Germany

Germany

• A Socialist Defector: From Harvard to Karl-Marx-Allee - book review

  

  An American socialist’s memoir of his life in East Germany overturns many standard assumptions about the contrasts of West and East, finds Dominic Alexander

• Imperial calculations: why World War Two was declared 80 years ago today

  

  Britain declared war on Germany not to fight fascism but to secure the interests of its own ruling class, writes Chris Bambery

• 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

• Ten things they don't tell you about D-Day

  

  As the commemorations of the 75 year anniversary of D-Day take place, Lindsey German reminds us of the truth about the end of the Second World War

• A Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank merger spells trouble

  

  The proposed merger of German banks is a disaster waiting to happen and exposes the weaknesses at the heart of European capitalism, argues Chris Bambery

• 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

• Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht and the 100 year revolution

  

  One hundred years on from the murders of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, their revolution still breathes, writes Evan Sedgwick-Jell

• Rosa Luxemburg: a revolutionary for our times

  

  Rosa's commitment to her class against the greatest of odds is an enduring inspiration, writes Dana Mills

• Standing on the shoulders of a giant: Rosa Luxemburg and The Mass Strike

  

  Marking the centenary of her assassination, Richard Allday looks at Rosa Luxemburg's The Mass Strike and the lessons it holds for revolutionary socialists today

• Europe in turmoil: what to expect in 2019

  

  Chris Bambery explores European political economy and what developments of the last twelve months can lead us to expect about the year ahead

• A state of disunion: Europe after Brexit

  

  Liberals lament Britain leaving the European Union, but the politics of the bloc is increasingly right wing and nasty, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• 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

• Germany after Merkel: how the right can be beaten

  

  With the departure of Angela Merkel, centrist hopes for maintaining the status quo are withering, while the left is at a strategic cross roads, argues Vladimir Unkovski-Korica

• Aftermath: Art in the wake of World War One - review

  

  Modern art was a way of actively willing war towards an end says Alistair Cartwright in his review of the Aftermath exhibition at the Tate

• It happened here - film review

  

  Brownlow and Mollo's alternative vision of Nazi-led Britain in the 1940s resonates powerfully today, Tom Griffiths finds

• Why fascists hate trade unions

  

  Fascists hate unions because they are a vehicle for working class power. The past can inform our fight today, argues Chris Bambery

• France also: a cynical attempt to divide anti-racism in the service of the government right

  

  Unite the left and anti-racist movements in a fight back against cynical right-wing disruption, argues Kevin Ovenden

• Organised workers in Germany massively reject AfD

  

  It is unity amongst the working class that can keep the far right at bay

• The SPD, grand coalitions, and European social democracy

  

  In Germany, the left is at a crossroads, and what path it takes depends on the strength of the movements, argues Evan Sedgwick-Jell

• Social democratic suicide? What’s going on in Germany? Interview with Mark Bergfeld - podcast

  

  As the SPD go into another 'grand coalition' with the CDU, Mark Bergfeld looks at the prospects for the left in Germany

• Germany: why did the SPD membership vote for the coalition?

  

  The decision to join the government throws up big questions for the left and for the movements

• The SPD is dead: long live the grand coalition!

  

  There has been much opposition to Groko. Still, another Grand Coalition looms in Germany. Evan Sedgwick-Jell examines the reasons why

• Fighting fascism in the 1930s: Trotsky and the United Front - video

  

  The strategy of the united front was central to Trotsky's politics and has been used many times since to fight fascism. Katherine Connelly discusses the history, what we can learn from it, and what it means for politics today.

• Where is Germany heading?

  

  The political crisis in Germany presents both dangers and opportunities for the European anti-capitalist left argues Evan Sedgwick-Jell

• A life sentence of low wages and public sector cuts - weekly briefing

  

  Despite dire forecasts for the economy and living standards, the Tories are continuing with more austerity. It can't go on argues Lindsey German

• Now is the time to fight back - Counterfire Freesheet October 2017

  

  Tories in crisis, Catalonia, German elections and more - Counterfire freesheet edition 21, October 2017

• AfD breakthrough: the threat of fascism never went away

  

  After the far-right party's success in the German election, we must look at the root causes of their rise, if we are to know how to fight back

• The shock at Germany’s election result is sinking in across Europe

  

  The centre has collapsed and the result is a serious advance for the far right. Hope is not lost, though, argues Kevin Ovenden

• Corbyn's a winner, but this is only the beginning of the fight - weekly briefing

  

  The left have cemented their position within Labour, but we must build strength as a wider movement if we are to take on vested interests and really change society

• German elections: 'The first time in decades that a party with a fascist wing is going to enter parliament'

  

  Mark Bergfeld talks to Counterfire about Merkel‘s popularity and the deeper roots of the rise of the right-wing AfD

• Eyewitness account: G20 protests in Hamburg

  

  Hamburg's G20 protests can provide immense inspiration, argues Marta Music
   

• Working-Class Politics in the German Revolution

  

  The Revolutionary Shop Stewards are a neglected part of the German Revolution of 1918-23, but the political lessons need clear understanding, argues Dominic Alexander

• 7 reasons anti-imperialists should vote for Lexit

  

  Anti-imperialists must vote leave, argues Sean Ledwith

• Sexual assault allegations exacerbate German racism

  

  Sexism and racism have to be challenged without bowing to the far right, who are using sexual assaults to attack refugees, argues Kaveh Yazdani

• Rosa Luxemburg on parliament and political power - key texts

  

  Vladimir Unkovski-Korica introduces a chapter from Reform or Revolution by Polish revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg as part of our 'key texts' series

• Refugees, solidarity and anti-racism

  

  Tens of thousands of refugees have organised and triggered a wave of social solidarity which in some countries is unprecedented writes Kevin Ovenden

• VE Day and the comic book history of World War Two

  

  Celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War are an opportunity for Western governments to re-write History argues Chris Bambery

• Blockupy in perspective

  

  Thousands of demonstrators converged on Frankfurt on Wednesday to disrupt the opening ceremony of the European Central Bank. Mark Bergfeld reports

• Greece: reparations and the politics of austerity‏

  

  The political symbolism behind Alexis Tsipras' speech on reparations is explored by  Kevin Ovenden in his latest dispatch from Athens