On November 3, 1918, a few days after the Wilhelmshaven Uprising, in which German sailors refused to launch a suicidal offensive against the British, thousands of sailors and civilian supporters marched in Kiel toward a military prison where mutineers were being held. Police and soldiers confronted the demonstrators and opened fire, killing at least nine people and injuring many more. The incident marked the beginning of the so-called Kiel Sailor Uprising. The following day, thousands more sailors joined the demonstrations and workers in the city went on strike. The local admiral, unsure of the loyalty of his own troops, agreed to release the imprisoned mutineers.
In the following, the rebellion spread from Kiel and the so-called German November Revolution gained momentum. As early as November 4, the first sailors from Kiel arrived in Berlin to bring the uprising against Kaiser Wilhelm II and the war to the capital. Meanwhile, Kiel was under the control of 40,000 sailors and workers. Gustav Noske, a leading figure in the SPD, was sent to Kiel by Prince Max to restore peace and order. Unfortunately, the sailors and workers, trained for years in obedience to party and union officials, elected him chairman of the Kiel Workers’ and Soldiers’ Council, not realizing that they were making a big mistake. The man they trusted wrote later that day in his diary, “I am at the heart of the mutiny, which I condemn and want to end.”
About the design: This time the drawing is by Henry from Eisenhüttenstadt’s DIY label Steeltown Records. Henry’s design honors the brave sailors and workers who rebelled together against war and the Kaiser in Kiel in 1918. The ship in the drawing bears the name “Mutiny,” English for mutiny or rebellion. The heart sprayed on it symbolizes recognition and respect for the courage of the sailors and workers of that time. Somewhat more subtly, this “Heart for Mutiny” also takes aim at Gustav Noske’s negative depiction of Kiel as the “Heart of Mutiny”. For the collectors among you the note that we offer the shirt in white and red. Both versions are slightly different.
