People's State of Bavaria
People's State of Bavaria Volksstaat Bayern | |||||||||||||
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| 1918–1919 | |||||||||||||
The location of the Free People's State of Bavaria (in red) shown with the rest of the Weimar Republic (in beige). | |||||||||||||
| Status | Unrecognized state | ||||||||||||
| Capital | Munich | ||||||||||||
| Common languages | German | ||||||||||||
| Government | Socialist republic | ||||||||||||
| Minister-President | |||||||||||||
• 8 November 1918 – 21 February 1919 | Kurt Eisner | ||||||||||||
• 1 March 1919 – 17 March 1919 | Martin Segitz (acting) | ||||||||||||
• 17 March 1919 – 6 April 1919 | Johannes Hoffmann | ||||||||||||
| Legislature | Landtag of Bavaria | ||||||||||||
| Historical era | World War I · Revolutions of 1917–1923 | ||||||||||||
• Established | 8 November 1918 | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 6 April 1919 | ||||||||||||
| Currency | Mark (ℳ) | ||||||||||||
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| Today part of | Germany (Bavaria) | ||||||||||||
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The People's State of Bavaria (German: Volksstaat Bayern) was a socialist republic in Bavaria which existed from November 1918 to April 1919. It was established during the German revolution as an attempt at a socialist state to replace the Kingdom of Bavaria, which had been a constituent state of the German Empire. The government of the People's State, led by Kurt Eisner, promised a non-revolutionary transition to socialism. It delayed discussions on nationalization of industry but enacted reforms such as the eight-hour workday. Shortly after Eisner's party placed last among the major parties in the election for a state constitutional assembly, he was assassinated by a right-wing extremist. A new government under the moderate socialist Johannes Hoffmann lasted only a few weeks before it was forced to flee to Bamberg in northern Bavaria due to a communist-led coup which established the Bavarian Soviet Republic on 6 April 1919. The coup marked the end of the People's State of Bavaria.
The Bavarian Soviet Republic was suppressed by the German Army with the assistance of paramilitary Freikorps troops in early May 1920. The Hoffmann government resumed power and enacted a republican constitution which made the Free State of Bavaria a member state of the Weimar Republic.