DOCSLIB.ORG

German Communists

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
German Communists = ~•••••••••• B•••••••~•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• a• •= :• COMING PUBLICATIONS: •= =• / ~ • .= "ABOUT BELGIUM" by Camille Huysrnans. ; "THE FLAMING BORDER" by Czeslaw Poznanski. "GERMAN CONSERVATIVES" by Curt Geyer. "THE ROAD TO MUNICH" by Dr. Jan Opocenski. "THE WOLF AS A NEIGHBOUR" by M. van Blankenstein. NEW SERIES: THE FUTURE OF EUROPE AND THE WO~LD "GERMANY AT PEACE" by Walter Loeb. "FRENCH SECURITY AND GERMANY" . by Edmond Vermeil. "PROGRESS TO WORLD PEACE" by K. F. Bieligk. - HUTCHINSON & CO. (Publishers), LTD. ••••m•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••2. "FIGHT FOR FREEDOM" Editorial Board LUIS ARAQUISTAIN CAM!LLE HUYSMANS JOSEF BELINA PROFESSOR A. PRAGIER JOHN BROWN M. SLUYSER CURT GEYER RENNIE SMITH W . W. HENDERSON MARY E. SUTHERLAND,7 j.P. GERMAN COMMUNISTS by ./ SPARTAKUS Foreword by ALFRED M. WALL Translated from the German by. E. Fitzgerald TO THE MEMORY OF ROSA LUXEMBURG KARL LIEBKNECHT PAUL- LEVI - SPARTAKUS has lived in Germany all. his life andIeft shortly after Hitler came.,.10 power. ' From his youth he has worked in the German Labour Movements-Socialist and Communist. He was one of the early "Spartakists" in the last war and he is still . today . a devoted fighter against German aggression and 'nationalism from whatever source it may spring. CONTENTS PAGE . FOREWORD 4 PART l THE SPARTACUS LEAGUE 1914-1918 7 PART II THE COMMUNIST PARTY 1919-1933 22 THE PARTY AND THE VERSAILLES TREATY 22 THE KAPP "PUTSCH" 28 THE UNITED COMMUNIST PARTY OF GERMANY 30 THE W..ARCH ACTION . 34 THE NATIONALISTIC LINE . ..... .. ' 36 THE RAPALLO TREATY' 38 THE OCCUPATION OF THE RUHR 39 SCHLAGETER 42 CORRUPTION 45 THE UNSUCCESSFUL RISING OF 1923 46 THE DECLINE OF THE GERMAN COMMUNIST PARTY 48 GERMAN MILITARY EXPENDITURE 53 "THE HORNY-HANDED SON OF TOIL". 57 THE RED:FRONT FIGHTERS' LEAGUE (R.F.B.) . 61 POCKET BATTLESHIPS AND THE YOUNG PLAN 64 UNITED FRONT, BUT WITH WHOM? 65 COMPETmON IN NA110NALISM 66 THE TERRORIST ELEMENTS . 69 ALSACE-LORRAINE 75 PART III , , WAS HITLER'S VICTORY 'INEVITABLE ? 78 THE ATTITUDE OF .THE COMMUNIST PARTY 80 NOTIllNG HAS CHANGED THEM . 82 AND GOERING LAUGHED. .• . 84 "JOIN THE NAZI ORGANISATIONS!" 84 AND , EVERYTHING REMAINS AS IT WAS BEFORE 86 3 FOREWORD Whenever somebody undertakes to write about a section of the Communist International he runs the risk of being accused of hostility to the Soviet system or ofattacking the policy ofthe Russian Government if he adopts a critical attitude. If he is sympathetic he is likely to be accused of being a Bolshevik. This danger has been lessened to some extent since the dissolution ofthe Comintem, with its implication that the largest section of that International, the Russian Communists themselves, no longer consider it to be useful. But there is nevertheless still a danger that a critical exami­ nation of the activities of the German Communist Party will be read by those self-constituted protectors of German Communism as inspired by hostility to the Russian Government. Nothing can be done about this but to let the facts speak for themselves. This is what the writer of this pamphlet has done. The history recorded in these pages makes sad reading. Its lessons are not for the German Communists only, or Communists exclusively anywhere: no section of the working-class movement of Germany, or elsewhere, can be singled out as congenitally worse or better than any other section. All of them, like sheep, have gone astray: . The central fact which this record brings clearly into sight is that, contrary to the general belief which the Communist Party in Germany has striven to foster, that Party did not show an inter­ national spirit. It was certainly not the Party of Rosa Luxemburg, nor the Party of Karl Liebknecht, the two radical socialists mur­ dered by the Republican Government's troops in January 1919. The pages devoted by the writer to the origins of the German Communist Party disclose some facts which are not widely known. It is shown that Rosa Luxemburg opposed not only the nationalistic tendency of some of her co-operators, but was also opposed to the creation of the Comintern. Contrary to her view, after a certain period the' German Com­ munist, Party realized that the German people are nationalistic, imbued with the military spirit, and cannot conceive the life of the nation without it. Such an attitude is utterly inconsistent with