The birth and rise of the Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers' Party, or NSDAP) in response to the German Communist Party (KPD) can be understood within the broader context of post-World War I Germany. Here are the key factors and events that led to the Nazi Party's emergence as a reaction to the Communist threat:
Historical Context
Post-World War I Germany:
Defeat and Humiliation: Germany's defeat in World War I and the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 led to national humiliation, economic hardship, and political instability.
Economic Crisis: Hyperinflation, unemployment, and widespread poverty plagued Germany in the early 1920s, contributing to social unrest.
The Rise of Communism
Spartacist Uprising (1919): Inspired by the Russian Revolution, the Spartacist League, a Marxist revolutionary movement led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, attempted to overthrow the Weimar Republic in January 1919. Though it was crushed, it heightened fears of a Bolshevik-style revolution in Germany.
Formation of the KPD: The German Communist Party (KPD) was founded in December 1918, aiming to establish a proletarian dictatorship and abolish the capitalist system. The KPD rapidly gained support among the working class, especially during economic crises.
Ongoing Communist Threat: Throughout the early 1920s, the KPD organized strikes, uprisings, and street battles, further destabilizing the Weimar Republic and causing fear among the middle and upper classes.
The Emergence of the Nazi Party
Foundation of the DAP/NSDAP: The German Workers' Party (DAP) was founded in January 1919, and Adolf Hitler joined it later that year. It was renamed the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) in 1920, with Hitler emerging as its leader.
Anti-Communist Stance: From its inception, the NSDAP positioned itself as a vehemently anti-communist party. Hitler and other Nazi leaders capitalized on the fear of communism to gain support from the middle class, industrialists, and conservative nationalists.
Propaganda and Ideology: The Nazis used propaganda to portray communists as a grave threat to German society, culture, and economy. They blamed Jews for both capitalism and communism, framing their struggle as a fight against a "Jewish-Bolshevik" conspiracy.
Militarization and Street Violence: The Nazi Party formed the Sturmabteilung (SA) or "Brownshirts," a paramilitary organization to protect Nazi meetings, disrupt communist gatherings, and engage in street battles with communist groups. This violent confrontation appealed to those who wanted strong action against the perceived communist threat.
Political Strategy and Growth
Exploitation of Fear: The Nazis exploited fears of a communist revolution, positioning themselves as the defenders of order and traditional German values. This attracted support from those disillusioned with the Weimar Republic's inability to curb leftist uprisings.
Broadening Appeal: While maintaining a strong anti-communist stance, the Nazis also promised economic recovery, national revival, and the reversal of the Treaty of Versailles. Their platform attracted a broad base of support, including war veterans, the unemployed, and nationalists.
Electoral Success: The Nazi Party's anti-communist and nationalist rhetoric resonated with a significant portion of the electorate. By the early 1930s, they had become one of the largest parties in the Reichstag, using democratic means to gain political power while undermining democratic institutions.
Consolidation of Power
Reichstag Fire (1933): The Reichstag fire in February 1933, blamed on a Dutch communist, was used by Hitler to convince President Hindenburg to issue the Reichstag Fire Decree, which suspended civil liberties and allowed for the arrest of communists and other political opponents.
Enabling Act (1933): In March 1933, the Enabling Act was passed, granting Hitler dictatorial powers. This act effectively eliminated the KPD and other opposition parties, consolidating Nazi control over Germany.
The German Communists did not start a full-scale civil war, but they were involved in several significant uprisings and violent conflicts during the post-World War I period, which contributed to widespread instability and fears of a potential civil war. Here's a detailed look at the major events involving the communists and their impact on German society:
8Key Uprisings and Conflicts Involving the Communists
Spartacist Uprising (January 1919)
Background: The Spartacist League, later part of the KPD, attempted to overthrow the Weimar Republic and establish a socialist state.
Events: In January 1919, the Spartacists led a revolt in Berlin, occupying key buildings and clashing with government forces.
Outcome: The uprising was brutally suppressed by the Freikorps (paramilitary groups composed of World War I veterans), leading to the deaths of Spartacist leaders Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg.
