As in November 1918, a second revolutionary wave developed on 4 January 1919 when the government replaced the Police Chief of Berlin, Emil Eichhorn, who was a member of the USPD and who had refused to act against the demonstrating workers during the Christmas Crisis, by Eugen Ernst.
The USPD, the Revolutionary Stewards and KPD took up Eichhorn's call for a demonstration to take place on the following day.
To the surprise of the organizers, the demonstration turned into a huge, mass demonstration which also attracted the support of many Socialist Party members.
On Sunday 5 January, as on 9 November 1918, hundreds of thousands of people poured into the centre of Berlin, many of them armed.
In the afternoon the train stations and the newspaper district with the offices of the middle-class press and the SPD's "Vorwärts", which had been printing articles hostile to the Spartacists since the beginning of September, were occupied.
Some of the middle-class papers in the previous days had called not only for the raising of more Freikorps but also for the murder of the Spartacists.

The leaders of the movement assembled at Police Headquarters and elected a 53-member "Interim Revolutionary Committee" (Provisorischer Revolutionsausschuss), which failed to make use of its power and was unable to agree on any clear direction.
Liebknecht demanded the overthrow of the government.
Rosa Luxemburg, as well as the majority of KPD leaders, considered a revolt at this moment to be a catastrophe and explicitly spoke out against it.

The leaders of the USPD and KPD called for a general strike in Berlin on 7 January, and the subsequent strike attracted about 500,000 participants who surged into downtown Berlin.
Within the strike, some of the participants organized a plan to oust the more moderate social democrat government and launch a communist revolution.
Insurgents seized key buildings, which led to a standoff with the government.
During the following two days, however, the strike leadership (known as the ad-hoc "Revolution Committee") failed to resolve the classic dichotomy between militarized revolutionaries committed to a genuinely new society and reformists advocating deliberations with the government.
Meanwhile, the strikers in the occupied quarter obtained weapons.

At the same time, some KPD leaders tried to persuade military regiments in Berlin, especially the People's Navy Division, the Volksmarinedivision, to join their side, however they mostly failed in this endeavour.
The navy unit was not willing to support the armed revolt and declared themselves neutral, and the other regiments stationed in Berlin mostly remained loyal to the government.

On 8 January, the KPD resigned from the Revolutionary Committee after USPD representatives invited Ebert for talks.
While these talks were taking place, the workers discovered a flyer published by Vorwärts entitled "Die Stunde der Abrechnung naht!" (
The hour of reckoning is coming soon!)
and about the Freikorps (anti-Communist paramilitary organizations) being hired to suppress the workers.
Ebert had ordered his defense minister, Gustav Noske, to do so on 6 January.
When the talks broke off, the Spartacist League then called on its members to engage in armed combat.
As in November 1918, a second revolutionary wave developed on 4 January 1919 when the government replaced the Police Chief of Berlin, Emil Eichhorn, who was a member of the USPD and who had refused to act against the demonstrating workers during the Christmas Crisis, by Eugen Ernst. The USPD, the Revolutionary Stewards and KPD took up Eichhorn's call for a demonstration to take place on the following day. To the surprise of the organizers, the demonstration turned into a huge, mass demonstration which also attracted the support of many Socialist Party members. On Sunday 5 January, as on 9 November 1918, hundreds of thousands of people poured into the centre of Berlin, many of them armed. In the afternoon the train stations and the newspaper district with the offices of the middle-class press and the SPD's "Vorwärts", which had been printing articles hostile to the Spartacists since the beginning of September, were occupied. Some of the middle-class papers in the previous days had called not only for the raising of more Freikorps but also for the murder of the Spartacists.
The leaders of the movement assembled at Police Headquarters and elected a 53-member "Interim Revolutionary Committee" (Provisorischer Revolutionsausschuss), which failed to make use of its power and was unable to agree on any clear direction. Liebknecht demanded the overthrow of the government. Rosa Luxemburg, as well as the majority of KPD leaders, considered a revolt at this moment to be a catastrophe and explicitly spoke out against it.
The leaders of the USPD and KPD called for a general strike in Berlin on 7 January, and the subsequent strike attracted about 500,000 participants who surged into downtown Berlin. Within the strike, some of the participants organized a plan to oust the more moderate social democrat government and launch a communist revolution. Insurgents seized key buildings, which led to a standoff with the government. During the following two days, however, the strike leadership (known as the ad-hoc "Revolution Committee") failed to resolve the classic dichotomy between militarized revolutionaries committed to a genuinely new society and reformists advocating deliberations with the government. Meanwhile, the strikers in the occupied quarter obtained weapons.
At the same time, some KPD leaders tried to persuade military regiments in Berlin, especially the People's Navy Division, the Volksmarinedivision, to join their side, however they mostly failed in this endeavour. The navy unit was not willing to support the armed revolt and declared themselves neutral, and the other regiments stationed in Berlin mostly remained loyal to the government.
On 8 January, the KPD resigned from the Revolutionary Committee after USPD representatives invited Ebert for talks. While these talks were taking place, the workers discovered a flyer published by Vorwärts entitled "Die Stunde der Abrechnung naht!" (The hour of reckoning is coming soon!) and about the Freikorps (anti-Communist paramilitary organizations) being hired to suppress the workers. Ebert had ordered his defense minister, Gustav Noske, to do so on 6 January. When the talks broke off, the Spartacist League then called on its members to engage in armed combat.
Spartacist uprising