Persistent memories: Jewish activists and the German revolution

This chapter analyses the role of Jewish writers and activists in the revolutionary events of 1918–1919, including Rosa Luxemburg, Leo Jogiches, Paul Levi, Gustav Landauer, Erich Mühsam, Ernst Toller and Eugen Leviné. The visibility of these Jewish intellectuals during the revolution justified right-wing ideas of a supposed “Jewish-Bolshevik” conspiracy and viewing the Weimar regime with a “Jew Republic.” The German Revolution and its direct aftermath were catalysts for the intensification of anti-Semitism in Germany. The Jewish people were no longer depicted as mere heretics or profiteers, but also as traitors to the monarchy and executors of a “stab in the back” to soldiers at the frontline. This chapter traces the contributions of Jewish intellectuals in this contested and increasingly violent environment.