Bottroper Kommunistenprozess vot dem Essener Schwurgericht 1919 / Bottrop Communist Trial before the Essen Assize Court 1919

In November 1918, following the Kaiser's abdication, the Weimar Republic and the Soviet Republic were proclaimed in Berlin. Workers' and soldiers' councils also formed in the western Ruhr region. These councils helped shape the "new life" of the republic. Security forces were formed to maintain order. The Reich government did not tolerate this in the industrial region. On February 15, government troops entered the Ruhr via Hervest-Dorsten, encountering clashes with Spartacists. At that time, the Bottrop Workers' Council was predominantly composed of members of the pro-government Social Democratic Party (SPD). The security forces assumed that the government would advance into the Ruhr region via Bottrop. On February 17, the Communist Party and the Independent Social Democrats proclaimed a general strike in protest against the invasion of government troops into the industrial area, specifically in Mülheim, Oberhausen, Hamborn, Sterkrade, and Düsseldorf. The security forces partially enforced this strike. In Bottrop, during the days of the Prosper I and II coal mines, clashes occurred with the local militia, who were acting against the striking workers. As a result, the militia organized a military operation via Mülheim an der Ruhr, with the command center established in Oberhausen-Osterfeld on February 19, 1919. Approximately 250 people from the militia were assembled for the march on Bottrop. After capturing the city, the assembled forces withdrew before the arrival of government troops.