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Social Democratic Party (SPD), Germany

100 Years Ago in Berlin: The Bitter Lesson of a Defeat

The Social Democrats and the military prepared to crush the revolution. A big majority of the working class desired socialism – but they had no major party of their own to lead the struggles. What lessons can be draw from this bloody defeat?

Nathaniel Flakin

November 27, 2018

100 Years Ago in Berlin: Revolution and Counterrevolution in Germany

In the first days of the German Revolution, workers’ and soldiers’ councils formed across Germany. The Social Democrats allied with the military to save as much of the old order as they could. The Communists tried to organize the forces of the revolution. This fight came to a head at a national congress of the councils.

Nathaniel Flakin

November 18, 2018

100 Years Ago in Berlin: German Revolutionaries Step on the Grass

According to an old joke, Germans will never make a revolution because that would require stepping on the grass. Yet 100 years ago, as the First World War drew to a close, the workers’ movement in Germany was preparing an insurrection against the kaiser and the capitalists. On November 9, 1918, the general strike began in Berlin—after years of preparation.

Nathaniel Flakin

November 9, 2018

‘The Workers Invented a Concept for Socialist Transformation’

On November 9, 1918, the revolution began in Germany. We spoke with historian Ralf Hoffrogge about the role of the "Revolutionary Stewards."

Nathaniel Flakin

November 5, 2018

Karl Kautsky: From Pope to Renegade

In the last few years, there has been a revival of interest in Kautsky's politics in both academia and on the political left.

Doug Enaa Greene

October 3, 2018

How Did the Extreme Right Get 13 Percent in the German Elections?

Image: Now the End Begins On Sunday, Germany’s two main parties suffered a terrible defeat. Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU got just 33 percent, while the social democratic SPD sunk to 20.5 percent – the worst results for both parties since 1945. These two parties have held up West Germany’s capitalist regime since its founding, sharing […]

Nathaniel Flakin

September 28, 2017

The Established Parties Can’t Stop the Shift to the Right

This Sunday, 61.5 million people in Germany are called on to elect a new parliament. A greater share of the population than ever before, however, lacks the basic democratic right to vote for the Bundestag as Germany's "blood and soil" citizenship laws even exclude people who grew up in the country. In the capital alone, almost half a million adults are denied the right to vote.

Nathaniel Flakin

September 23, 2017

Clara Zetkin: A Great Organizer of Socialists, Women Workers

A brief history of the life of socialist revolutionary, Clara Zetkin.

Andrea D'Atri

July 12, 2017

Socialism’s Future Can’t Be Its Failures

Bhaskar Sunkara's recent New York Times piece is a dangerous misremembering of socialist history that tries to make socialism safe for liberals. To avoid repeating the failures of the 20th century, we have to take an honest look at our own defeats.

Evan McLaughlin

July 6, 2017