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By Georg Falkinger in Germany
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Friday, 16 May 2008 |
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Over the weekend of May 2-4 a conference was held in Berlin on the theme of "1968 - We shall win the
last battle", organised by the youth and students of the German Left Party
(Die Linke). There were 1600 people taking part in the conference and the
Marxists of Der Funke intervened in the debates, organised a stall with
literature, provided international speakers from Spain and Pakistan and one of
the Der Funke supporters, and member of the national council of the youth wing
of the party, made one of the concluding speeches.
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By Alex Dirmeier, Der Funke, Berlin
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Tuesday, 18 March 2008 |
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The Berlin Transport
Company (BVG) has been paralysed by a long and militant strike of the drivers
and the maintenance and administration workers. After years of concessions and
backsliding by the unions the workers have said they have had enough.
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By Hans-Gerd Öfinger in Germany
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Wednesday, 12 March 2008 |
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Recent local elections
in Germany
have seen the Left Party (Die Linke) emerge as a force to the left of the SPD.
At the same time we are seeing a growing level of trade union militancy. This
reflects the growing malaise within German society as a layer of workers and
youth look for an alternative.
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By Karl Liebknecht
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Tuesday, 15 January 2008 |
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By Karl Liebknecht
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Tuesday, 15 January 2008 |
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The “Berner Tagewacht” publishes the full text of Karl
Liebknecht’s protest in the Reichstag against the voting of the war
credits. The protest was suppressed in the Reichstag, and no German
paper has published it. It appears that seventeen Social-Democratic
members expressed their opposition to the credits on December 2, but
Karl Liebknecht’s was the only vote recorded against them.
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By Rosa Luxemburg
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Tuesday, 15 January 2008 |
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The following editorial is the last known piece of writing by
Rosa Luxemburg. It was written just after the Spartacus uprising
was crushed by the German government and in the hours prior to
the arrest and murder of her and Karl Liebknecht by the
Friekorps.
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By V.I. Lenin
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Tuesday, 15 January 2008 |
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This is an extract from Lenin's "Notes of a Publicist" in which he defends Rosa Luxemburg against the reformists.
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By Leon Trotsky
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Tuesday, 15 January 2008 |
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Stalin’s article, Some Questions Concerning the History of Bolshevism,
reached me after much delay. After receiving it, for a long time I
could not force myself to read it, for such literature sticks in one’s
throat like sawdust or mashed bristles. But still, having finally read
it, I came to the conclusion that one cannot ignore this performance,
if only because there is included in it a vile and barefaced calumny
about Rosa Luxemburg.
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By Leon Trotsky
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Tuesday, 15 January 2008 |
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We have suffered two heavy
losses at once which merge into one enormous bereavement. There have
been struck down from our ranks two leaders whose names will be for
ever entered in the great book of the proletarian revolution: Karl
Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg. They have perished. They have been
killed. They are no longer with us!
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By Josef Falkinger in Vienna
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Wednesday, 05 December 2007 |
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The present Pope, Ratzinger or Benedict XVI as he has chosen to
call himself, far from being a “transitional” Pope is not only following in the
footsteps of John Paul II, he is putting his foot on the accelerator of
Christian fundamentalism. While talking of reconciliation he promotes conflict,
backs reactionary politicians of the Bush type and condemns anyone who wants to
really change the material conditions of millions of poor and working class
people.
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By Hans-Gerd Öfinger - www.derfunke.de
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Monday, 16 July 2007 |
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Earlier this month the German
railways were brought to a halt by a paralysing strike. There is a real mood of
militancy among German rail workers, but at the top in the trade unions deals
are going ahead that envisage the privatisation of the railway network with a
generalised worsening of working conditions, lowering of safety levels and so
on.
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By Karin Schnetzinger, executive member of the Left Youth - ['solid]
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Friday, 22 June 2007 |
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By Hans-Gerd Öfinger, Der Funke Editorial Board
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Thursday, 07 June 2007 |
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The
heads of government of the G8 are meeting in Heiligendamm in Germany. But
they are being heavily protected from the harsh social realities that have
emerged in Germany.
Thousands of protestors are also there. Significantly, there are several
important strikes that have affected life in Germany. This may also explain
“police tactics” that seemed designed to provoke violent conflict, rather than
play it down.
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By Hans-Gerd Öfinger
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Wednesday, 25 April 2007 |
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In mid-June the WASG and the Linkspartei.PDS
will come together and form a new left-wing party, Die Linke. Hans-Gerd-Öfinger
looks at the significance of this development and the perspectives for this new
political formation.
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By Rob Sewell
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Friday, 01 December 2006 |
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After the Russian revolution, the German workers
could have taken power on several occasions, only to be thwarted by their
leaders, the Social Democrats who openly betrayed and the Communists who
unfortunately made a number of tragic mistakes. The defeat of the German
revolution led to the barbaric regime of Hitler. Pierre Broué provides an
account of those events that all fighting workers and youth should read.
