Council of the People's Deputies in the context of "November Revolution of 1918"

The German revolution of 1918–1919, also known as the November Revolution (German: Novemberrevolution), was an uprising started by workers and soldiers in the final days of World War I. It quickly and almost bloodlessly brought down the German Empire. In its more violent second stage, the supporters of a parliamentary republic were victorious over those who wanted a Soviet-style council republic. The defeat of the forces of the far left cleared the way for the establishment of the Weimar Republic. The key factors leading to the revolution were the extreme burdens suffered by the German people during the war, the economic and psychological impacts of the Empire's defeat, and the social tensions between the general populace and the aristocratic and bourgeois elite.

The revolution began in late October 1918 with a sailors' mutiny at Kiel. Within a week, workers' and soldiers' councils were in control of government and military institutions across most of the Reich. On 9 November, Germany was declared a republic. By the end of the month, all of the ruling monarchs, including Emperor Wilhelm II, had been forced to abdicate. On 10 November, the Council of the People's Deputies was formed by members of Germany's two main socialist parties. Under the de facto leadership of Friedrich Ebert of the moderate Majority Social Democratic Party (MSPD), the Council acted as a provisional government that held the powers of the emperor, chancellor and legislature. It kept most of the old imperial officer corps, administration and judiciary in place so that it could use their expertise to address the crises of the moment.

The German workers' and soldiers' councils of 1918–1919 (German: Deutsche Arbeiter- und Soldatenräte) were short-lived revolutionary bodies that spread the German revolution to cities across the German Empire during the final days of World War I. Meeting little to no resistance, they formed quickly, took over city governments and key buildings, caused most of the locally stationed military to flee and brought about the abdications of all of Germany's ruling monarchs, including Emperor Wilhelm II, when they reached Berlin on 9 November 1918.

Although the communist Spartacus League and the left wing of the Independent Social Democratic Party (USPD) wanted to set up a system of council communism in Germany, they were a minority in the councils. Most members wanted an end to the war and to German militarism and the establishment of a parliamentary republic dominated by the moderate Social Democratic Party (SPD). Germany's interim national revolutionary government, the Council of the People's Deputies, was initially a coalition of the SPD and the USPD, but in it and in the majority of the other councils across Germany, the SPD was able to keep the far left on the sidelines. During the two large gatherings of workers' and soldiers' councils in Berlin, the voting generally followed the wishes of the SPD leadership. Crucially, and against the will of the radical left, they were able to schedule an election for a national assembly that would allow all Germans to determine the country's future form of government.

The Majority Social Democratic Party of Germany (German: Mehrheitssozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, MSPD) was the name officially used by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) between April 1917 and September 1922. The name differentiated it from the Independent Social Democratic Party (Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, USPD), which split from the SPD as a result of the party majority's support of the government during the First World War.

Governments led by the MSPD steered Germany through the German Revolution of 1918–1919 and the first years of the Weimar Republic. They followed a moderate course towards a parliamentary system and often used military force against the radical left groups that wanted a soviet style government. The MSPD introduced important social reforms such as the eight-hour workday and early forms of unemployment and health insurance. The party won more votes than any other in the first two national elections.

Otto Landsberg (4 December 1869 – 9 December 1957) was a German jurist, politician and diplomat. He was a member of the revolutionary Council of the People's Deputies that took power during the German Revolution of 1918–19 and then served as Minister of Justice in the first democratically-elected government of Germany in 1919. In that capacity, he also was a member of the German delegation that went to Versailles to receive the Allies' Treaty of Versailles.