Die Freiheit should be published.
  On 6 March, the fourth day of the strike, USPD delegates proposed that water, gas and electricity workers should join the strike amidst the increasingly violent situation in Berlin. The MSPD delegates opposed the extension, but were outvoted. This prompted their withdrawal from the Berlin Workers' Council and the strike committee, and the MSPD soon appealed for the strike to be called off. The MSPD's control of the Berlin Trade Union Commission proved decisive, 
caption: Gustav Noske, the Defence Minister at the time of the strike
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