the spirit of internationalism. As yet there is unhappily no evidence that the German Communists have changed their attitude in this respect. It is on record that in recent meetings called in support ofwhat is called the FREE GERMAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE, a German Communist leader expressed views which implied accept­ ance of the old Imperial flag of Germany, the Black-White-Red symbol, deeply hated by every German anti-militarist, as a banner under which.they could serve if it led them into the struggle to rid Germany of Hitler. Alliance with anybody and everybody with 4 . whom co-operation seemed possible, not in the interests of inter­ national socialism, but to serve the purposes ofGerman nationalism, came easy to the German Communists in the years between the tW9 wars. It is on record too, that in December 1936 after three years' experience of Hitler's rule, they, issued a call to German workers of all shades of opinion, German Social-Democrats, German Catholics, German Nationalists, even National Socialists, to unite under their banner to save Germany. It is from the standpoint of their history that the policy of German Communists today must be interpreted. As I understand the purpose ofthis pamphlet, its publication at this time, reluctantly decided upon only after very serious consideration, is to enablethe British people, and especially the British Labour and Trade Union Movement, to understand and appreciate properly present-day developments in the policy of the Communist Party of Germany. It is necessary to have this historical background in order to under­ stand the significance of the creation of the National Committee for Free Germany, referred to as one of the latest developments in the policy of the German Communist Party, It is one thing that such instruments may be used to overthrow the Hitler regime, and quite another thing if they are used as instruments in post-war Germany for such a policy as the German Communist Party followed in the period between the two wars. For British readers this record will bring vividly to mind the many "clashes" in the British working-class movement from 1920 onwards. Here, too, the demand for the absolute rule of a perfect .elite was put forward .by our Communist Party with the usual vigorous slogans. And from the extreme Right parties all the way through to the extreme Left, various types ofpolitical "intellectual" emerged who were always ready, and very willing, and by any means, to become the Rulers of the Masses-the perfect elite. Mosley was a typical specimen of these political adventurers. He graduated from Right Wing Toryism to Social Democracy, from rebellion within the Labour Party to Blackshirts, cudgels and ' violence, in an endeavour to establish his domination over the masses. And on the extreme Left there were those who advocated Red Fronts, Red Front salutes, Red Front uniforms, and all the other paraphernalia of streetfighting in order to prove by violence that they were better fitted than any others to become the perfect governing elite. Looking back over the 'record 'of the British Trade Union and Labour Movement in the difficult period from , 1920 to 1939, one cannot help being thankful that the common sense of the Move­ ment's rank and file, and particularly that of the trade unionists, outwitted and out-manceuvred all who through enthusiasm or for other less meritorious reasons would have divided it into warring sections-s-ideological divisions based on this, that, or the other crazy theory. , The British Labour Movement, although at times badly shaken, , ,. remained true throughout to its democratic principles. And let it not be forgotten that had it not done so Hitler would have won. ,Not the smallest service rendered by the publications of "Fight for Freedom" ~ including this latest pamphlet in the series, is that it has given us the factual and historical material which shows where and how the various political parties in Germany went astray-s-and teaching us how to avoid all such mistakes by remaining faithful to democratic principles, as the British Movement, .on the whole, has. tried to do. When the testing time came we can say that it was British Labour, by "sweat, blood and tears", that enabled Britain to stand alone, in the crisis of the war, against the common enemy of all mankind. In saying this I am not claiming that the intelligence of the British workers is superior to that of. workers of other countries. Our avoidance of errors committed