Bavarian Soviet Republic (April-May 1919)
Background: Inspired by the Russian Revolution, communists and anarchists declared a Soviet Republic in Bavaria.
Events: They implemented radical reforms and attempted to establish a socialist state.
Outcome: The Weimar government, with the help of the Freikorps, crushed the Soviet Republic in a series of violent confrontations, resulting in significant casualties.
Ruhr Uprising (March-April 1920)
Background: Following the Kapp Putsch, a right-wing coup attempt, workers in the Ruhr region, including many communists, launched a general strike and armed insurrection.
Events: The Red Ruhr Army, composed of about 50,000 workers, seized control of the region.
Outcome: The uprising was suppressed by the Weimar government and Freikorps, with heavy casualties on both sides.
March Action (March 1921)
Background: The KPD, influenced by the Communist International (Comintern), attempted another uprising in central Germany.
Events: The action involved strikes and armed clashes with police and government forces.
Outcome: The uprising failed due to poor organization and lack of widespread support, leading to a crackdown on the KPD.
Hamburg Uprising (October 1923)
Background: Amidst hyperinflation and economic crisis, the KPD planned an insurrection in Hamburg as part of a broader revolutionary strategy.
Events: The uprising involved armed clashes between communist militants and police.
Outcome: The revolt was quickly suppressed, leading to arrests and a decline in KPD influence.
In December 1920, the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) merged with the left wing of the Independent Social Democrats (USPD) under the leadership of Paul Levi(Jewish). The unified party had a membership in excess of four hundred thousand. Its members had recently helped defeat an attempted far-right coup, the Kapp putsch, and had great confidence about the future. Within months, however, the KPD launched an ill-fated uprising on March 17, 1921 that became known as the March Action. The insurrection was a complete failure; in its aftermath, the KPD lost more than half of its membership.
Notable estimate attempts include the following:[60]
In 1993, Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor to Jimmy Carter, wrote that "the failed effort to build communism in the twentieth century consumed the lives of almost 60,000,000."[61]
In 1994, Rummel's book Death by Government included about 110 million people, foreign and domestic, killed by communist democide from 1900 to 1987.[62] This total excluded deaths from the Great Chinese Famine of 1958–1961 due to Rummel's then belief that "although Mao's policies were responsible for the famine, he was misled about it, and finally when he found out, he stopped it and changed his policies."[63][64] Rummel would later revise his estimate from
110 million to about 148 million due to additional information about Mao's culpability in the Great Chinese Famine from Mao: The Unknown Story, including Jon Halliday and Jung Chang's estimated 38 million famine deaths.[63][64]
In 2004, historian Tomislav Dulić criticized Rummel's estimate of the number killed in Tito's Yugoslavia as an overestimation based on the inclusion of low-quality sources, and stated that Rummel's other estimates may suffer from the same problem if he used similar sources for them.[65] Rummel responded with a critique of Dulić's analysis.[66] Karlsson says that Rummel's thesis of "extreme intentionality in Mao" for the famine is "hardly an example of a serious and empirically-based writing of history",[67] and describes Rummel's 61,911,000 estimate for the Soviet Union as being based on "an ideological preunderstanding and speculative and sweeping calculations".[68]
In 1997, historian Stéphane Courtois's introduction to The Black Book of Communism, an impactful yet controversial[55] work written about the history of communism in the 20th century,[69] gave a "rough approximation, based on unofficial estimates". The subtotals listed by Courtois added up to 94.36 million killed.[70] Nicolas Werth and Jean-Louis Margolin, contributing authors to the book, criticized Courtois as obsessed with reaching a 100 million overall total.[71]
In his foreword to the 1999 English edition, Martin Malia wrote that "a grand total of victims variously estimated by contributors to the volume at between 85 million and 100 million."[72] Historian Michael David-Fox states that Malia is able to link disparate regimes, from radical Soviet industrialists to the anti-urbanists of the Khmer Rouge, under the guise of a "generic communism" category "defined everywhere down to the common denominator of party movements founded by intellectuals."[73] Courtois' attempt to equate Nazism and communist regimes was not fruitful on both scientific and moral grounds, because such comparisons are generally controversial.[74]
