Heinrich Laufenberg
Encyclopedia
Heinrich Laufenberg was a leading German
communist
and was one of the first to develop the idea of National Bolshevism
. Laufenberg was a history academic by profession and was also known by the pseudonym Karl Erler.
, Laufenberg joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany
(SPD) in the early 1900s. He became associated with a faction on the left of the party led by Wilhelm Schmitt and Peter Berten and when this group gained the upper hand within the Düsseldorf
party in 1904 Laufenberg was appointed editor of the party organ Volkszeitung. Laufenberg also worked as an educationalist within the party, offering basic courses on socialism
to party members of Düsseldorf. At this point in his career Laufenberg endorsed orthodox Marxism
and supported Clara Zetkin
in her ideological struggles with revisionists
like Gerhard Hildebrand
. He left the city in 1908 when he moved to Hamburg
, leaving the Düsseldorf group without their leading intellectual.
splinter group. A harsh critic of German involvement in the First World War, Laufenberg's popularity grew as the war dragged on and people began to tire of involvement in the conflict.
On 30 November 1918, during the German Revolution, he was elected President of the Council of the Workmen and Soldiers of Hamburg. As head of this group Laufenberg oversaw the dissolution of Hamburg's Senate and Bürgerschaft
and their replacement with full Council government. Before long however he agreed to bring the two institutions back in what was seen as a concession to the city's business interests. Indeed the banks in the city had threatened to withdraw credit to the city authorities if these institutions were not re-established. Under Laufenberg's lead the city suffered from severe food shortages and widespread strikes, resulting in his power base being eradicated further. Hamstrung by his reliance on the banks and criticism from the SPD Laufenberg's stock fell dramatically and he faced widespread demonstrations against his leadership. Unable to sustain his position, Laufenberg resigned on 19 January 1919 and handed leadership of the Council over to the SPD.
(KPD) and before long the local party had come under the control of Laufenberg and his ally Fritz Wolffheim
. The pair were strong critics German imperialism, producing a 1915 pamphlet against German expansionism and attacking the SPD for being, as they saw it, complicit in such aggression. Following the war, in October 1919, the pair made contact with Karl Radek
and suggested a policy to him that they were already calling 'National Bolshevism' (although it has also been suggested that it was Radek who coined the term for Laufenberg and Wolffheim's policy). They sought a dictatorship of the proletariat
which would harness German nationalism
and place the country back on a war footing against the occupying Allied
armies in alliance with the Soviet Union
. Within such an ideology the need for class war
was to be placed to one side in favour of cross class co-operation in a war of national liberation. The idea initially met with some enthusiasm amongst members of the Spartacus League.
Such support soon ebbed however when Vladimir Lenin
publicly denounced the policy, claiming that Laufenberg was seeking a war coalition with the German bourgeoisie
, before branding him as "absurd". Soon Laufenberg and Wolffheim were expelled from the KPD after they attempted to resist the leadership of Wilhelm Pieck
. Radek, after showing initial enthusiasm, soon also denounced Laufenberg's National Bolshevism vehemently.
(KAPD), joining Wolffheim at the Heidelberg
conference establishing the party. By 1920 however he had been expelled from the party, with his national Bolshevism the official reason for his departure. Laufenberg became persona non grata in German communist circles and Radek, who had earlier been a critic, was accused of following his ways when he made a speech praising Albert Leo Schlageter
in 1923. Unlike his ally Wolffheim, who became involved in groups on the fringes of the Nazi Party, he retired from politics and in 1932 was mourned as a pioneer of National Bolshevism by Ernst Niekisch
who wrote that "in 1919 Laufenberg already thought in terms of continents".
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and was one of the first to develop the idea of National Bolshevism
National Bolshevism
National Bolshevism is a political movement that claims to combine elements of nationalism and Bolshevism. It is often anti-capitalist in tone, and sympathetic towards certain nationalist forms of communism and socialism...
. Laufenberg was a history academic by profession and was also known by the pseudonym Karl Erler.
SPD activism
Initially a member of the Centre PartyCentre Party (Germany)
The German Centre Party was a Catholic political party in Germany during the Kaiserreich and the Weimar Republic. Formed in 1870, it battled the Kulturkampf which the Prussian government launched to reduce the power of the Catholic Church...
, Laufenberg joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
(SPD) in the early 1900s. He became associated with a faction on the left of the party led by Wilhelm Schmitt and Peter Berten and when this group gained the upper hand within the Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
party in 1904 Laufenberg was appointed editor of the party organ Volkszeitung. Laufenberg also worked as an educationalist within the party, offering basic courses on socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
to party members of Düsseldorf. At this point in his career Laufenberg endorsed orthodox Marxism
Orthodox Marxism
Orthodox Marxism is the term used to describe the version of Marxism which emerged after the death of Karl Marx and acted as the official philosophy of the Second International up to the First World War and of the Third International thereafter...
and supported Clara Zetkin
Clara Zetkin
Clara Zetkin was a German Marxist theorist, activist, and fighter for women's rights. In 1910, she organized the first International Women's Day....
in her ideological struggles with revisionists
Revisionism (Marxism)
Within the Marxist movement, the word revisionism is used to refer to various ideas, principles and theories that are based on a significant revision of fundamental Marxist premises. The term is most often used by those Marxists who believe that such revisions are unwarranted and represent a...
like Gerhard Hildebrand
Gerhard Hildebrand
Gerhard Hildebrand , was a German journalist and from 1903 on member of the Social Democratic Party. His main work was the book The concussion of the industrial dominion and of the industrial socialism, published in 1910, where he doubted that an economy should be socialised completely...