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By HOV Germany
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Tuesday, 28 March 2006 |
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Hands
off Venezuela in Germany played a decisively role in some successful public meetings with Che Guevara's
daughter, Aleida Guevara, last week. 450 workers, youth and Latin
American immigrants attended the Frankfurt meeting on Saturday, 25
March, and 250 were packed into the hall in Wiesbaden two days
earlier.
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By Hans-Gerd Öfinger in Germany
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Monday, 09 January 2006 |
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The Grand Coalition of the SPD and Christian Democrats has now been in office for some months. Its programme is “more of the same”, further privatisations and cuts in social spending. Although this may hold for a while, beneath the surface a new mood is developing. The signs are already there in some significant strikes such as that of the Gate Gourmet workers. |
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By Corinna Dammann, in Wiesbaden, Germany
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Wednesday, 23 November 2005 |
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285.15 Euros raised for Pakistan earthquake appeal after premiere of film on Benazir Bhutto. |
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By Hans-Gerd Öfinger
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Monday, 31 October 2005 |
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By mid-November Germany will almost certainly be governed by a “Grand Coalition” involving Christian Democrats and Social Democrats. The programme of this government is a foregone conclusion, the same old recipe of privatisations and cuts. For now the bosses are happy with this, but this government is preparing the ground for a greater radicalisation on the left similar to what we saw back in the late 1960s and early 1970s. |
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By Hans-Gerd finger in Germany
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Wednesday, 21 September 2005 |
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There is
greater instability in Germany than ever before in post-war
history. Both big parties, the Social Democrats
(SPD) and Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) lost considerably. The virtual deadlock
is caused by the fact that after a short and very polarised election campaign
both camps failed to get anywhere near a majority of seats. |
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By Hans-Gerd �finger in Germany
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Monday, 19 September 2005 |
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Yesterday’s German
elections have produced what amounts to a hung parliament. There is a strong
element of class polarisation in German society, which is reflected in these
elections results. Of particular interest is the emergence of the Left Party,
which did very well in the historic bastions of the PDS but also picked up a
reasonable vote in what was the former “affluent” West. |
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By Hans-Gerd finger
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Thursday, 04 August 2005 |
USA bereiten angeblich neuen Putsch in Venezuela vor. Solidarität mit
der bolivarischen Bewegung eingefordert. Ein Gespräch mit Alan Woods von junge Welt.
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By Hans Gerd finger, Der Funke editorial board
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Friday, 15 July 2005 |
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Schröder has dissolved the Bundestag and has called early elections for
September 18. Polls show a drastic fall in the SPD vote and the most
likely outcome seems a victory of the right wing Christian Democrats.
But on the left a new formation is emerging, the Left Alliance, made up
of the PDS (former Communist Party of East Germany) and the WASG, a
left split of disenchanted social democrats and trade unionists, and
the former leader of the left of the SPD, Oskar Lafontaine, is
preparing to be its main leader. The crisis of German capitalism is
preparing the ground for greater instability and a polarization of
German society. |
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By Hans Gerd finger
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Thursday, 26 May 2005 |
 The
political situation in Germany is changing rapidly as one political
earthquake has been followed by another over the last few days. In last
Sunday’s regional elections, Chancellor Schröder’s Social Democratic
Party lost its traditional stronghold in North Rhine Westphalia . The
SPD saw their share of the vote fall to a level not seen since the
mid-1950s. |
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By Hans Gerd finger
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Thursday, 26 May 2005 |
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In 1984 there was a militant mood at the May Day rallies as the print
workers and engineering workers in Germany prepared for an offensive
struggle to achieve a reduction of the workweek without loss of pay. On
May Day 2005, 21 years later, a new round of defensive battles to
defend the 35-hour week started in the German printing industry. |
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By Hans Gerd finger
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Sunday, 28 November 2004 |
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Germany has entered a new period of unrest and instability as the Schröder
government is pursuing attack after attack - on the welfare state, the working
class, the unemployed, the poor, the sick, old age pensioners. This is against
the interests of the working class, the majority of the population and
especially those who secured a narrow re-election of chancellor Gerhard
Schröder's coalition just 14 months ago. |
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By Hans Gerd finger
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Monday, 01 November 2004 |
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The wildcat strike at the Opel plant in Bochum, Germany lasted for six
days. It reflected the growing militant mood of the German workers. The
situation at Opel also highlights the serious difficulties German
capitalism is facing. And yet suddenly after six days the workers voted
to go back to work. What was behind this decision? Hans-Gerd Öfinger
explains how the trade union officialdom did everything in their power
to bring the strike to an end. |
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By Der Funke
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Monday, 01 November 2004 |
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The German comrades of Der Funke
issued a leaflet that was given out at the Opel factory in Bochum
explaining the need for common ownership of the factories. Read the
leaflet in English. |
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By Der Funke
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Wednesday, 27 October 2004 |
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This is an appeal for the Opel workers in the Bochum plant in Germany. Download the leaflet as a PDF file. |
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By Hans Gerd finger and Erik Demeester
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Friday, 24 September 2004 |
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This summer Germany was hit by a wave of “Monday” demonstrations
against the severe austerity measures of the Schröder government. This
reflects the growing polarisation within German society. There are
moves to the left of the SPD, while on the extreme right the NPD is
picking up votes. These are the first rumblings of the class struggle
that is to come. |
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By Hans Gerd finger
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Tuesday, 22 June 2004 |
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The vote for the German SPD in the recent European elections revealed a
disastrous collapse. It is the price the party pays for pushing a Blairite
agenda of cuts and attacks on the welfare state. The German workers do not want
this. Large numbers abstained, rather than vote for the Christian Democrats, who
also lost votes. On the left, the PDS recovered from its bad showing in 1999. |
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By Christoph Mrdter
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Monday, 17 May 2004 |
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The German economy is the largest in Europe. Since the recession of
2001, the German government has been claiming an economic upswing is imminent.
