PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

After the Bolshevik and Comintern leadership decided to support a communist uprising in Germany in late 1923, a large propaganda campaign in support of a ‘German October’ was unleashed in the Soviet Union. The party undertook enormous efforts to prepare the rank and file as well as the non-party populace towards the ‘coming events’. Utilizing previously unknown sources, the article sheds light on the propaganda campaign and the feedback ‘from below’, ranging from world-revolutionary enthusiasm to fears of a new war. A special focus is set on the Soviet reactions to the failure of the ‘German October’ – which was, as the article argues, a crucial moment for Soviet internationalism and its popular representations.