Burgfriedenspolitik

Burgfriedenspolitik (ˈbʊʁkfʁiːdn̩s.poliˌtiːk, castle peace policy) is a German term that refers to the political truce between Germany's political parties during World War I. The trade unions refrained from striking, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) voted for war credits in the Reichstag, and the parties agreed not to criticize the government and its handling of the war. There were several reasons for the Burgfrieden. Some believed that it was their patriotic duty to support the government in war, while others feared government repression if they protested against the war. Yet other supporters of the Burgfrieden were more afraid of living under an autocratic Russian Tsar than the German constitutional monarchy and its Kaiser. Some hoped to achieve political reforms after the war, such as the abrogation of the inequitable three-class voting system, by co-operating with the government. Opposition to the Burgfriedenspolitik came largely from the left wing of the SPD. The only Reichstag members of any party to vote against war credits in the second session was Karl Liebknecht, in the third session on 20 March 1915 joined by Otto Rühle. Over the course of the war, the number of SPD politicians opposed to the war steadily increased. Their resistance against the Burgfrieden politics led to the expulsion of Liebknecht, Rosa Luxemburg, Clara Zetkin, and others from the SPD. They went on to found the Spartacus League, the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany, and the Communist Party of Germany. The only trade union to refuse the Burgfrieden was the Free Association of German Trade Unions, which would later become the Free Workers' Union of Germany.