bavarikon4UUSPD Leaflet, late 1918/early 1919
The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD) was founded in 1917 by members of the SPD as a result of the disappointment at the party's attitude to peace policy in WWI. It only had a local branch in the larger cities of Bavaria and its members had hardly any election experience. Since the party’s chances for success after the revolution of 7/8 November 1918 were still very low, Kurt Eisner (1867-1919) tried to delay the state elections. He hoped to bring about greater social change before the elections would complete the revolution. However, he failed because of the demands of the Majority Social Democrats (MSPD) and of a majority of the councils in the country. They called for the elections promised in the Free State Proclamation of 8 November.
To compensate for the party's weaknesses in the Bavarian election campaign, the USPD relied on local candidates and on the alliance with the Bavarian Farmers' Union. On the other hand, it tried to use the bonus of being in office by Kurt Eisner's candidacy. For his performances in the countryside, Eisner's arrived in a company car with a driver, trying to impress the rural population. The leaflet shown here celebrates the success of the government and of the revolution as an achievement of the USPD, an interpretation that in particular the MSPD strongly criticised.
The state elections on 12 January and 2 February 1919 proved to be devastating for the USPD. The party received 2.5% of the votes and thus only held three seats in the new Landtag. Further government participation seemed impossible and forced Eisner to prepare for his resignation. After his assassination on 21 February 1919, the USPD held two more ministers in the new Hoffmann cabinet. However, they left, when the Soviet Republic was proclaimed on 7 April.