Emil Barth

Who was Emil Barth?

Emil Barth was a German Social Democratic metal worker who became a key figure in the German Revolution of 1918.

Barth joined the anti-war Independent Social Democratic Party in 1917, and became leader of the revolutionary shop stewards in January 1918. He was one of six members of the Council of the People's Deputies created on 10 November 1918 in Berlin to govern Germany after Kaiser Wilhelm II had abdicated and the Republic had been proclaimed by Karl Liebknecht and Philipp Scheidemann. Three members of the Council were Majority Social Democrats, and three were Independent Social Democrats. While the former two USPD commissioners were moderate and interested in conciliation with the MSPD, Barth was the most left-wing, associated with Karl Liebknecht, who refused to serve on the Council because it had a non-revolutionary majority. That same day, 10 November, Barth first acceded to Ebert's plan to place the revolutionary soldiers back under the command of their officers, but then changed his position in a drawn-out but stormy speech later that evening. The soldiers should not submit to the old "discipline" of their officers. Many heeded Barth's call, and the revolution gained momentum during November. On 29 December 1918, Barth and the other USPD members resigned from the Council to protest Ebert's use of army regulars to disperse a 24 December demonstration by revolutionary sailors demanding back pay. The Council then added two MSPD members, Noske and Wissell, and began calling itself Reich Government.