In 2005, professor Benjamin Valentino stated that the number of non-combatants killed by communist regimes in the Soviet Union, China, and Cambodia alone ranged from a low of 21 million to a high of 70 million.[75]
In 2010, professor of economics Steven Rosefielde wrote in Red Holocaust that the internal contradictions of communist regimes caused the killing of approximately 60 million people and perhaps tens of millions more.[76]
In 2012, academic Alex J. Bellamy wrote that a "conservative estimate puts the total number of civilians deliberately killed by communists after the Second World War between 6.7 million and 15.5 million people, with the true figure probably much higher."[77]
In 2014, professor of Chinese politics Julia Strauss wrote that while there was the beginning of a scholarly consensus on figures of around 20 million killed in the Soviet Union and 2–3 million in Cambodia, there was no such consensus on numbers for China.[78]
In 2017, historian Stephen Kotkin wrote in The Wall Street Journal that 65 million people died prematurely under communist regimes according to demographers, and those deaths were a result of "mass deportations, forced labor camps and police-state terror" but mostly "from starvation as a result of its cruel projects of social engineering."[79][80]
The May 19th Communist Organization and the Days of Rage, which occurred during the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States, drew some inspiration from earlier communist movements, including the German Communist Party (KPD) of the post-World War I era.
May 19th Communist Organization
Overview:
The May 19th Communist Organization (M19CO) was a far-left militant group active in the United States from 1978 to the mid-1980s. It evolved from the Weather Underground Organization (WUO) and was named after the shared birthday of Malcolm X and Ho Chi Minh.
M19CO was involved in armed robberies, prison breaks, and bombings, with the aim of overthrowing the U.S. government and establishing a socialist state.
Similarities to the KPD:
Revolutionary Ideology: Both M19CO and the KPD were driven by Marxist-Leninist ideology and sought to establish a socialist state through revolutionary means.
Use of Violence: Both organizations embraced violence as a tool for achieving their political goals. The KPD engaged in armed uprisings and street battles, while M19CO carried out bombings and armed robberies.
Opposition to the State: Both groups viewed the existing government as illegitimate and oppressive. The KPD sought to overthrow the Weimar Republic, while M19CO aimed to dismantle the U.S. capitalist system.
Days of Rage
Overview:
The Days of Rage were a series of protests organized by the Weather Underground Organization in October 1969 in Chicago, aimed at confronting the U.S. government and raising awareness of the anti-war and anti-racist movements.
The protests involved violent clashes with the police, property destruction, and attempts to bring attention to the radical left's causes.
Similarities to the KPD:
Direct Action: Both the Days of Rage and the KPD's activities involved direct, confrontational tactics. The KPD engaged in street battles and uprisings, while the Days of Rage saw militants smashing windows, vandalizing property, and clashing with police.
Anti-Government Stance: Both movements were staunchly anti-government. The KPD opposed the Weimar Republic, while the Days of Rage aimed to protest against U.S. government policies, particularly the Vietnam War.
Youth and Militancy: Both movements were characterized by the involvement of young, radical activists willing to use militant tactics to achieve their goals.
Black Lives Matter (BLM), the May 19th Communist Organization (M19CO), Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and the Days of Rage share certain ideological and historical connections, primarily through the individuals involved and their approaches to activism. Here’s how BLM, particularly through its connections to Thousand Currents and Susan Rosenberg, relates to these earlier movements:
Black Lives Matter (BLM)
Overview:
BLM is a contemporary social movement founded in 2013 to address systemic racism, police brutality, and racial inequality.
The movement uses various tactics, including protests, advocacy, and policy reform efforts, to achieve its goals.
Connections to Thousand Currents and Susan Rosenberg
Thousand Currents:
Thousand Currents is a nonprofit organization that provided fiscal sponsorship to the BLM Global Network Foundation. This means they managed the funds and donations for BLM, allowing it to operate more effectively.
