Die Befreiung Munchens

Die Befreiung Munchens (The Liberation of Munich), commemorative newspaper-style memorial publication issued by the 2nd Marine Brigade (Wilhelmshaven), Division Lettow-Vorbeck, and published in Munich on 16 May 1919. Produced as a remembrance sheet for members of the formation who took part in the suppression of the Bavarian Soviet Republic, the six-page publication commemorates the capture of Munich by government and Freikorps forces in early May 1919.
The cover depicts a symbolic handshake between a sailor of the Marine Brigade and a Bavarian soldier, accompanied by the heading 'Unseren bayerischen Brudern!' ('To our Bavarian brothers!'), emphasising themes of national unity and reconciliation following the revolutionary upheavals of 1918-19. Articles celebrate what is described as the 'liberation' of Munich, praise the role of the Marine Brigade and Division Lettow-Vorbeck, and express loyalty to Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and the new national government. The publication also records the names of brigade members killed and wounded during the fighting and contains accounts of the campaign from a strongly nationalist and anti-revolutionary perspective. Issued immediately after the defeat of the Bavarian Soviet Republic, the commemorative sheet represents an important example of early Freikorps memorial culture and documents one of the most significant episodes of political violence during the formative years of the Weimar Republic

1918-1919 Anti-communism Bayerische Commemorative Counter-revolution Freikorps Hindenburg Lettow-vorbeck Nationalist Post-war Remembrance Spartacists Veterans Wilhelmshaven

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