A website from Kiel / Germany

Photo Renate und Klaus

Established 1997

New:

  • A book on Gustav Garbe was published in mid-2023: Klaus Kuhl: Gustav Garbe - bedeutender Kieler Gewerkschaftsfunktionär, Vorsitzender des Kieler Arbeiterrats und zweimaliger Gouverneur. Mit Vorworten von Frank Hornschu, Geschäftsführer und Vorsitzender des Deutschen Gewerkschaftsbundes Kiel Region, und von Stephanie Schmoliner, 1. Bevollmächtigte der IG Metall Kiel-Neumünster. Gefördert vom DGB Region Kiel und der IG Metall Kiel-Neumünster. (Gustav Garbe - important trade union functionary in Kiel, Chairman of the Kiel Labour Council and two-time governor. With forewords by Frank Hornschu, Managing Director and Chairman of the German Trade Union Confederation Kiel Region, and by Stephanie Schmoliner, 1st authorised representative of IG Metall Kiel-Neumünster, sponsored by the DGB Kiel Region and IG Metall Kiel-Neumünster. The book explains in detail that the (M)SPD politician and trade union leader played an important role in turning the sailors' uprising into a to a general uprising through the participation of the labour force. Garbe also opposed Gustav Noske's attempt to end the uprising. The book is available from the DGB Kiel Region or via this website.
  • In August 2022, a book about Vice Admiral Otto Wurmbach was published. He was head of the Education Inspectorate and thus one of the high-ranking and influential naval officers of the German Empire. A descendant made his estate available to the retired naval officer Wolf Eberhard Ramin. The estate was transcribed and analysed. This work has now been published as a book: Klaus Kuhl and Wolf Eberhard Ramin: Einblicke in das Verhalten der Kieler Marineführung während des Matrosenaufstand 1918/1919. Der Nachlass des Chefs der Bildungs-Inspektion, Vizeadmiral Otto Wurmbach (Insights into the Conduct of the Kiel Naval Leadership during the Sailors' Uprising 1918/1919. The Estate of the Chief of the Education Inspectorate, Vice Admiral Otto Wurmbach).
  • January 2022: In the medium term, the most important contents of our website are to be transferred to kiel-wiki. So far this will only concern the German pages.
  • Last year's (2020) premiere of the Kapp documentary, first planned for March and then for November, will now be presented by the DGB on Thursday, 9 September 2021 at 6 pm at the Studiokino am Dreicksplatz in Kiel. Due to the high demand, there will be an additional date on 10 September at 18 hrs.Information about the film: >>
  • March 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the Kapp Putsch (precisely: Kapp-Lüttwitz-Ludendorff-Putsch). Kay Gerdes and Klaus Kuhl plan to publish a documentary film about the events in Kiel. In addition, on this website, a time-line on the topic >> and a background paper with a detailed description of Kiel's "Bloody Thursday", 18 March 1920, have been set up >>.
  • End of January 2019 we published a detailed paper on the February unrest in Kiel 1919 on our website. The paper can be viewed or downloaded under "Novemberrevolution" -> "Timeline", or diredtly (pdf, German): >>
  • The metal union IG Metall coast region conducted a seminar on 9 and 10 Nov. 2018 on the Novemberrevolution in the union house in Kiel. Klaus Kuhl held a lecture including the presentation of short film clips. Here you can find the slides (German, pdf): >>
  • The Kiel revolution is closely associated with Lothar Popp and Karl Artelt. The two USPD-members gave decisive impulses. In a staged reading held on 27 September 2018 in the Kiel trade union building they were presented by mainly self-written texts (spoken by Jörn Arens and Friedrich Caesar). The event was accompanied by the Ernst-Busch-Choir. Three grand daughters of Lothar Popp were present. After the event proposals were brought forward and discussed as to how Popp and Artelt could be honoured for their courageous action in Kiel. Report (German): >>; Slides: >>
  • The film "In Kiel ist Revolution!" was presented end of September 2018 at the German-Russian Filmfestival "Territorium Film" in Kaliningrad. The German side had recommended our film and we showed it with Russian subtitles. It was met with great response. Also the town and the environment were well worth seeing. Through our interpreters we also got deeper insights into the day-to-day life. We spent almost a week. It was a great experience. More (German) >>
  • The Kiel website presents a list of all activities planned during the revolution-anniversary year 2018: >>