Susan Rosenberg:
Susan Rosenberg, a board member of Thousand Currents until 2020, was a former member of the M19CO. She was convicted for her involvement in illegal activities, including a weapons possession charge and connection to armed robberies, and later received a commutation of her sentence by President Bill Clinton.
Historical and Ideological Links
May 19th Communist Organization (M19CO)
Overview: M19CO was a militant far-left group active in the 1970s and 1980s, known for its revolutionary activities, including bombings and armed robberies.
Connection: Susan Rosenberg’s involvement with M19CO ties her directly to BLM through her later role at Thousand Currents.
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Days of Rage
Overview: SDS was a prominent student activist organization in the 1960s that focused on civil rights, anti-war protests, and social justice. The Days of Rage was a series of protests organized by a militant faction of SDS, the Weather Underground, in 1969.
Connection: SDS and the Weather Underground's tactics and philosophies influenced later movements, including M19CO. The radical elements within SDS and the Weather Underground, particularly their use of direct action and confrontation, set a precedent for later groups like M19CO and, by extension, influenced individuals like Susan Rosenberg.
Antifa, short for "anti-fascist," and the German Communist Party (KPD) share historical and ideological roots, particularly in their opposition to fascism.
Historical Context and Origins
German Communist Party (KPD)
Origins: The KPD was founded in 1918-1919 in Germany, emerging from the Spartacist League. It aimed to establish a communist state in Germany, inspired by the Russian Revolution.
Origins: The term "Antifa" originated from "Antifaschistische Aktion," a militant anti-fascist group founded by the KPD in 1932. This group was established to combat the Nazi Party and other far-right movements in Germany.
Activities: Antifaschistische Aktion engaged in street battles, propaganda, and other direct actions to oppose the Nazis. The group was dissolved after the Nazis came to power in 1933 and banned all communist organizations.
The birth and rise of the Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers' Party, or NSDAP) in response to the German Communist Party (KPD) can be understood within the broader context of post-World War I Germany. Here are the key factors and events that led to the Nazi Party's emergence as a reaction to the Communist threat:
Historical Context
Post-World War I Germany:
Defeat and Humiliation: Germany's defeat in World War I and the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 led to national humiliation, economic hardship, and political instability.
Economic Crisis: Hyperinflation, unemployment, and widespread poverty plagued Germany in the early 1920s, contributing to social unrest.
The Rise of Communism
Spartacist Uprising (1919): Inspired by the Russian Revolution, the Spartacist League, a Marxist revolutionary movement led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, attempted to overthrow the Weimar Republic in January 1919. Though it was crushed, it heightened fears of a Bolshevik-style revolution in Germany.
Formation of the KPD: The German Communist Party (KPD) was founded in December 1918, aiming to establish a proletarian dictatorship and abolish the capitalist system. The KPD rapidly gained support among the working class, especially during economic crises.
Ongoing Communist Threat: Throughout the early 1920s, the KPD organized strikes, uprisings, and street battles, further destabilizing the Weimar Republic and causing fear among the middle and upper classes.
The Emergence of the Nazi Party
Foundation of the DAP/NSDAP: The German Workers' Party (DAP) was founded in January 1919, and Adolf Hitler joined it later that year. It was renamed the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) in 1920, with Hitler emerging as its leader.
Anti-Communist Stance: From its inception, the NSDAP positioned itself as a vehemently anti-communist party. Hitler and other Nazi leaders capitalized on the fear of communism to gain support from the middle class, industrialists, and conservative nationalists.
Propaganda and Ideology: The Nazis used propaganda to portray communists as a grave threat to German society, culture, and economy. They blamed Jews for both capitalism and communism, framing their struggle as a fight against a "Jewish-Bolshevik" conspiracy.
Militarization and Street Violence: The Nazi Party formed the Sturmabteilung (SA) or "Brownshirts," a paramilitary organization to protect Nazi meetings, disrupt communist gatherings, and engage in street battles with communist groups. This violent confrontation appealed to those who wanted strong action against the perceived communist threat.
Political Strategy and Growth
Exploitation of Fear: The Nazis exploited fears of a communist revolution, positioning themselves as the defenders of order and traditional German values. This attracted support from those disillusioned with the Weimar Republic's inability to curb leftist uprisings.
