bavarikon4USocialisation Plans, March/April 1919
One of the few measures that the Hoffmann government was able to implement in the weeks preceding the proclamation of the Soviet Republic, was the planning of socialisation measures, i.e. the collectivisation of resources. The government was forced to fight unemployment and, above all, the serious shortage of food and fuel.
To this end, the Ministerrat created the Zentralwirtschaftsamt (Central Economic Office), headed by the national economist Otto Neurath (1882-1945), which was to plan future measures and to steer the Bavarian economy. Neurath had already had already attracted attention through socialization plans in Saxony and had therefore been invited to Bavaria by the Central Council.
A few days after the new office was established, the flyer "Die Vollsozialisierung Bayerns" was published. In it, the new office informed the population about the meaning of "full socialization" and about the measures already planned. The economy was to be centrally managed by the state to secure the supply of the population with commodities such as clothing and food. In addition to collecting information on the economic situation in the country (available raw materials, labour, working methods, etc.), economic plans for production on demand should be drawn up. A nationalisation of companies was not yet planned for the time being. The text attached particular importance to the training and further education of employees, which would lead to the improvement of production performance.
The planned measures of the Central Economic Office were in part little more than the continuation of state control, as it had already been introduced during WWI and was only completely abolished in 1924. Indeed, the measures were initiated as regulations by the Central Council after the proclamation of the Soviet Republic. Due to further political events, however, they had no effect. After the suppression of the revolution, the Hoffmann government took over the office at the beginning of May.