by workers in other countries ' arose from experience. British democratic institutions have a long record of trial and error-but we ·passed through the infantile stages many years ago. That we have all made mistakes is beyond dispute. What really ­ matters now is 'whether we have learned anything from the errors of the past. We can only hope that the German worker; who will again'see his country defeated, will learn his Jesson better than those converts of militarism and .aggression who led them, astray and whom they have followed after the last war. We have, I think, to learn many things. And chief among them is the knowledge that there is no hope for mankind in reliance upon an elite of any Party or combination of parties-national or international. Rather we must rely upon democracy, expressing itself through the-institutions of free citizenship and in resistance to dictatorships and regimenta­ tion either from above or below.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Exclave: Politics, Ideology, and Everyday Life in Königsberg-Kaliningrad, 1928-1948
    UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Exclave: Politics, Ideology, and Everyday Life in Königsberg-Kaliningrad, 1928-1948 Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6r33q03k Author Eaton, Nicole M. Publication Date 2013 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Exclave: Politics, Ideology, and Everyday Life in Königsberg–Kaliningrad, 1928-1948 By Nicole M. Eaton A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Yuri Slezkine, chair Professor John Connelly Professor Victoria Bonnell Fall 2013 Exclave: Politics, Ideology, and Everyday Life in Königsberg–Kaliningrad, 1928-1948 © 2013 By Nicole M. Eaton 1 Abstract Exclave: Politics, Ideology, and Everyday Life in Königsberg-Kaliningrad, 1928-1948 by Nicole M. Eaton Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Berkeley Professor Yuri Slezkine, Chair “Exclave: Politics, Ideology, and Everyday Life in Königsberg-Kaliningrad, 1928-1948,” looks at the history of one city in both Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Russia, follow- ing the transformation of Königsberg from an East Prussian city into a Nazi German city, its destruction in the war, and its postwar rebirth as the Soviet Russian city of Kaliningrad. The city is peculiar in the history of Europe as a double exclave, first separated from Germany by the Polish Corridor, later separated from the mainland of Soviet Russia. The dissertation analyzes the ways in which each regime tried to transform the city and its inhabitants, fo- cusing on Nazi and Soviet attempts to reconfigure urban space (the physical and symbolic landscape of the city, its public areas, markets, streets, and buildings); refashion the body (through work, leisure, nutrition, and healthcare); and reconstitute the mind (through vari- ous forms of education and propaganda).
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 5. Between Gleichschaltung and Revolution
    Chapter 5 BETWEEN GLEICHSCHALTUNG AND REVOLUTION In the summer of 1935, as part of the Germany-wide “Reich Athletic Com- petition,” citizens in the state of Schleswig-Holstein witnessed the following spectacle: On the fi rst Sunday of August propaganda performances and maneuvers took place in a number of cities. Th ey are supposed to reawaken the old mood of the “time of struggle.” In Kiel, SA men drove through the streets in trucks bearing … inscriptions against the Jews … and the Reaction. One [truck] carried a straw puppet hanging on a gallows, accompanied by a placard with the motto: “Th e gallows for Jews and the Reaction, wherever you hide we’ll soon fi nd you.”607 Other trucks bore slogans such as “Whether black or red, death to all enemies,” and “We are fi ghting against Jewry and Rome.”608 Bizarre tableau were enacted in the streets of towns around Germany. “In Schmiedeberg (in Silesia),” reported informants of the Social Democratic exile organization, the Sopade, “something completely out of the ordinary was presented on Sunday, 18 August.” A no- tice appeared in the town paper a week earlier with the announcement: “Reich competition of the SA. On Sunday at 11 a.m. in front of the Rathaus, Sturm 4 R 48 Schmiedeberg passes judgment on a criminal against the state.” On the appointed day, a large crowd gathered to watch the spectacle. Th e Sopade agent gave the setup: “A Nazi newspaper seller has been attacked by a Marxist mob. In the ensuing melee, the Marxists set up a barricade.