. He left the city in 1908 when he moved to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, leaving the Düsseldorf group without their leading intellectual.
Hamburg leadership
In Hamburg Laufenberg continued to work on the left of the SPD before becoming a member of the Independent Social Democratic Party of GermanyIndependent Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany was a short-lived political party in Germany during the Second Reich and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of left wing members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany...
splinter group. A harsh critic of German involvement in the First World War, Laufenberg's popularity grew as the war dragged on and people began to tire of involvement in the conflict.
On 30 November 1918, during the German Revolution, he was elected President of the Council of the Workmen and Soldiers of Hamburg. As head of this group Laufenberg oversaw the dissolution of Hamburg's Senate and Bürgerschaft
Hamburg Parliament
The Hamburg Parliament is the unicameral legislature of the German state of Hamburg according to the constitution of Hamburg. As of 2011 there were 121 members in the parliament, representing a relatively equal amount of constituencies...
and their replacement with full Council government. Before long however he agreed to bring the two institutions back in what was seen as a concession to the city's business interests. Indeed the banks in the city had threatened to withdraw credit to the city authorities if these institutions were not re-established. Under Laufenberg's lead the city suffered from severe food shortages and widespread strikes, resulting in his power base being eradicated further. Hamstrung by his reliance on the banks and criticism from the SPD Laufenberg's stock fell dramatically and he faced widespread demonstrations against his leadership. Unable to sustain his position, Laufenberg resigned on 19 January 1919 and handed leadership of the Council over to the SPD.
National Bolshevism
Before long Laufenberg moved towards the Communist Party of GermanyCommunist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
(KPD) and before long the local party had come under the control of Laufenberg and his ally Fritz Wolffheim
Fritz Wolffheim
Fritz Wolffheim was a German communist politician and writer. He was a leading figure in the National Bolshevism tendency that was briefly influential in Germany after World War I.-Early life:...
. The pair were strong critics German imperialism, producing a 1915 pamphlet against German expansionism and attacking the SPD for being, as they saw it, complicit in such aggression. Following the war, in October 1919, the pair made contact with Karl Radek
Karl Radek
Karl Bernhardovic Radek was a socialist active in the Polish and German movements before World War I and an international Communist leader after the Russian Revolution....
and suggested a policy to him that they were already calling 'National Bolshevism' (although it has also been suggested that it was Radek who coined the term for Laufenberg and Wolffheim's policy). They sought a dictatorship of the proletariat
Dictatorship of the proletariat
In Marxist socio-political thought, the dictatorship of the proletariat refers to a socialist state in which the proletariat, or the working class, have control of political power. The term, coined by Joseph Weydemeyer, was adopted by the founders of Marxism, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, in the...
which would harness German nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
and place the country back on a war footing against the occupying Allied
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
armies in alliance with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Within such an ideology the need for class war
Class conflict
Class conflict is the tension or antagonism which exists in society due to competing socioeconomic interests between people of different classes....
was to be placed to one side in favour of cross class co-operation in a war of national liberation. The idea initially met with some enthusiasm amongst members of the Spartacus League.
Such support soon ebbed however when Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
publicly denounced the policy, claiming that Laufenberg was seeking a war coalition with the German bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
, before branding him as "absurd". Soon Laufenberg and Wolffheim were expelled from the KPD after they attempted to resist the leadership of Wilhelm Pieck
Wilhelm Pieck
Friedrich Wilhelm Reinhold Pieck was a German politician and a Communist. In 1949, he became the first President of the German Democratic Republic, an office abolished upon his death. He was succeeded by Walter Ulbricht, who served as Chairman of the Council of States.-Biography:Pieck was born to...
. Radek, after showing initial enthusiasm, soon also denounced Laufenberg's National Bolshevism vehemently.
Later years
Laufenberg went on to become a founder member of the Communist Workers Party of GermanyCommunist Workers Party of Germany
The Communist Workers Party of Germany was an anti-parliamentarian and council communist party that was active in Germany during the time of the Weimar Republic. It was founded in April 1920 in Heidelberg as a split from the Communist Party of Germany...
(KAPD), joining Wolffheim at the Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
conference establishing the party. By 1920 however he had been expelled from the party, with his national Bolshevism the official reason for his departure. Laufenberg became persona non grata in German communist circles and Radek, who had earlier been a critic, was accused of following his ways when he made a speech praising Albert Leo Schlageter
Albert Leo Schlageter
Albert Leo Schlageter was a member of the German Freikorps. His activities sabotaging French occupying troops after World War I led to his arrest and eventual execution by French forces. His death created an image of martyrdom around him, which was cultivated by German nationalist groups, in...
in 1923. Unlike his ally Wolffheim, who became involved in groups on the fringes of the Nazi Party, he retired from politics and in 1932 was mourned as a pioneer of National Bolshevism by Ernst Niekisch
Ernst Niekisch
Ernst Niekisch was a German politician. Initially associated with mainstream left-wing politics he later became a Prominent exponent of National Bolshevism.-Bavaria:...
who wrote that "in 1919 Laufenberg already thought in terms of continents".