Weimar communism as mass movement, 1918-1933

by Hoffrogge, Ralf LaPorte, Norman

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Title Statements

Full title :Weimar communism as mass movement, 1918-1933 / edited by Ralf Hoffrogge and Norman LaPorte.

Summary

Now a quarter of a century after the opening of the archives in Berlin and Moscow, the role of the German Communist Party (KPD) has been the subject of a new wave of studies. With this book, this new field of scholarship will be available in English for the first time. The book begins with the editors' comprehensive contextualisation of the KPD within the history of the ill-fated Weimar Republic, as well its location within the Moscow-based Communist International (Comintern) thus bringing together the global and the 'local'. In the rest of the book, authors offer a flavour of the rich texture of the world of German Communism. Attention is given to the party's revolutionary origins in 1918/19, accounting for the importance of not only Rosa Luxemburg's Spartacus League, but also the 'Left Radicals', whose stronghold was Bremen and north-western Germany. The policy dilemmas of being a mass party in Germany are then elucidated, but ultimately, the party's fate and its policy-making were dominated by Moscow in the process known as 'Stalinisation', which neared completion by the end of the 1920s. However, this volume also includes a detailed appraisal of left-wing Communists' opposition to Stalin and Stalinisation, as well as the party's changing relationship with the SPD-led trade unions. A section in the volume presents new research on how German communism aspired to reach beyond its core support among the working class by examining its overtures to peasants, avant-garde artists, pacifists and prominent left-wing personalities outside the party's ranks. Finally, an account of Stalin's own betrayal of German communism is offered after the Nazis' 'seizure of power' in 1933. This book represents essential reading for academic, undergraduate and general readers interested in twentieth German history and politics and the interwar communist movement. With thanks to the Nina Fishman translation award run by the Amiel Melburn Trust.

Edition Statements

Publication Date:2017.

Publication Statements

Publisher(s):Lawrence & Wishart
Place of Publication:Chadwell Heath
Language:eng
Publication Date:2017.

The Physical Object

Description:xxi, 294 pages ; : 22 cm

Edition Identifiers

ISBN:1910448982, 9781910448984
oclc:on1002123198
LC Classification:JN3970.K6
Dewey Decimal:324.243/07509

Weimar communism as mass movement : an introduction / Ralf Hoffrogge and Norman LaPorte -- I. Revolutionary origins -- 1. The international communists of Germany, 1916-1919 / Gerhard Engel -- 2. The role of the Spartacist Group after 9 November 1918 and the formation of the KPD / Ottokar Luban -- II. The KPD between revolution and realpolitik -- 3. Building a mass party : Ernst Meyer and the united front policy, 1921-1922 / Florian Wilde -- 4. Class against class : the 'ultra-left' Berlin Opposition, 1921-1923 / Ralf Hoffrogge -- 5. Resisting Moscow? Ruth Fischer and the KPD, 1923-1926 / Mario Kessler -- 6. The rise of Ernst Thälmann and the Hamburg Left, 1921-1923 / Norman LaPorte -- 7. Opposing Hitler and Stalin : left wing communists after expulsion from the KPD / Marcel Bois -- III. Communism and the trade unions -- 8. The German section of the International of Sailors and Harbour Workers / Constance Margain -- 9. The 'red unions' and their resistance to national socialism : the Unity Union of the Berlin Metal Workers, 1930-1935 / Stefan Heinz -- IV. Reaching beyond the party? -- 10. The KPD and farmers : approaches to a neglected research problem / Sebastian Zehetmair -- 11. …

Subjects

Allemagne -- Politique et gouvernement … Communism Communism -- History -- 20th century. -… European History Germany Germany -- Politics and government -- 1… History Inter-war period c 1919 to c 1939 Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands LABOUR (ECONOMICS) Marxism & Communism Political parties Politics and government Socialism & left-of-centre democratic i…