Shortly after World War 1, the German labor movement changed dramatically. The dominance of Social Democracy was weakened by several new labor organizations with very differing agendas. Among the latter was the anarcho-syndicalist Freie Arbeiter-Union Deutschlands (Free Workers' Union Germany, short FAUD), blaming the social democratic unions for not taking ...
(Show more)Shortly after World War 1, the German labor movement changed dramatically. The dominance of Social Democracy was weakened by several new labor organizations with very differing agendas. Among the latter was the anarcho-syndicalist Freie Arbeiter-Union Deutschlands (Free Workers' Union Germany, short FAUD), blaming the social democratic unions for not taking an internationalist, antimilitarist and anti-nationalist stance during and after the war.
This paper discusses the internationalism and anti-nationalism of the syndicalist union during its early years. The FAUD began to form (like the socialist and communist organizations) transnational networks, provided international solidarity and continued to criticize the nationalist politics of its opponents. In the eyes of the syndicalists, class and nation were mutually exclusive concepts. The true revolutionary could only defend its class, the bourgeoisie would always refer to the nation. In 1923 however, with the Occupation of the Ruhr, the inter- and anti-nationalist position of the FAUD was challenged. While other parts of the labor movement supported general strikes and the passive resistance against the occupational forces, the FAUD – as one of the very few organizations – refused to follow any nationalist agenda. Instead, its members tried to continue to represent workers' interests, even if that meant to negotiate with the French and Belgian occupants. I will focus on these anti-nationalist/internationalist practices and evaluate how the syndicalists tried to defend their decision in front of their several critics
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