  • Information on the Austrian-Hungarian "Jänner-Strike" and on the German "Januar-Strike" (1918); see "Timeline" >>
  • Unique photo showing revolution in Kiel discovered.
    The media artist Kai Zimmer managed to obtain via Ebay a sensational photograph from the USA. The photo shows a group of armed revolutionary seamen on 5 November 1918 in Kiel. More >>
  • Jetty re-naming after Gustav Garbe: Helmut Dose club historian of the Segler-Vereinigung Kiel (SVK, Sailors Association Kiel) published photographs in the 75 years club chronicle showing the building of the "Gustav Garbe-Brücke (Gustav Garbe jetty)" in 1930 by club members. The Nazis abolished this name when they expropriated the workers club. Now the history working group of the SPD Kiel initiated the re-naming of the jetty, which took place in a small public ceremony on 3 November 2016. More >>
  • At it's 17th meeting 14 Oct. 2016 the City of Kiel monitoring and advising committee 'Kiel mutiny' the chairman Stadtrat Wolfgang Röttgers presented the slogan for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the event. The committee had discussed about a slogan for some time. Finally the City contracted a consultant and appointed a jury, taking the final decision:
    100 Jahre KIELER MATROSENAUFSTAND (100 years Kiel revolt)
    DEMOKRATIE ERKÄMPFEN. (Fight for democracy.)
    DEMOKRATIE LEBEN. (Live democracy.)
    Some committee members critisised the decision, e.g. it was said that Dähnhardt in his doctoral thesis had classified the events as revolution.
  • The city of Kiel organized from 3 to 5 March 2016 an international conference on the 1918 revolution in Kiel. The scientists from different areas presented their studies, allowed a global view of the events, and documented the state of research. Among others Dr. Ingrid Sharp from Leeds described the role of women in the revolution and illustrated this with the example of Gertrud Völcker. she brought thus a new and interesting aspect into the debate. In August 2016 The City of Kiel published a report of the conference; see >>
  • Another Europeana document: die Revolutions-Erinnerungen von Fritz Fabian, Marinewachtmeister auf SMS Kronprinz Wilhelm (III. Geschwader), was transliterated, commented and uploaded to our website on 7 Jan. 2016. Thus we have three records from crew memebers of the III. squadron besides Carl/Karl Bock (seaman on MARKGRAF) and Karl von Kunowski (officer cadet on MARKGRAF). More info under "Contemporaray witnesses" or directly >>
  • The City Archive of Kiel ascertained in Februar 2015 that the famous photo of the Kiel Mutiny showing marching sailors, has been erronously attributed to Kiel and shows in fact the funeral procession in Berlin for the revolution victims on 20 November 1918. More info under "Timeline" or directly >>
  • An Europeana document describing the flight of the SCHLESIEN from Kiel (midshipman Curt Richter) was transcribed, annotated and put on our website on 18 Jan. 2015. The document also includes a brief summary of the events, intergrating a publication by Rolf Johannesson. See: >>
  • Letter and recollections of the seaman Karl/Carl Bock who served onboard SMS MARKGRAF, provided by Landesarchiv Berlin; in the annex of the transliteration some of Bock's statements are compared with notes of the MARKGRAF watch officer Karl von Kunowski, see: >>
  • Lectures on Kiel Mutiny, e.g. 2014 during an event in the Akademie Sankelmark organised by Martin Rackwitz: "Der Erste Weltkrieg in Schleswig-Holstein (World War I in Schleswig-Holstein)"; see (slides) >> (text) >>
  • As background material for the 'Kiel mutiny' time line a critical literature review on the planned high seas fleet sortie (Naval order No. 19 of 24 October 1918) has been established and uploaded to this website. See: >>
  • The diary of the Germania ship yard engineer Nicolaus Andersen (1917-1919) was completely transferred from Suetterlin, re-edited, commented and made available at this website, see >>
  • City of Kiel: monitoring and advising committee 'Kiel mutiny' has been established, see: >>
  • 2013: Two events to commemorate the Kiel Mutiny >>
  • On 24 December 2011 our webpages have been transfered to a new design.
  • The new design does not use frames, i.e. you are now able to link webpages directly.

Update: 29 December 2022

 
  • Kuhl Blog mit Hintergrundinformationen >>
  • Kuhl blog in English >>
  • Time line 'Kiel mutiny' >>
  • Timeline Kapp-Putsch >>