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Syndicalism and Anarcho-Syndicalism in Germany: An Introduction

by Helge Döhring, translation by John Carroll

The following text comprises an introduction to the development of German Syndicalism from its beginnings in 1890 until the end of its organized form in the early 1960s. The emphasis of this introduction, however, centers on the period before and leading up to 1933, when the National Socialists under Adolf Hitler ascended to power. Syndicalism, and more specifically Anarcho-Syndicalism are movements that have been largely forgotten. This albeit superficial outline should, at its conclusion, show that this movement was not always so obscure and unknown. This piece aims not to comprehensively examine all the varied aspects of German Anarcho-syndicalism, but rather to pique the curiosity and interest of its readers.
 

CONTENT

1. What does “Workers’ Movement” mean?
2. The emergence of Anarcho-Syndicalism and the Free Association of German Unions
3. The moulding of Anarcho-Syndicalism after the First World War
4. A clear alternative to authoritarian Communism: the Free Workers’ Union of Germany
4.1 The essential differences from the centralized Trade Unions
4.2 Reasons for the decline in membership in the Free Workers’ Union
4.2.1 The effects of declining membership on the workplace: Factory Councils and Bargaining Agreements
4.2.2 Tensions and Conflict within the FAUD
4.3 Anarcho-Syndicalism beyond the workplace organization
4.3.1 Cultural organization
4.3.1.1 The Association of free-thinking Proletariat (GpF)
4.3.1.2 The Guild of Friends of Free Books (GfB)
4.3.2 Aid Organizations
4.3.2.1 The Association for Population Control and Sexual Hygiene (RV)
4.3.2.2 The Black Flock
4.3.2.3 The Movement of the Unemployed
4.3.3 Alternatives to the Free Workers’ Union
4.3.3.1 The Communal Settlements
4.3.3.2 The Vagabond Movement
4.3.4 Auxiliary Organizations of the FAUD
4.3.4.1 The Syndicalist-Anarchist Youth of Germany (SAJD)
4.3.4.2 The Syndicalist Women’s Group (SFB)
4.3.4.3 The Childrens’ Movement
4.4 The End of the Free Workers’ Union of Germany
5. Syndicalism and its Significance

This Text ist translated from: Helge Döhring: Syndikalismus und Anarcho-Syndikalismus in Deutschland. Eine Einführung, in: Jürgen Mümken: Anarchosyndikalismus an der Fulda. Die FAUD in Kassel und im Widerstand gegen Nationalsozialismus und Faschismus, Frankfurt 2004, Verlag Edition AV.

Foreword

The following text comprises an introduction to the development of German Syndicalism from its beginnings in 1890 until the end of its organized form in the early 1960s. The emphasis of this introduction, however, centers on the period before and leading up to 1933, when the National Socialists under Adolf Hitler ascended to power. Syndicalism, and more specifically Anarcho-Syndicalism are movements that have been largely forgotten. This albeit superficial outline should, at its conclusion, show that this movement was not always so obscure and unknown. This piece aims not to comprehensively examine all the varied aspects of German Anarcho-syndicalism, but rather to pique the curiosity and interest of its readers.

1. What does “Workers’ Movement” mean?

The first thing that one learns in studying the history of the Workers’ Movement, in Germany and elsewhere, is that the workers were organized primarily into the so-called ‘Workers Parties.’ In Germany these took the form of the SPD [moderate Social Democrats] and the KPD [German Communist Party]. Upon further examination a number of other parties fall into view, for example Rosa Luxemburg’s “Independent Social-Democratic Party” (USPD), or the CP’s other incarnations, the KAPD and the Socialist Workers’ Party. And naturally the definition of the term “Workers’ Movement” places these political parties firmly in the foreground. The same is true of Germany’s General Association of Unions (ADGB). Closer observation, however, reveals that these institutions have les