“White Terror.“ Violent Acts by Government Troops in Munich, early May 1919

After Munich was captured, the government troops inflicted a wave of terror on the state capital, the so-called "White Terror", until 8 May. Even though martial law and a state of war reigned, it did not legitimise at all the acts of violence and murders of completely innocent bystanders. A total of 600 to 1,200 people died between 29 April and 8 May, most of them in the days following the storming of Munich. Probably only about 60 government soldiers were among them.

Professional photographers did not document the bloody actions of the government troops, since they sympathised with the military and since it was also undesirable for propaganda reasons. Moreover, such pictures would very probably not have been bought. Therefore, only a few amateur recordings have been preserved.

Heinrich Hoffmann (1885-1957) took some photos of members of the Red Army being carted off or discharged by government soldiers or - as can be seen here - by armed citizens. He then published some of the recordings as postcards. It was intended to demonstrate both the triumph of the "liberators" and the humiliation of the "defeated".

Soldiers also took pictures to record their success. One example is this staged depiction of the arrest of the iron lathe operator Johann Lehner on 3 May. The completely innocent Lehner was taken for a commander of the Red Guards in the Luitpoldgymnasium and was murdered shortly after his arrest. This photo was also published as a postcard.

The murder of 21 members of the Catholic journeymen's association St. Joseph (Kolping movement) in the Munich district of Maxvorstadt caused a particular stir. Falsely accused as Spartacists, they were severely abused by members of the Freikorps on 6 May and killed shortly afterwards. The commemorative card shown here is reminiscent of the victims. Unlike almost all other acts of violence in the first days of May, this murder caused great indignation. Some of the Freikorps soldiers involved were brought to trial and convicted, but the commanding officers were deliberately spared.