Broadening Appeal: While maintaining a strong anti-communist stance, the Nazis also promised economic recovery, national revival, and the reversal of the Treaty of Versailles. Their platform attracted a broad base of support, including war veterans, the unemployed, and nationalists.
Electoral Success: The Nazi Party's anti-communist and nationalist rhetoric resonated with a significant portion of the electorate. By the early 1930s, they had become one of the largest parties in the Reichstag, using democratic means to gain political power while undermining democratic institutions.
Consolidation of Power
Reichstag Fire (1933): The Reichstag fire in February 1933, blamed on a Dutch communist, was used by Hitler to convince President Hindenburg to issue the Reichstag Fire Decree, which suspended civil liberties and allowed for the arrest of communists and other political opponents. Enabling Act (1933): In March 1933, the Enabling Act was passed, granting Hitler dictatorial powers. This act effectively eliminated the KPD and other opposition parties, consolidating Nazi control over Germany.
The German Communists did not start a full-scale civil war, but they were involved in several significant uprisings and violent conflicts during the post-World War I period, which contributed to widespread instability and fears of a potential civil war. Here's a detailed look at the major events involving the communists and their impact on German society:
8Key Uprisings and Conflicts Involving the Communists
Spartacist Uprising (January 1919)
Background: The Spartacist League, later part of the KPD, attempted to overthrow the Weimar Republic and establish a socialist state.
Events: In January 1919, the Spartacists led a revolt in Berlin, occupying key buildings and clashing with government forces.
Outcome: The uprising was brutally suppressed by the Freikorps (paramilitary groups composed of World War I veterans), leading to the deaths of Spartacist leaders Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg. Bavarian Soviet Republic (April-May 1919)
Background: Inspired by the Russian Revolution, communists and anarchists declared a Soviet Republic in Bavaria. Events: They implemented radical reforms and attempted to establish a socialist state.
Outcome: The Weimar government, with the help of the Freikorps, crushed the Soviet Republic in a series of violent confrontations, resulting in significant casualties.
Ruhr Uprising (March-April 1920)
Background: Following the Kapp Putsch, a right-wing coup attempt, workers in the Ruhr region, including many communists, launched a general strike and armed insurrection.
Events: The Red Ruhr Army, composed of about 50,000 workers, seized control of the region.
Outcome: The uprising was suppressed by the Weimar government and Freikorps, with heavy casualties on both sides. March Action (March 1921)
Background: The KPD, influenced by the Communist International (Comintern), attempted another uprising in central Germany.
Events: The action involved strikes and armed clashes with police and government forces.
Outcome: The uprising failed due to poor organization and lack of widespread support, leading to a crackdown on the KPD.
Hamburg Uprising (October 1923)
Background: Amidst hyperinflation and economic crisis, the KPD planned an insurrection in Hamburg as part of a broader revolutionary strategy. Events: The uprising involved armed clashes between communist militants and police.
Outcome: The revolt was quickly suppressed, leading to arrests and a decline in KPD influence.
In December 1920, the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) merged with the left wing of the Independent Social Democrats (USPD) under the leadership of Paul Levi(Jewish). The unified party had a membership in excess of four hundred thousand. Its members had recently helped defeat an attempted far-right coup, the Kapp putsch, and had great confidence about the future. Within months, however, the KPD launched an ill-fated uprising on March 17, 1921 that became known as the March Action. The insurrection was a complete failure; in its aftermath, the KPD lost more than half of its membership.
