This chapter discusses the Social Democratic and Communist Parties during the Weimar Republic. The Weimar Republic was the working-class movement’s biggest accomplishment; and yet, it was also an immense disappointment for many in the working-class movement. Social Democrats considered the achievements of the republic, such as equal voting rights and the extension of the social welfare state, a tremendous victory; for Communists, by contrast, the revolution of 1918 had not gone far enough. They had hoped that Germany would follow the Soviet Union’s example towards socialism, and when this did not happen, they felt that Social Democracy had betrayed the revolution. The result was a lasting division within the working-class movement, which the chapter analyses. The chapter first inquires about the role both parties played in the foundation of the republic; it then looks in more detail into the parties during the republic, emphasizing the Social Democrats’ support for Weimar, and the Communists’ attempts to prepare for a revolution in non-revolutionary times; finally, the chapter explores how both parties responded to the economic depression and the mounting political violence at the end of the republic.
