World War I

Government and opposition: all in it together? – weekly briefing

Lindsey German on Covid-19, Labour collusion, the dictates of capital and remembering WW2
The Easter Rising in words, music and film

Lindsey German rounds up some of the writing, music and film inspired by the revolutionary Easter Rising of 1916
A People’s History of the German Revolution 1918-19 - book review

William Pelz’s People’s History of the German Revolution is a vivid and accessible introduction to socialism’s greatest lost revolution, finds Tom Whittaker
What the government wants us to forget on Remembrance Day

Poppies must not distract us from the Tories' contempt for the working class, writes Mona Kamal
The Treaty of Versailles 1919: a peace pregnant with war

The Treaty of Versailles was the continuation of the First World War by other means, finds Dragan Plavšić
1919: When British soldiers went on strike

The Folkestone strikes of 1919 should remind us that the organised working class can effect huge change in this country, argues John Westmoreland
Rosa Luxemburg, von Trotta's 1986 film, receives digital restoration - review

In this moving biopic, Rosa Luxemburg emerges as a vibrant, sensual, intellectually brilliant, morally and physically courageous woman, whose legacy proves timeless, writes Tom Lock Griffiths
Westminster's first woman, 100 years on

Constance Markievicz was the first woman MP at Westminster - Jacqueline Mulhallen marks the centenary of her election
The politics of Remembrance

Remembrance is about the present and the future, not just the past, argues Alex Snowdon in this repost of his 2015 article
A hundred years after WW1, what are we remembering?

The establishment makes a big display of remembering fallen WW1 soldiers while justifying today's wars. We should remember those who fought hard to stop war, argues Lindsey German
World War One was stupid, tragic and futile

World War One was a brutal and unnecessary waste of human life and sowed the seeds for the second war, argues Chris Bambery
The sailors that ended the First World War

As Remembrance Day approaches, John Westmoreland highlights the vital role played by revolutionary sailors
The War? The Suffragettes? How did women win the right to vote?

On the centenary of women winning the right to vote, Katherine Connelly explores how they fought for their rights and resisted war
Shock and remembrance: how not to commemorate war

We cannot let our histories become grist for the bosses’ war drive, argues Mick Wattam
War and remembrance: the poppy and the butcher

The stark horrors of World War I cannot be cleansed to serve the interests of our rulers, past and present, argues Chris Bambery
Fire and Blood: The European Civil War, 1914-1945

Fire and Blood brilliantly recounts the European civil war of 1914-45, which brought the idea of capitalist progress to an end, argues Chris Bambery
Why Remembrance is a political issue

Remembrance is about the present and the future not just the past, writes Alex Snowdon
Zimmerwald 1915: A new socialist resistance against war

John Riddell on how a small gathering held in Switzerland 100 years ago, on September 5-8, 1915, marked a turning point in the world socialist movement
Fatal Fortnight: Arthur Ponsonby and the Fight for British Neutrality in 1914

Duncan Marlor in Fatal Fortnight shows that Britain’s rulers took the country to war in 1914 through deceit and manipulation, finds Dominic Alexander
Friends of Alice Wheeldon

Alice Wheeldon was an anti-war activist during World War I who was unjustly imprisoned by a vindictive and repressive government, writes Jacqueline Mulhallen
Gramsci the revolutionary, in his own words

Gramsci is claimed by many different left currents, but a new volume of his letters shows his commitment to revolutionary politics pursued through united mass action, argues Chris Nineham
Review of Conflict, Time, Photography, at Tate Modern

A thought-provoking exhibition at Tate Modern uses photography to remember 150 years of our war-torn past. Review by Mike Quille
Sylvia Pankhurst's Christmas parties for peace

Katherine Connelly tells of how the radical Suffragette gave East End kids a glimmer of hope in the depths of World War I
Football V War: new film marks 1914 Christmas Truce Centenary

A new film by Philosophy Football explores the potential for sport as resistance. Featuring Grace Petrie, Jimmy Ross, Finlay Allison, Kate Smurthwaite, Simon Munnery and Musa Okwonga
Greatcoats for goalposts: celebrating the Christmas Truce of 1914

Mark Perryman of Philosophy Football considers different ways of marking the centenary of World War One
Failing the red poppy loyalty test

Lindsey German explains why she won't be intimidated by the mania which sees wearing a red poppy as a test of loyalty, a definition of Britishness
Ten lies told about World War I

Dominic Alexander debunks ten myths used to justify the slaughter of the First World War
The Darkest Days: The Truth Behind Britain’s Rush to War, 1914

A new account of the weeks before the outbreak of World War I explodes the myth that Britain played an in any way commendable role in the events that led to the catastrophe of August 1914, finds Dominic Alexander
Wear a white poppy to honour the dead on Remembrance Day