But are these predictions realistic? Christoph Mürdter analyses the real
direction of the German economy. |
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By Hans Gerd finger
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Thursday, 04 September 2003 |
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Unprecedented attacks on so-called "old fashioned" unions and "stubborn" and "hardline"
union officials who allegedly are out to sabotage the "modernisation" and "flexibilisation"
of the economy, have been stirred up by Germany's mass media in recent months.
IG Metall, the world's biggest industrial union with a membership of 2.5
million, has been passing through a major crisis this summer. |
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By Hans Gerd finger
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Friday, 27 June 2003 |
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Now that the war in Iraq is over attention in Germany is being concentrated on Schroder's 'Agenda 2010'.
This is an outright attack on the rights of German workers and it is already producing its effects both in
the trade unions and in the SPD. The demand for a general strike has already been raised in the movement. |
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By Hans Gerd finger
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Monday, 12 May 2003 |
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The shipspotters in Belgium, a local anti war campaign in the city of Antwerp
launched by Vonk-supporters
during the war on Iraq, had informed us that during the month of April massive
loads of military equipment including heavy tanks, trucks and ammunition were
going to be shipped from US Army bases in Germany to Iraq. Local anti war
campaigners and supporters of Der
Funke in Wiesbaden, Germany, investigated the affair. |
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By Hans Gerd finger
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Thursday, 27 March 2003 |
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One week after the beginning of the war on Iraq we can say without any doubt
that the movement against the war in Germany in the last few weeks has by far
eclipsed any other movement in the "post war period" of the last 5-6 decades.
More people than ever have demonstrated, and according to opinion polls more
than 80 percent of the population are opposed to the war. |
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By Hans Gerd finger
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Tuesday, 14 January 2003 |
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On Sunday, January 12, 2003, 100,000 people came to the Berlin socialist
memorial cemetery in the Eastern suburb of Friedrichsfelde to commemorate the
murder of Rosa and Karl. On the day prior to the big demonstration, the German
left wing daily, Junge
Welt held their traditional Rosa Luxemburg conference which
this time attracted well over 1100 people - considerably more than in previous
years. This year, the speeches and debates centred around the question of
imperialism and war. As we reported last week, one of the main speakers in the
first session was Alan Woods from In Defence of Marxism who spoke on Europe,
America and imperialism. We are also providing some photos of the event. |
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By Hans Gerd finger
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Monday, 23 September 2002 |
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Edmund Stoiber, a leading reactionary Christian Democratic leader was defeated in the German elections last Sunday,
though by a narrow margin. There was a sigh of relief on the part of many SPD activists, trade unionists and youth
up and down the country. The threat of a Stoiber victory mobilised the SPD and green vote,
but against the background of a severe economic crisis, all sorts of conflicts will open up, and major disappointment
and anger on the part of workers and youth will be on the order of the day. |
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By Hans Gerd finger
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Thursday, 25 July 2002 |
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Hans-Gerd Öfinger, from the editorial board of
the German Marxist magazine Der Funke
looks to the prospects for the upcoming elections in September. With Schröder's
uninspiring Blairite policies, voter absention could well open the door to the
Christian Democrats who were so sounded defeated four years ago. |
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By Hans Gerd finger
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Tuesday, 14 March 2000 |
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In Germany, the new millenium has been ushered in by a
party financing and corruption
scandal which was more exciting than many thrillers and
caused a political earthquake of
unprecedented dimensions. |
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By Hans Gerd finger
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Wednesday, 20 October 1999 |
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Things are changing fast in Germany. In
September 1998, the Social Democratic
Party (SPD) scored a big victory in the Bundestag elections,
ousting the bourgeois
coalition under Kohl which had held power for 16 years.
The new "red-green"
coalition government under chancellor Schröder was
greeted with great hope by millions of
workers, unemployed, old age pensioners and youth. Now
the SPD as well as the Greens are
stumbling from defeat to catastrophe to disaster. |
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By Hans Gerd finger
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Monday, 28 September 1998 |
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A historic defeat for chancellor Kohl and a clear victory for
the left are the most
outstanding features of the German election on September
27. After exactly 16 years of
Kohl in office, German workers and youth said: enough is
enough. German is now likely to
be governed by a coalition of Social Democrats and Greens.
Hans Gerd Ofinger analyses the
implications from Germany. |
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Europe 
