German strike of January 1918

The German strike of January 1918 was a strike against World War I which spread across the German Empire. It lasted from 25 January to 1 February 1918. It is known as the "Januarstreik", as distinct from the "Jännerstreik" which preceded it spreading across Austria-Hungary between January 3 and 25, 1918. The strike began in Berlin on 28 January and spread across the rest of Germany, but finally collapsed.^[1] The strike was caused by food shortages, war weariness and the October Revolution in Russia, which raised the hopes of revolutionary Marxists in Germany. The strike was conceived by the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany or USPD, whose left wing, the Spartacus League was now agitating for political revolution in order to end the war.^[2] While the strikes were triggered by the earlier "Jännerstreik" in Austria, the widespread response in Germany signaled the USPD's growing importance in German politics.^[2] At its height the strike involved over a million people in important industrial regions such as Kiel, Hamburg, Mannheim, and Augsburg, only being shut down when the military arrested or impressed the strike leaders, sending them to the front lines.^[2]

^ Bailey, Stephen (1980). "The Berlin Strike of January 1918". Central European History. 13 (2): 158–174. doi:10.1017/S0008938900009080. ISSN 0008-9389. JSTOR 4545893. S2CID 145384448.
^ ^a ^b ^c Chickering, Roger (2014). Imperial Germany and the Great War, 1914–1918. New Approaches to European History. Cambridge University Press. p. 182-183. ISBN 978-1-107-03768-7. Retrieved 2023-12-28.

[Bailey-1] Bailey, Stephen (1980). "The Berlin Strike of January 1918". Central European History. 13 (2): 158–174. doi:10.1017/S0008938900009080. ISSN 0008-9389. JSTOR 4545893. S2CID 145384448.

[Chickering_2014-2] Chickering, Roger (2014). Imperial Germany and the Great War, 1914–1918. New Approaches to European History. Cambridge University Press. p. 182-183. ISBN 978-1-107-03768-7. Retrieved 2023-12-28.

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