People buy the red poppy to support soldiers returning from war, but the best way to protect their interests is to stop sending them into these disastrous conflicts
A People’s History of Scotland: World War I and Protest

In this final extract from A People’s History of Scotland, Chris Bambery reveals the range of protests during and opposition to the First World War that erupted in Scotland
WWI: Imperial carve up, industrialised killing the truth about Gove's 'Great War'

Historian Neil Faulkner takes on the revisionist myths about the causes of World War One - part of the Dangerous Times Festival at east London's RichMix
Video: The women who fought against WWI

A presentation and group discussion from Katherine Connelly, author of 'Sylvia Pankhurst Suffragette, Socialist and Scourge of Empire'
The Shadow of Recent Wars: Historians and the Origins of World War I

In denying imperialism as the cause of wars, works by recent mainstream academic historians effectively feed into the justifications of wars past and present
Video: No Glory - the real history of World War One

Presented by 'Remembering The Real World War 1'. Bristol's campaign to commemorate the real World War 1
The debate that never was: the BBC and the first world war

Journalist Max Hastings thinks the first world war was a "necessary war". Historian Niall Ferguson says Britain should have kept out of it. The BBC's gave each a documentary to make their case. Chris Nineham was not impressed by either of them
How to stop the commemoration of World War One becoming a justification for future wars

The more the dead and injured of the First World War are forgotten in a rush of chauvinistic nostalgia, the more likely it is that dead will pile up in future conflicts
Jeremy Paxman's BBC history of the First World War is shallow, banal, and cliché-ridden

Paxman accepts the war was awful and nothing to celebrate in 2014, but he clearly believes that the war was necessary and that its million or so British victims died in a worthy cause
Lions and donkeys: Dan Snow's 10 myths about World War One debunked

Historian Dan Snow says there are ten myths used to portray the First World War as uniquely horrific that are historically false. Lindsey German from No Glory in War thinks he is wrong
How should World War I history be taught in schools?

Should we emphasise the heroism and courage of a 'just war' in a 'noble cause', as education secretary Gove wants, or highlight imperialist war as the worst form of barbarism?
Battle of the Somme: the horrific epitome of the first world war

Thousands of men who went over the top that morning thought they would meet little resistance. 57,000 were dead or wounded by the end of the day
World War One and the rehabilitation of slaughter

Damaged by Iraq, ground down in Afghanistan, defeated over Syria, the jingoistic right are determined to rewrite the history of the First World War in an effort to rehabilitate imperialist war in the early 21st century
Their history and ours: the first world war that won't be commemorated in 2014

Max Hastings and Michael Gove say we should should blame the Germans for World War I and celebrate the victory for 'freedom' and 'democracy'. Archaeologist Neil Faulkner disagrees
No Glory - remembering World War One in music and poetry

Video of the recent No Glory in War event held at St James's Church, Piccadilly featuring Billy Bragg
Events That Changed The World: The First World War

In this short TV programme, Dan Poulton looks at the causes and consequences of the First World War
The government is using next year's centenary to justify World War One

The pro-war voices on David Cameron's first world war committee co-ordinating next year's centenary events are getting louder and more shrill
To End All Wars: How the First World War Divided Britain

In 1914, a war supposedly against authoritarian rule unleashed the carnage of World War I, so do not let it happen again in 2013, argues Lindsey German
World War One: All Germany's fault? Neil Faulkner debates Max Hastings

Cameron's plans to celebrate WWI are coming under fire - Neil Faulkner debates Max Hastings on the Jeremy Vine Show
A Marxist History of the World part 69: The First World War

Neil Faulkner looks at how capitalism plunged humanity into an abyss of carnage, destruction, and waste without precedent, as mass production methods produced industrialised slaughter.

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World War I

World War I

Lindsey German on Covid-19, Labour collusion, the dictates of capital and remembering WW2

Lindsey German rounds up some of the writing, music and film inspired by the revolutionary Easter Rising of 1916

William Pelz’s People’s History of the German Revolution is a vivid and accessible introduction to socialism’s greatest lost revolution, finds Tom Whittaker

Poppies must not distract us from the Tories' contempt for the working class, writes Mona Kamal

The Treaty of Versailles was the continuation of the First World War by other means, finds Dragan Plavšić

The Folkestone strikes of 1919 should remind us that the organised working class can effect huge change in this country, argues John Westmoreland

In this moving biopic, Rosa Luxemburg emerges as a vibrant, sensual, intellectually brilliant, morally and physically courageous woman, whose legacy proves timeless, writes Tom Lock Griffiths

Constance Markievicz was the first woman MP at Westminster - Jacqueline Mulhallen marks the centenary of her election

Remembrance is about the present and the future, not just the past, argues Alex Snowdon in this repost of his 2015 article

The establishment makes a big display of remembering fallen WW1 soldiers while justifying today's wars. We should remember those who fought hard to stop war, argues Lindsey German

