Revolutionäre Gewerkschafts Opposition
Encyclopedia
The Revolutionäre Gewerkschafts Opposition (Revolutionary Union Opposition) was the communist union in Germany during the Weimar Republic
. It went underground after the Nazi Party seized control of the government and continued operating until it was crushed by the Nazis in 1935.
) and the KPD had both wanted to create their own revolutionary unions and had attempted to use the Union of Manual and Intellectual Workers
, which had a high proportion of KPD members within its ranks, to that end. The KPD's relationship with the Union was strained by the lack of discipline within the Union and eventually, the relationship was ended.
In 1928, after the 4th World Congress of the Profintern
and the 6th World Congress of the Comintern, an ultra left position was taken by communists toward social democrats
, branding them as social fascists
. Efforts to establish an independent union were renewed, and the KPD began to systematically set up an opposing faction within the Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund
(ADGB).
On March 14, 1929, the central committee of the Communist Party of Germany
(KPD) decided to register as members people who had been expelled as radicals from a trade union. In June 1929, Michael Niederkirchner was expelled from the German Metal Workers' Federation and founded an aid organization for others who had been expelled, which later became the core of the RGO. The KPD founded the RGO in December 1929 with the idea of consolidating the left within the ADGB. Those KPD members still in the ADGB became the principle opposition from within.
As of 1930, the RGO was promoted as a "red class
trade union" and several cross-over campaigns were initiated, but never to great success. The RGO had a membership in 1932 of about 250,000 members. Large sections of the unionist wing of the KPD left the Party and more than half of the RGO was unemployed. To bolster appearances, the RGO counted only admissions, not those who dropped out. Because the communists lost influence in the trade unions from people leaving, and to a lesser extent, from expulsions, in 1931, they changed their strategy. Communists were to mount opposition within the ADGB and other such groups in order to strengthen "red associations", organizations that would develop into communist unions. This turned the RGO into a communist front
organization, but it was unable to convert itself into a communist union movement. The three largest "red associations" organized were in metalworking, mining and construction and even they were never more than 1% of the workforce. The RGO leadership was never elected at normal union meetings, rather it emerged from the trade union section of the KPD's central committee.
In 1932, the RGO attracted national attention when they joined the National Socialist labor union to strike
against the Berlin Transportation Company
(BVG) after they enacted wage cuts. The RGO joined the strike in order to support a wildcat strike by the BVG workforce which had been rejected by the unions. After the Nazis seized power
, they crushed the unions. The free trade unions of the ADGB were stormed on May 2, 1933; the RGO went underground and continued to function until it was crushed in 1935.
, the Free German Trade Union Federation
was established in East Germany as a unified trade union for communists and others. In the 1970s, the maoist
Communist Party of Germany (Structural Organization) and the KPD/Marxist-Leninist tried to revive the RGO, but had little success.
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
. It went underground after the Nazi Party seized control of the government and continued operating until it was crushed by the Nazis in 1935.
Weimar era
The Communist International, (CominternComintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
) and the KPD had both wanted to create their own revolutionary unions and had attempted to use the Union of Manual and Intellectual Workers
Union of Manual and Intellectual Workers
The Union of Manual and Intellectual Workers was a German trade union that was politically close to the Communist Party of Germany...
, which had a high proportion of KPD members within its ranks, to that end. The KPD's relationship with the Union was strained by the lack of discipline within the Union and eventually, the relationship was ended.
In 1928, after the 4th World Congress of the Profintern
Profintern
The Red International of Labor Unions , commonly known as the Profintern, was an international body established by the Communist International with the aim of coordinating Communist activities within trade unions...
and the 6th World Congress of the Comintern, an ultra left position was taken by communists toward social democrats
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
, branding them as social fascists
Social fascism
Social fascism was a theory supported by the Communist International during the early 1930s, which believed that social democracy was a variant of fascism because, in addition to a shared corporatist economic model, it stood in the way of a complete and final transition to communism...
. Efforts to establish an independent union were renewed, and the KPD began to systematically set up an opposing faction within the Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund
Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund
The Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund was a confederation of German trade unions in Germany founded during the Weimar Republic. It was founded in 1919 and was initially powerful enough to organize a general strike in 1920 against a right-wing coup d'état. After the 1929 Wall Street crash,...
(ADGB).
On March 14, 1929, the central committee of the Communist Party of Germany
Communist 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) decided to register as members people who had been expelled as radicals from a trade union. In June 1929, Michael Niederkirchner was expelled from the German Metal Workers' Federation and founded an aid organization for others who had been expelled, which later became the core of the RGO. The KPD founded the RGO in December 1929 with the idea of consolidating the left within the ADGB. Those KPD members still in the ADGB became the principle opposition from within.
As of 1930, the RGO was promoted as a "red class
Class struggle
Class struggle is the active expression of a class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote "The [written] history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle"....
trade union" and several cross-over campaigns were initiated, but never to great success. The RGO had a membership in 1932 of about 250,000 members. Large sections of the unionist wing of the KPD left the Party and more than half of the RGO was unemployed. To bolster appearances, the RGO counted only admissions, not those who dropped out. Because the communists lost influence in the trade unions from people leaving, and to a lesser extent, from expulsions, in 1931, they changed their strategy. Communists were to mount opposition within the ADGB and other such groups in order to strengthen "red associations", organizations that would develop into communist unions. This turned the RGO into a communist front
Communist front
A Communist front organization is an organization identified to be a front organization under the effective control of a Communist party, the Communist International or other Communist organizations. Lenin originated the idea in his manifesto of 1902, "What Is to Be Done?"...
organization, but it was unable to convert itself into a communist union movement. The three largest "red associations" organized were in metalworking, mining and construction and even they were never more than 1% of the workforce. The RGO leadership was never elected at normal union meetings, rather it emerged from the trade union section of the KPD's central committee.
In 1932, the RGO attracted national attention when they joined the National Socialist labor union to strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
against the Berlin Transportation Company
Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe
The is the main public transport company of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It manages the city's U-Bahn underground railway, tram, bus and ferry networks, but not the S-Bahn urban rail system....
(BVG) after they enacted wage cuts. The RGO joined the strike in order to support a wildcat strike by the BVG workforce which had been rejected by the unions. After the Nazis seized power
Machtergreifung
Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
, they crushed the unions. The free trade unions of the ADGB were stormed on May 2, 1933; the RGO went underground and continued to function until it was crushed in 1935.
Postwar era
After World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Free German Trade Union Federation
Free German Trade Union Federation
The Free German Trade Union Federation, in German Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund , was the trade union federation in East Germany. It was part of the National Front and had representatives in the Volkskammer....
was established in East Germany as a unified trade union for communists and others. In the 1970s, the maoist
Maoism
Maoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
Communist Party of Germany (Structural Organization) and the KPD/Marxist-Leninist tried to revive the RGO, but had little success.