    [Show full text]
  • When Fear Is Substituted for Reason: European and Western Government Policies Regarding National Security 1789-1919
    WHEN FEAR IS SUBSTITUTED FOR REASON: EUROPEAN AND WESTERN GOVERNMENT POLICIES REGARDING NATIONAL SECURITY 1789-1919 Norma Lisa Flores A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY December 2012 Committee: Dr. Beth Griech-Polelle, Advisor Dr. Mark Simon Graduate Faculty Representative Dr. Michael Brooks Dr. Geoff Howes Dr. Michael Jakobson © 2012 Norma Lisa Flores All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Dr. Beth Griech-Polelle, Advisor Although the twentieth century is perceived as the era of international wars and revolutions, the basis of these proceedings are actually rooted in the events of the nineteenth century. When anything that challenged the authority of the state – concepts based on enlightenment, immigration, or socialism – were deemed to be a threat to the status quo and immediately eliminated by way of legal restrictions. Once the façade of the Old World was completely severed following the Great War, nations in Europe and throughout the West started to revive various nineteenth century laws in an attempt to suppress the outbreak of radicalism that preceded the 1919 revolutions. What this dissertation offers is an extended understanding of how nineteenth century government policies toward radicalism fostered an environment of increased national security during Germany’s 1919 Spartacist Uprising and the 1919/1920 Palmer Raids in the United States. Using the French Revolution as a starting point, this study allows the reader the opportunity to put events like the 1848 revolutions, the rise of the First and Second Internationals, political fallouts, nineteenth century imperialism, nativism, Social Darwinism, and movements for self-government into a broader historical context.
    [Show full text]
  • Conflict of Revolutionary Authority: Provisional Government Vs. Berlin Soviet, November-December 1918 1
    HENRY EGON FRIEDLANDER CONFLICT OF REVOLUTIONARY AUTHORITY: PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT VS. BERLIN SOVIET, NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 1918 1 The Russian revolutions of 1905 and 1917 saw the first appearance of workers' and soldiers' councils, called Soviets. In 1917 the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet, acting for all the Russian Soviets, became the chief competitor of Kerensky's Provisional Government. The Bolsheviks, employing the slogan "All Powers to the Soviets", used the Petrograd Soviet in their drive for power. In the October Revolution the Soviets, dominated by the Bolsheviks, replaced the Provisional Government as the government of Russia. In the German Revolution of November 1918 workers' and soldiers' councils, called Rate, were organized in imitation of the Russian Soviets.2 The German Revolution created, as had the Russian 1 This article is based on a paper presented at the European history section of the meeting of the (American) Southern Historical Association in Tulsa, Oklahoma, November i960. 2 "Ratewahlen," in Die Freiheit: Berliner Organ der Unabhangigen Sozialdemokratischen Partei Deutschlands, November 16, 1918 (evening); A. Stein, "Rateorganisation und Revolution," in ibid., November 17, 1918 (morning); Vorwarts: Berliner Volksblatt, Zentralorgan der Sozialdemokratischen Partei Deutschlands, November 9, 1918 (ist, 3rd, and 5th Extraausgabe); November 10, 1918 (8th Extraausgabe); Leipziger Volkszeitung: Organ fiir die Interessen des gesamten werktatigen Volkes, November 5-9, 1918; "Wahl der Arbeiterrate," in Rote Fahne (Ehemaliger Berliner Lokal-Anzeiger), November 10, 1918. For further information on the German Revolution, the socialist parties, and the formation of the workers' and soldiers' councils, see Emil Barth, Aus der Werkstatt der deutschen Revolution (Berlin, 1919), pp.
