Today in Labor History March 5, 1871: Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919) was born in Zamosc, Poland. Together with Karl Liebknecht, she helped found the radical Spartacus League in 1916. The Spartacists and other leftwing Council Communists launched an uprising to replace the Social Democratic government with a communist one. Many of the workers obtained arms. They tried, but failed, to get the support of the Navy, which remained neutral in the conflict. However, the Social Democrats got the anti-Communist Freikorps paramilitary to fight for their side. Many of the ultranationalist Freikorps members were suffering from PTSD from WWI. Many went onto to become members of the Nazi Party and served in the SS. The Freikorps had weapons and military equipment leftover from WWI and were able to quash the uprising within a week. Up to 200 people died in the fighting, including 17 Freikorps soldiers. The Social Democrats captured, beat and executed Liebknecht and Luxemburg.
