bavarikon4UProgrammatic Declaration of the Bavarian Ministerrat, 2 December 1918
The right-wing opponents of the new political order began to line up only a few days after the revolution. Kurt Eisner (1867-1919) became the target of right-wing national and anti-Semitic defamation. In addition, numerous rumours about the goals of the revolutionary government were circulating and unsettled the population, in particular while reports of the terrible events of the Russian civil war spread to Bavaria.
The programmatic declaration of the Ministerrat (Council of Ministers) of 2 December 1918 was therefore meant to have a calming effect on the Bavarian population. The declaration emphasised the determination of the provisional government to maintain peace and order and to demand the rights of Bavaria in a federal German state. In addition, the declaration reiterated the intention already formulated in the proclamation of 8 November 1918 to convene a National Assembly as soon as possible.
In contrast, radical left-wing councillors aligned to advocate a continuation of the revolution along the Russian model. This intention became particularly apparent on 5 December 1918: After Home Secretary Erhard Auer (1874-1945) had been able to push through an election date for 12 January 1919 in the Ministerrat, an armed mob marched to his apartment and demanded his resignation at gunpoint. In the following weeks, the revolutionary government came under increasing pressure from the radical left and right forces, while the increasing shortage of reliable security forces continued to be felt.