Germany
Schwab, Alexander aka Sachs, 1887 -1943
A short biography of council communist and organiser of underground networks, Alexander Schwab, who died in a Nazi concentration camp.
Born on the 5th July 1887, at Stuttgart, Alexander Schwab was the son of a choir master. He studied at the Universities of Rostock, Jena, Heidelberg and Freiburg in philosophy, ancient languages, political economy and sociology. He was a member of the Free Students movement.
Weiland, Alfred, 1906-1978
A short biography of council communist, organiser of underground network, Alfred Weiland, kidnapped by the East German state in the post war period
Alfred Weiland was born on 7th August 1906 in the Moabit district of Berlin. He apprenticed as a fitter. He later worked as a telegraph worker.
In 1925 he was for a short time a member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) which in Berlin had a more “left” outlook than elsewhere. Soon after he joined the communist KAPD and AAU.
Götze, Ferdinand 'Nante', 1907-1985
A short biography of German anarcho-syndicalist, Ferdinand Götze, who was also active in Sweden and Spain.
Ferdinand Götze was born in Leipzig on March 28th, 1907, the son of the FAUD stalwart Anna Götze.
Götze, Anna, 1875-1958
A short biography of anarchist and German revolutionary Anna Götze.
Anna Götze was born in 1875. She was a member of the Social Democratic Party from 1897 up to 1917 and with the end of the war and the Revolution was one of the founders of the Spartakusbund. At the beginning of the 1920s she moved to a clear anarchist position and joined the FAUD. She worked as a folder in the printing industry.
Lohstöter, Jürgen, 1947- 2006
A short biography of a founder of the German ORA and activist of the anarcho-syndicalist FAU, Jurgen Lohstöter.
Jurgen Lohstöter was born on December 23rd 1947 in Hamburg.
Germany: rail workers resume strike action
Workers are launching a three-day strike for better wages and conditions and against the proposed privatisation of Deutsche Bahn, the German railway company.
The 34000 striking workers belong to the GDL union and have refused the 4.5% pay offer already accepted by the two larger rail unions. They have further rejected a seperate offer of a one-off €2000 payment with a 10% rise, a condition of that offer is a two-hour increase in the working week.
Elser, Georg, 1903-1945
The story of a quiet man who tried single-handedly to kill Hitler.
Georg Elser
Born Hermaringen, Germany, 1903, died Dachau, Germany 9 April 1945
The Lessons of the “March Action”
The Lessons of the “March Action”-Gorter’s Last Letter to Lenin
Dear Comrade Lenin:
When we last parted in November of 1920, your last words on our quite divergent ideas concerning revolutionary tactics in Western Europe were to the effect that neither your opinions nor mine had been sufficiently tested: that experience would soon prove which of the two is correct.
We were in complete agreement on that.
Germany: train drivers strike over pay
Workers in the GDL union went on strike on Friday after refusing a pay offer.
In the first German rail strike since 1992, 8000 drivers from the smallest rail union went on strike between 6 and 9am. Deutsche Bahn, the german rail company, had previously obtained a court order preventing workers from striking on national or freight services.
Order Prevails in Berlin - Rosa Luxemburg
Written just after the defeat of German Revolution and hours before she and other leaders of the struggle would be arrested and killed by the Friekorps. It details the ebb and flow of recent class struggles and is the last known work of Rosa Luxemburg.
"Order prevails in Warsaw!" declared Minister Sebastiani to the Paris Chamber of Deputies in 1831, when after having stormed the suburb of Praga, Paskevich’s marauding troops invaded the Polish capital to begin their butchery of the rebels.
