ABSTRACT
IN the last days of the reign of William II, when the armies were in full retreat and revolt was sweeping over the land, Max von Baden summoned the Social-Democratic Party to take office. Ebert became the first Social-Democratic Chancellor, as the last rampart of the Monarchy. Immediately after taking office, Scheidemann, the Social-Democratic Minister, addressed the masses outside the Reichstag, exhorting them to stabilise the Socialist victory, as if the Revolution were already won. The first manifesto of the new government called on the German People to “leave the streets, preserve peace and quiet”. Relations of confidence were established between the new government and the General Staff. Leaders of industry and representatives of Social-Democracy sat down together to fashion a “W orking Association” between capital and labour.
