Even after the Social Democrats won the German elections on January 19, 1919, street fights between government forces and radical workers were repeated. The unrest erupted in most of Germany's major cities, but clashes were most intense in the capital, Berlin. While the Social Democrats demonstrated for higher wages and better working conditions, the rebels argued for fundamental changes in society.
On March 3, 1919, the Communist Party of Berlin called for a general strike. The armed workers quickly succeeded in taking control of the city of Berlin. The Berlin March Battle erupted from March 3 to March 14, 1919. Gustav Noske, Minister of Defense in the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) government, declared a state of siege on Berlin. Gustus Noske agreed to organize a Free Corps composed of veterans and officers of the former German army. It took about 14 days for the Freikorps, a paramilitary militia of about 42,000 men and volunteers, to "take back Berlin. "In the course of the March 1919 riots, more than 1,500 people were killed. Hundreds were executed by the Social Democratic government forces. About 75 of the dead were on the side of the government forces.
Immediately after the general strike resolution was approved on March 3, rioting began between government forces and striking workers. In the afternoon and evening, many workers began clashing with the police, and from March 4, government troops invaded Berlin, with armored vehicles and tanks firing on the crowds. Medics raised Red Cross flags to protect themselves from the dreaded rooftop snipers during the March general strike. Wounded Freikorps fighters were taken to assembly points and hospitals. All those who possessed firearms were authorized for immediate execution. Civilians and war veterans unrelated to the strike were killed. Only with the help of the Freikorps did the Social Democratic Party (SPD) bloody its own flag in the face of the crisis in the young republic.
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