World War One was a brutal and unnecessary waste of human life and sowed the seeds for the second war, argues Chris Bambery

As Remembrance Day approaches, John Westmoreland highlights the vital role played by revolutionary sailors

On the centenary of women winning the right to vote, Katherine Connelly explores how they fought for their rights and resisted war

We cannot let our histories become grist for the bosses’ war drive, argues Mick Wattam

The stark horrors of World War I cannot be cleansed to serve the interests of our rulers, past and present, argues Chris Bambery

Fire and Blood brilliantly recounts the European civil war of 1914-45, which brought the idea of capitalist progress to an end, argues Chris Bambery

Remembrance is about the present and the future not just the past, writes Alex Snowdon

John Riddell on how a small gathering held in Switzerland 100 years ago, on September 5-8, 1915, marked a turning point in the world socialist movement

Duncan Marlor in Fatal Fortnight shows that Britain’s rulers took the country to war in 1914 through deceit and manipulation, finds Dominic Alexander

Alice Wheeldon was an anti-war activist during World War I who was unjustly imprisoned by a vindictive and repressive government, writes Jacqueline Mulhallen

Gramsci is claimed by many different left currents, but a new volume of his letters shows his commitment to revolutionary politics pursued through united mass action, argues Chris Nineham

A thought-provoking exhibition at Tate Modern uses photography to remember 150 years of our war-torn past. Review by Mike Quille

Katherine Connelly tells of how the radical Suffragette gave East End kids a glimmer of hope in the depths of World War I

A new film by Philosophy Football explores the potential for sport as resistance. Featuring Grace Petrie, Jimmy Ross, Finlay Allison, Kate Smurthwaite, Simon Munnery and Musa Okwonga

Mark Perryman of Philosophy Football considers different ways of marking the centenary of World War One

Lindsey German explains why she won't be intimidated by the mania which sees wearing a red poppy as a test of loyalty, a definition of Britishness

Dominic Alexander debunks ten myths used to justify the slaughter of the First World War

A new account of the weeks before the outbreak of World War I explodes the myth that Britain played an in any way commendable role in the events that led to the catastrophe of August 1914, finds Dominic Alexander

People buy the red poppy to support soldiers returning from war, but the best way to protect their interests is to stop sending them into these disastrous conflicts

In this final extract from A People’s History of Scotland, Chris Bambery reveals the range of protests during and opposition to the First World War that erupted in Scotland

Historian Neil Faulkner takes on the revisionist myths about the causes of World War One - part of the Dangerous Times Festival at east London's RichMix

A presentation and group discussion from Katherine Connelly, author of 'Sylvia Pankhurst Suffragette, Socialist and Scourge of Empire'

In denying imperialism as the cause of wars, works by recent mainstream academic historians effectively feed into the justifications of wars past and present

Presented by 'Remembering The Real World War 1'. Bristol's campaign to commemorate the real World War 1

Journalist Max Hastings thinks the first world war was a "necessary war". Historian Niall Ferguson says Britain should have kept out of it. The BBC's gave each a documentary to make their case. Chris Nineham was not impressed by either of them

The more the dead and injured of the First World War are forgotten in a rush of chauvinistic nostalgia, the more likely it is that dead will pile up in future conflicts

Paxman accepts the war was awful and nothing to celebrate in 2014, but he clearly believes that the war was necessary and that its million or so British victims died in a worthy cause

Historian Dan Snow says there are ten myths used to portray the First World War as uniquely horrific that are historically false. Lindsey German from No Glory in War thinks he is wrong

Should we emphasise the heroism and courage of a 'just war' in a 'noble cause', as education secretary Gove wants, or highlight imperialist war as the worst form of barbarism?

Thousands of men who went over the top that morning thought they would meet little resistance. 57,000 were dead or wounded by the end of the day

Damaged by Iraq, ground down in Afghanistan, defeated over Syria, the jingoistic right are determined to rewrite the history of the First World War in an effort to rehabilitate imperialist war in the early 21st century

Max Hastings and Michael Gove say we should should blame the Germans for World War I and celebrate the victory for 'freedom' and 'democracy'. Archaeologist Neil Faulkner disagrees

Video of the recent No Glory in War event held at St James's Church, Piccadilly featuring Billy Bragg

In this short TV programme, Dan Poulton looks at the causes and consequences of the First World War

The pro-war voices on David Cameron's first world war committee co-ordinating next year's centenary events are getting louder and more shrill

In 1914, a war supposedly against authoritarian rule unleashed the carnage of World War I, so do not let it happen again in 2013, argues Lindsey German

Cameron's plans to celebrate WWI are coming under fire - Neil Faulkner debates Max Hastings on the Jeremy Vine Show

Neil Faulkner looks at how capitalism plunged humanity into an abyss of carnage, destruction, and waste without precedent, as mass production methods produced industrialised slaughter.