Working-Class Politics in the German Revolution: Richard Müller, the Revolutionary Shop Stewards and the Origins of the Council Movement (Historical Materialism)

Richard Müller, a leading figure of the German Revolution in 1918, is completely unknown today. As the operator and unionist who represented Berlin’s metalworkers, he was main organiser of the ‘Revolutionary Stewards,’ a clandestine network that organised a series of mass strikes between 1916 and 1918. With strong support in the factories, the Revolutionary Stewards were the driving force of the Revolution. By telling Müller's story, this study gives a very different account of the revolutionary birth of the Weimar Republic. Using new archival sources and abandoning the traditional focus on the history of political parties, Ralf Hoffrogge zooms in on working class politics on the shop floor and its contribution to social change.

First published in German by Karl Dietz Verlag as Richard Müller - Der Mann hinter der Novemberrevolution, Berlin, 2008, this English edition was completely revised for the English speaking audience and contains new sources and recent literature