Leadership
Paul Levi - Jewish
Rosa Luxemburg - Jewish
Karl Liebknecht - Jewish
Clara Zetkin - Jewish
Werner Scholem - Jewish
Richard Sorge - Jewish
Adolf Warski - Jewish
Ernst Toller Jewish
Hugo Eberlein Jewish
Heinz Neumann Jewish
Ruth Fischer Jewish
Margarete Buber-Neumann Jewish
Erich Mühsam - Jewish
Fritz Sternberg - Jewish
Hilde Benjamin- Jewish
Hans Eisler- Jewish
Gertrud Kolmar- Jewish
Etc..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_killings_under_communist_regimes
Notable estimate attempts include the following:[60]
In 1993, Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor to Jimmy Carter, wrote that "the failed effort to build communism in the twentieth century consumed the lives of almost 60,000,000."[61]
In 1994, Rummel's book Death by Government included about 110 million people, foreign and domestic, killed by communist democide from 1900 to 1987.[62] This total excluded deaths from the Great Chinese Famine of 1958–1961 due to Rummel's then belief that "although Mao's policies were responsible for the famine, he was misled about it, and finally when he found out, he stopped it and changed his policies."[63][64] Rummel would later revise his estimate from 110 million to about 148 million due to additional information about Mao's culpability in the Great Chinese Famine from Mao: The Unknown Story, including Jon Halliday and Jung Chang's estimated 38 million famine deaths.[63][64]
In 2004, historian Tomislav Dulić criticized Rummel's estimate of the number killed in Tito's Yugoslavia as an overestimation based on the inclusion of low-quality sources, and stated that Rummel's other estimates may suffer from the same problem if he used similar sources for them.[65] Rummel responded with a critique of Dulić's analysis.[66] Karlsson says that Rummel's thesis of "extreme intentionality in Mao" for the famine is "hardly an example of a serious and empirically-based writing of history",[67] and describes Rummel's 61,911,000 estimate for the Soviet Union as being based on "an ideological preunderstanding and speculative and sweeping calculations".[68]
In 1997, historian Stéphane Courtois's introduction to The Black Book of Communism, an impactful yet controversial[55] work written about the history of communism in the 20th century,[69] gave a "rough approximation, based on unofficial estimates". The subtotals listed by Courtois added up to 94.36 million killed.[70] Nicolas Werth and Jean-Louis Margolin, contributing authors to the book, criticized Courtois as obsessed with reaching a 100 million overall total.[71] In his foreword to the 1999 English edition, Martin Malia wrote that "a grand total of victims variously estimated by contributors to the volume at between 85 million and 100 million."[72] Historian Michael David-Fox states that Malia is able to link disparate regimes, from radical Soviet industrialists to the anti-urbanists of the Khmer Rouge, under the guise of a "generic communism" category "defined everywhere down to the common denominator of party movements founded by intellectuals."[73] Courtois' attempt to equate Nazism and communist regimes was not fruitful on both scientific and moral grounds, because such comparisons are generally controversial.[74]
In 2005, professor Benjamin Valentino stated that the number of non-combatants killed by communist regimes in the Soviet Union, China, and Cambodia alone ranged from a low of 21 million to a high of 70 million.[75] In 2010, professor of economics Steven Rosefielde wrote in Red Holocaust that the internal contradictions of communist regimes caused the killing of approximately 60 million people and perhaps tens of millions more.[76]
In 2012, academic Alex J. Bellamy wrote that a "conservative estimate puts the total number of civilians deliberately killed by communists after the Second World War between 6.7 million and 15.5 million people, with the true figure probably much higher."[77]
In 2014, professor of Chinese politics Julia Strauss wrote that while there was the beginning of a scholarly consensus on figures of around 20 million killed in the Soviet Union and 2–3 million in Cambodia, there was no such consensus on numbers for China.[78]
In 2017, historian Stephen Kotkin wrote in The Wall Street Journal that 65 million people died prematurely under communist regimes according to demographers, and those deaths were a result of "mass deportations, forced labor camps and police-state terror" but mostly "from starvation as a result of its cruel projects of social engineering."[79][80]
The May 19th Communist Organization and the Days of Rage, which occurred during the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States, drew some inspiration from earlier communist movements, including the German Communist Party (KPD) of the post-World War I era.
May 19th Communist Organization
Overview:
The May 19th Communist Organization (M19CO) was a far-left militant group active in the United States from 1978 to the mid-1980s. It evolved from the Weather Underground Organization (WUO) and was named after the shared birthday of Malcolm X and Ho Chi Minh.
