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Germany: Executive Council of the Workers' and Soldiers' Councils: 1918-1919

Vorsitzender des Vollzugsrats der Arbeiter- und Soldatenräte Groß-Berlins
11 Nov 1918 - 1919 Richard Müller
11 Nov 1918 - 12 Nov 1918 Hans-Georg von Beerfelde
12 Nov 1918 - 8 Jan 1919 Brutus Molkenbuhr
History:

Functioned as a representative organ for coordination of activities of workers' and soldiers' councils; elected by an assembly of the councils of Greater Berlin at the Zirkus Busch (10 Nov 1918); the assembly elected in sections two Aktionausschüsse (action committes) - one for the workers' councils and another for the soldiers; 28 members of the committees composed the Vollzugsrat (Executive Council) [1]; constituted at its first meeting in the Reichskanzlerpalais (11 Nov 1918); held sessions in the building of the Prussian Abgeordnetenhaus in Berlin; originally purely-Berlin body, the Executive Council agreed to demands for the inclusion of members from states other than Prussia, to be appointed by the representatives of the workers' and soldiers' councils (23 Nov 1918); shared political authority with the Council of People's Commissioners (Rat der Volksbeauftragten); the two bodies concluded formal agreements to regulate their relationships: the first was signed on 22 Nov 1918, empowerng the Executive Council to exercise the authority over workers' and soldiers' councils until the election of all-German representative body; the agreement gave a right to the Executive Council to appoint the members of the Council of People's Commissioners, while the latter was entitled to exercise the executive power; the second agreement was reached in the course of a private meeting between representatives of the two bodies (9 Dec 1918) and confirmed that the Executive Council would retain "Recht der Kontrolle" (right of control) through "trustful cooperation"; the Executive Council ceded its responsibilities for the Reich and Prussia to the Zentralrat (Central Council) on 21 Dec 1918; the Executive Council's authority was limited to Berlin until the Council was finally dissolved in the summer of 1919. Information source: [2][3][4]


[1] Also styled: Vollzugsrat des Arbeiter- und Soldatenrats in Berlin, Vollzugsrat des Arbeiter- und Soldatenrats Groß-Berlin (Groß-Berlins), Vollzugsrat der Arbeiter und Soldaten, Vollzugsrat des Groß-Berliner Arbeiter- und Soldatenrats, occasionally Vollzugsausschuss.
[2] "Groß-Berliner Arbeiter- und Soldatenräte in der Revolution 1918/19. Dokumente der Vollversammlungen und des Vollzugsrates. Vom Ausbruch der Revolution bis zum 1. Reichsrätekongress", ed. by Gerhard Engel, Bärbel Holz and Ingo Materna (Berlin: Akademie, 1993).
[3] "Weimar, 1918-1933 : die Geschichte der ersten deutschen Demokratie", ed. by Heinrich August Winkler (München: Beck, 1993).
[4] "Dokumente zur deutschen Verfassungsgeschichte", ed. by Ernst Rudolf Huber (Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, 1961-1966).