    [Show full text]
  • The Formation of the Communist Party of Germany and the Collapse of the German Democratic Republi C
    Enclosure #2 THE NATIONAL COUNCI L FOR SOVIET AND EAST EUROPEA N RESEARC H 1755 Massachusetts Avenue, N .W . Washington, D.C . 20036 THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SOVIET AND EAST EUROPEAN RESEARC H TITLE : Politics Unhinged : The Formation of the Communist Party of Germany and the Collapse of the German Democratic Republi c AUTHOR : Eric D . Weitz Associate Professo r Department of History St . Olaf Colleg e 1520 St . Olaf Avenu e Northfield, Minnesota 5505 7 CONTRACTOR : St . Olaf College PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR : Eric D . Weit z COUNCIL CONTRACT NUMBER : 806-3 1 DATE : April 12, 199 3 The work leading to this report was supported by funds provided by the National Council for Soviet and East Europea n Research. The analysis and interpretations contained in the report are those of the author. i Abbreviations and Glossary AIZ Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung (KPD illustrated weekly newspaper ) Alter Verband Mineworkers Union Antifas Antifascist Committee s BL Bezirksleitung (district leadership of KPD ) BLW Betriebsarchiv der Leuna-Werke BzG Beiträge zur Geschichte der Arbeiterbewegung Comintern Communist International CPSU Communist Party of the Soviet Unio n DMV Deutscher Metallarbeiter Verband (German Metalworkers Union ) ECCI Executive Committee of the Communist Internationa l GDR German Democratic Republic GW Rosa Luxemburg, Gesammelte Werke HIA, NSDAP Hoover Institution Archives, NSDAP Hauptarchi v HStAD Hauptstaatsarchiv Düsseldorf IGA, ZPA Institut für Geschichte der Arbeiterbewegung, Zentrales Parteiarchi v (KPD/SED Central Party Archive
    [Show full text]
  • Proletarian Myth and Political Mobilization: the ‘Kampfgruppen Der Arbeiterklasse’ (Working-Class Combat Groups) in the GDR 1953–1989/90*
    Proletarian Myth and Political Mobilization: The ‘Kampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse’ (Working-Class Combat Groups) in the GDR 1953–1989/90* Tilmann Siebeneichner Georg-August-Universität Göttingen ABSTRACT Political myths played a crucial role in the legitimation process of the German Democratic Republic. The ‘Kampfgruppen der Ar- beiterklasse’ – Combat Groups for short – created after the June- Uprising in 1953 were meant to materialise the myth of a united and pugnacious proletariat which would stand up to defend its ‘so- cialist achievements’ (‘sozialistische Errungenschaften’). On- going social ties at the grass-roots level proved as relevant for the support of the Combat Groups as local traditions. This points to invidual ‘spaces of experience’ (‘Erfahrungsräume’) which were crucial for ‘eigen-sinnige’ or ‘stubborn’ interest adoptions of the message of the Proletarian Myth. An analysis of the Combat Groups in this perspective thus promises information on the com- munication of a specific view on the political reality in ‘real exist- ing Socialism’, as well as it illustrates how people at the grass- roots level adopted structures of power for themselves. I ‘A ghost is haunting Europe’, quotes Erwin Geschonnek, commander of the workforce Combat Groups (‘Kampfgruppen der Arbeiterklasse’) in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), from the Communist Manifesto in a scene in the DEFA film ‘Stories of that Night’, 1967, when describing the mission of the Combat Groups in the course of the erection of the Berlin Wall, and adds, Social Evolution & History, Vol. 7 No. 2, September 2008 101–134 © 2008 ‘Uchitel’ Publishing House 101 102 Social Evolution & History / September 2008 ‘Right now, we are this ghost’1.
    [Show full text]
  • Pierre Broue. the German Revolution, 1917-1923. Leiden: Brill, 2005
    Pierre Broue. The German Revolution, 1917-1923. Leiden: Brill, 2005. xxvii + 991 pp. $169.00, cloth, ISBN 978-90-04-13940-4. Reviewed by Jennifer Benner Published on H-German (October, 2005) Originally published as La revolution en Alle‐ detailed accounts of worker and popular actions, magne, 1917-1923 in 1971, this volume does bear internal and intra-party politics (both internation‐ some marks of its age. As Eric D. Weitz points out al and local), and disputes, many highly personal, in his cogent introduction, Broue treats the work‐ over theoretical and practical matters at all levels. ing and capitalist classes in the singular and virtu‐ Party factions, splits, and re-alliances (which only ally ignores women's activism, both approaches multiplied in the period under study), along with challenged in more recent historiography (pp. xiv, shifts in policy and tactics are thoroughly record‐ xv). However, The German Revolution remains a ed and analyzed by Broue. His descriptions of the remarkable account of these tumultuous years most intense revolutionary agitation in Germany both in the context of German history and in the and of the pivotal decisions made in international history of international communism. Broue's par‐ and private conferences often include develop‐ ticular strength is in restoring a sense of contin‐ ments by the hour. Broue devotes considerable at‐ gency to this historical moment, when Germany tention to relevant events in Germany, such as the was regarded as the center of the international sailors' mutinies of 1917 and the Kapp Putsch of communist movement and believed to be on the 1920, as well as abroad, like the 1921 split in Ital‐ verge of following the path of the 1917 Russian ian Socialism.