M19CO was involved in armed robberies, prison breaks, and bombings, with the aim of overthrowing the U.S. government and establishing a socialist state. Similarities to the KPD:
Revolutionary Ideology: Both M19CO and the KPD were driven by Marxist-Leninist ideology and sought to establish a socialist state through revolutionary means.
Use of Violence: Both organizations embraced violence as a tool for achieving their political goals. The KPD engaged in armed uprisings and street battles, while M19CO carried out bombings and armed robberies.
Opposition to the State: Both groups viewed the existing government as illegitimate and oppressive. The KPD sought to overthrow the Weimar Republic, while M19CO aimed to dismantle the U.S. capitalist system.
Days of Rage
Overview:
The Days of Rage were a series of protests organized by the Weather Underground Organization in October 1969 in Chicago, aimed at confronting the U.S. government and raising awareness of the anti-war and anti-racist movements.
The protests involved violent clashes with the police, property destruction, and attempts to bring attention to the radical left's causes. Similarities to the KPD:
Direct Action: Both the Days of Rage and the KPD's activities involved direct, confrontational tactics. The KPD engaged in street battles and uprisings, while the Days of Rage saw militants smashing windows, vandalizing property, and clashing with police.
Anti-Government Stance: Both movements were staunchly anti-government. The KPD opposed the Weimar Republic, while the Days of Rage aimed to protest against U.S. government policies, particularly the Vietnam War. Youth and Militancy: Both movements were characterized by the involvement of young, radical activists willing to use militant tactics to achieve their goals.
Black Lives Matter (BLM), the May 19th Communist Organization (M19CO), Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and the Days of Rage share certain ideological and historical connections, primarily through the individuals involved and their approaches to activism. Here’s how BLM, particularly through its connections to Thousand Currents and Susan Rosenberg, relates to these earlier movements:
Black Lives Matter (BLM)
Overview:
BLM is a contemporary social movement founded in 2013 to address systemic racism, police brutality, and racial inequality.
The movement uses various tactics, including protests, advocacy, and policy reform efforts, to achieve its goals.
Connections to Thousand Currents and Susan Rosenberg
Thousand Currents:
Thousand Currents is a nonprofit organization that provided fiscal sponsorship to the BLM Global Network Foundation. This means they managed the funds and donations for BLM, allowing it to operate more effectively.
Susan Rosenberg:
Susan Rosenberg, a board member of Thousand Currents until 2020, was a former member of the M19CO. She was convicted for her involvement in illegal activities, including a weapons possession charge and connection to armed robberies, and later received a commutation of her sentence by President Bill Clinton.
Historical and Ideological Links
May 19th Communist Organization (M19CO)
Overview: M19CO was a militant far-left group active in the 1970s and 1980s, known for its revolutionary activities, including bombings and armed robberies.
Connection: Susan Rosenberg’s involvement with M19CO ties her directly to BLM through her later role at Thousand Currents.
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Days of Rage
Overview: SDS was a prominent student activist organization in the 1960s that focused on civil rights, anti-war protests, and social justice. The Days of Rage was a series of protests organized by a militant faction of SDS, the Weather Underground, in 1969.
Connection: SDS and the Weather Underground's tactics and philosophies influenced later movements, including M19CO. The radical elements within SDS and the Weather Underground, particularly their use of direct action and confrontation, set a precedent for later groups like M19CO and, by extension, influenced individuals like Susan Rosenberg.
Antifa, short for "anti-fascist," and the German Communist Party (KPD) share historical and ideological roots, particularly in their opposition to fascism.
Historical Context and Origins German Communist Party (KPD)
Origins: The KPD was founded in 1918-1919 in Germany, emerging from the Spartacist League. It aimed to establish a communist state in Germany, inspired by the Russian Revolution.
Origins: The term "Antifa" originated from "Antifaschistische Aktion," a militant anti-fascist group founded by the KPD in 1932. This group was established to combat the Nazi Party and other far-right movements in Germany.
Activities: Antifaschistische Aktion engaged in street battles, propaganda, and other direct actions to oppose the Nazis. The group was dissolved after the Nazis came to power in 1933 and banned all communist organizations.