Munich Soviet Republic

Bavarian Soviet Republic
Bayerische Räterepublik
Unrecognized state
1919
Flag Coat of Arms
Motto "Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt Euch!" "Workers of the world, unite!"
Anthem Die Internationale The Internationale
The location of the Bavarian Soviet Republic (in red) shown with the rest of the Weimar Republic (in beige).
Capital		Munich
Languages		German
Government		Soviet Republic
President
•	12 April 1919 – 3 May 1919	Eugen Leviné
History
•	Established	6 April 1919
•	Disestablished	3 May 1919
Currency		German Papiermark (ℳ)
Preceded by Succeeded by Weimar Republic People's State of Bavaria Weimar Republic Free State of Bavaria
Today part of		Germany

The Bavarian Soviet Republic (German: Bayerische Räterepublik) was the short-lived unrecognised socialist state in Bavaria during the German Revolution of 1918–19. It took the form of a workers' council republic. Its name is variously rendered in English as the Bavarian Council Republic or the Munich Soviet Republic (the German name Räterepublik means a republic of councils or committees; council or committee is also the meaning of the Russian word soviet) after its capital of Munich. It was established in April 1919 following the demise of Kurt Eisner's People's State of Bavaria and sought independence from the also newly-proclaimed Weimar Republic. However, it was overthrown less than a month later by elements of the German Army and the paramilitary Freikorps.

The roots of the republic lay in the German Empire's defeat in the First World War and the social tensions that came to a head shortly thereafter. From this chaos erupted the German Revolution of 1918. At the end of October 1918, German sailors began a series of revolts in various naval ports. In early November, these disturbances spread the spirit of civil unrest across Germany. On 7 November 1918, the first anniversary of the Russian revolution, King Ludwig III of Bavaria fled from the Residenz Palace in Munich with his family and Kurt Eisner, a politician of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD) became minister-president of a newly proclaimed People's State of Bavaria.