    [Show full text]
  • Germany's Left Party Is Shut out of Government, but Remains a Powerful
    Germany’s Left Party is shut out of government, but remains a powerful player in German politics blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2013/09/19/germanys-left-party-is-shut-out-of-government-but-remains-a-powerful- player-in-german-politics/ 19/09/2013 The Left Party (Die Linke) received 11.9 per cent of the vote in the 2009 German federal elections, and is predicted to comfortably clear the country’s 5 per cent threshold in this Sunday’s vote. Jonathan Olsen outlines the party’s recent history and its role in the German party system. He notes that although the Left Party appears willing to enter into coalition with the other major parties, it is not viewed as a viable coalition partner. Despite being shut out of government, the party nevertheless remains an important part of German politics. Although the government that emerges after Germany’s federal elections on 22 September will largely depend on the performance of the two biggest parties, the conservative block of CDU/CSU and the Left-Center Social Democrats (SPD), the impact of smaller parties on the ultimate outcome should not be underestimated. Thus the failure of the Free Democrats (FDP) to clear the 5 per cent hurdle necessary for legislative representation would most likely lead to a “Grand Coalition” of CDU/CSU and SPD, while an outstanding performance by the German Greens could make possible (though unlikely) an SPD-Greens coalition government. The third of Germany’s smaller parties – the Left Party – will not have the same impact on coalition calculations as the FDP and Greens, since all of the other four parties have categorically ruled out a coalition with it.
    [Show full text]
  • Shirt Movements in Interwar Europe: a Totalitarian Fashion
    Ler História | 72 | 2018 | pp. 151-173 SHIRT MOVEMENTS IN INTERWAR EUROPE: A TOTALITARIAN FASHION Juan Francisco Fuentes 151 Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain [email protected] The article deals with a typical phenomenon of the interwar period: the proliferation of socio-political movements expressing their “mood” and identity via a paramilitary uniform mainly composed of a coloured shirt. The analysis of 34 European shirt movements reveals some common features in terms of colour, ideology and chronology. Most of them were consistent with the logic and imagery of interwar totalitarianisms, which emerged as an alleged alternative to the decaying bourgeois society and its main political creation: the Parliamentary system. Unlike liBeral pluralism and its institutional expression, shirt move- ments embody the idea of a homogeneous community, based on a racial, social or cultural identity, and defend the streets, not the Ballot Boxes, as a new source of legitimacy. They perfectly mirror the overwhelming presence of the “brutalization of politics” (Mosse) and “senso-propaganda” (Chakhotin) in interwar Europe. Keywords: fascism, Nazism, totalitarianism, shirt movements, interwar period. Resumo (PT) no final do artigo. Résumé (FR) en fin d’article. “Of all items of clothing, shirts are the most important from a politi- cal point of view”, Eugenio Xammar, Berlin correspondent of the Spanish newspaper Ahora, wrote in 1932 (2005b, 74). The ability of the body and clothing to sublimate, to conceal or to express the intentions of a political actor was by no means a discovery of interwar totalitarianisms. Antoine de Baecque studied the political dimension of the body as metaphor in eighteenth-century France, paying special attention to the three specific func- tions that it played in the transition from the Ancien Régime to revolutionary France: embodying the state, narrating history and peopling ceremonies.
    [Show full text]
  • 5. Calling for International Solidarity: Hanns Eisler’S Mass Songs in the Soviet Union
    From Massenlieder to Massovaia Pesnia: Musical Exchanges between Communists and Socialists of Weimar Germany and the Early Soviet Union by Yana Alexandrovna Lowry Department of Music Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Bryan Gilliam, Supervisor ___________________________ Edna Andrews ___________________________ John Supko ___________________________ Jacqueline Waeber Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Music in the Graduate School of Duke University 2014 i v ABSTRACT From Massenlieder to Massovaia Pesnia: Musical Exchanges between Communists and Socialists of Weimar Germany and the Early Soviet Union by Yana Alexandrovna Lowry Department of Music Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Bryan Gilliam, Supervisor ___________________________ Edna Andrews ___________________________ John Supko ___________________________ Jacqueline Waeber An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Music in the Graduate School of Duke University 2014 Copyright by Yana Alexandrovna Lowry 2014 Abstract Group songs with direct political messages rose to enormous popularity during the interwar period (1918-1939), particularly in recently-defeated Germany and in the newly- established Soviet Union. This dissertation explores the musical relationship between these two troubled countries and aims to explain the similarities and differences in their approaches to collective singing. The discussion of the very complex and problematic relationship between the German left and the Soviet government sets the framework for the analysis of music. Beginning in late 1920s, as a result of Stalin’s abandonment of the international revolutionary cause, the divergences between the policies of the Soviet government and utopian aims of the German communist party can be traced in the musical propaganda of both countries.
