Internationalism No. 84, February 2026 Page 8 From the series Pages from the history of the workers’ movement In Germany, following the events of Christmas 1918, the Independent (USPD) ministers left the Ebert government. Gustav Noske, Rudolf Wissell, and Paul Löbe took their place. With even the mild scruples of people like Haase, Dittmann, and Barth now removed, the Social Democrats showed the face of repression more explicitly. Noske stated his mission without any pretence: One of us must act as executioner . The leaders’ indecision On December 29th, a crowd accompanying to the cemetery the coffins of the sailors who had been killed, held a banner on which was written: We charge Ebert, Landsberg, and Scheidemann with the murder of sailors . On the same day, the SPD organised a counterdemonstration with the watchword: Down with the Spartacus League’s bloody dictatorship . Both sides were preparing for civil war. The masses were in ferment, but w...