    [Show full text]
  • Germany's Culture
    Germany’s Culture Germany’s culture is a vast rich experience. In my project I’ll touch on some aspects of what you will find in Germany. First off lets take a look at some basic stats on Germany Facts About Germany Germany Consists of 16 parts the capitol is Berlin (right), and it’s official name is Bundesrepublik Deutschland. The Flag of Germany is Black, Red, gold horizontal stripes (bottom-right). The flag can be hung vertically, but must be on a horizontal flagpole with the black facing furthest from the building. (bottom-left) The estimated population is 82,425,000 (2004), and 82,314,900 (2006), and the land mass is 357,021.7 square kilometers Germany actually ranks in at 62 in land mass according to a size chart of the largest areas. The Major religions are Protestant, Roman Catholic, und Rei Evangelishe Kirche. The national currency is the euro, and the main exports are: Automobiles, Chemicals, Electronics, Foodstuffs, Machinery and Equipment, metals, textiles. REGIONS & THEIR FLAGS Berlin Brandenburg Baden- Bavaria Bremen Wurttemberg Hamburg Hessen Mecklenburg Vorpommern Lower Saxony Nordrhein Westfalen Rheinland Pflaz Saarland Saxony Saxony-Anhalt Schleswig- Holstein Even though Germany has one United flag each other region also has a flag to represent it’s self. Thuringia What are Schools like? In Germany there are many different schools available. The schools are based on the child’s academic prose as pictured in the graph.(right) the regular school day for German children is mornings from 8:00 to 1:00. Also the Grundschule teaches the same curriculum to all the children grade 1st though 4th Students in Germany must complete at least 9 years of School if you drop out of the Gymnasium you must attend school at the realschule until the 9 years is over.
    [Show full text]
  • The Kpd and the Nsdap: a Sttjdy of the Relationship Between Political Extremes in Weimar Germany, 1923-1933 by Davis William
    THE KPD AND THE NSDAP: A STTJDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POLITICAL EXTREMES IN WEIMAR GERMANY, 1923-1933 BY DAVIS WILLIAM DAYCOCK A thesis submitted for the degree of Ph.D. The London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London 1980 1 ABSTRACT The German Communist Party's response to the rise of the Nazis was conditioned by its complicated political environment which included the influence of Soviet foreign policy requirements, the party's Marxist-Leninist outlook, its organizational structure and the democratic society of Weimar. Relying on the Communist press and theoretical journals, documentary collections drawn from several German archives, as well as interview material, and Nazi, Communist opposition and Social Democratic sources, this study traces the development of the KPD's tactical orientation towards the Nazis for the period 1923-1933. In so doing it complements the existing literature both by its extension of the chronological scope of enquiry and by its attention to the tactical requirements of the relationship as viewed from the perspective of the KPD. It concludes that for the whole of the period, KPD tactics were ambiguous and reflected the tensions between the various competing factors which shaped the party's policies. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE abbreviations 4 INTRODUCTION 7 CHAPTER I THE CONSTRAINTS ON CONFLICT 24 CHAPTER II 1923: THE FORMATIVE YEAR 67 CHAPTER III VARIATIONS ON THE SCHLAGETER THEME: THE CONTINUITIES IN COMMUNIST POLICY 1924-1928 124 CHAPTER IV COMMUNIST TACTICS AND THE NAZI ADVANCE, 1928-1932: THE RESPONSE TO NEW THREATS 166 CHAPTER V COMMUNIST TACTICS, 1928-1932: THE RESPONSE TO NEW OPPORTUNITIES 223 CHAPTER VI FLUCTUATIONS IN COMMUNIST TACTICS DURING 1932: DOUBTS IN THE ELEVENTH HOUR 273 CONCLUSIONS 307 APPENDIX I VOTING ALIGNMENTS IN THE REICHSTAG 1924-1932 333 APPENDIX II INTERVIEWS 335 BIBLIOGRAPHY 341 4 ABBREVIATIONS 1.
    [Show full text]