Conciliator faction
Encyclopedia
The Conciliator faction was an opposition group within the Communist Party of Germany
during the Weimar Republic
and the Third Reich. In East Germany, after World War II
, the German word for conciliator, Versöhnler, became a term for anti-marxist
political tendencies.
. Meyer, a high-ranking member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), was elected to its central committee
in 1927. Along with the faction led by Ernst Thälmann
, they formed the leadership of the KPD from 1926 to 1928.
The leading people aligned with Meyer were Hugo Eberlein
, Arthur Ewert, Heinrich Süßkind, Gerhart Eisler
and Georg Schumann and came from the ranks of trade union
ists, intellectuals and full-time KPD employees. They supported a united front
with the Social Democratic Party of Germany
, similar to the right wing of the KPD, aligned with August Thalheimer
and Heinrich Brandler
. They also pushed for active participation with the Federation of General Trade Unions in Germany (Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund
), a federation of socialist trade unions
. They opposed the ultra-left policies of the Revolutionary Trade Union Opposition against the International Federation of Trade Unions
, who were social democrats. Adopted in 1928 by the Profintern
, the party line
branded the social democrats as "social fascists
". The Conciliator faction refrained from criticizing the hegemony of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
in the Comintern
and they rejected all suggestion of a split in the KPD.
A series of events between 1928 and 1930 led to a loss of their influence in the KPD. In autumn 1928, there was a scandal
involving a close friend of Thälmann, John Wittorf, who was accused of embezzling between 1,500 and 3,000 Reichmarks from the KPD. He was defended by Thälmann, despite his guilt. Afterward, Thälmann was deposed from the party's central committee, with support of the Conciliator faction. Thälmann was soon reinstated by Joseph Stalin
and the Conciliator faction was driven out of the KPD leadership. With Meyer's death in early 1930, the Conciliator faction lost a large part of its influence in the KPD and afterward, found themselves needing to be discreet. Pressure from Stalin led to the expulsion and defamation of several members. Individual, unaffiliated Conciliator groups began to emerge. In Hamburg
, a group was formed by Hans Westermann
in Hamburg
. Eduard Wald
founded the Committee for Proletarian Unity (Komitee für Proletarische Einheit) working primarily in Hanover
. Others joined the Socialist Workers' Party
or the Social Democratic Party
(SPD).
After 1933, when the Nazi Party seized control
of the government, the Conciliators joined the German Resistance
, both unaffiliated groups and those still in the KPD, such as the "Berlin Opposition" aligned with Karl Volk
and Georg Krausz. There was a meeting of Conciliators in Zurich in 1933 and one group published a magazine in exile, called Funke. By 1940, many Conciliator groups had disintegrated, primarily because of repression by the Gestapo
. Other prominent members, such as Eberlein and Süßkind, fell victim to the stalinist
purges
. Most members who survived the war rejoined the KPD and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
(SED) and some joined the SPD.
(GDR) to refer to anti-marxist tendencies. The term had been previously used by Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin to vilify certain party members. The third party convention of the SED continued the attack on Social Democratism, with propaganda including the fight against all liberalism and conciliatory tendencies as essential to the fight's effectiveness. The 1984 Handbuch der deutschen Gegenwartsprache ("Handbook of German Contemporary Speech") published in the GDR defined versöhnler as "within the labor movement, someone who exhibits unprincipled anti-marxist behavior, fomenting right or left opportunism".
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...
during the Weimar Republic
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...
and the Third Reich. In East Germany, after World War II
World 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 German word for conciliator, Versöhnler, became a term for anti-marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
political tendencies.
Background
The faction emerged in the mid-1920s from the "middle group" aligned with Ernst MeyerErnst Meyer (German politician)
Ernst Meyer was a German Communist political activist and politician. He is best remembered as a founding member and top leader of the Communist Party of Germany and as the leader of that party's fraction in the Prussian Landtag...
. Meyer, a high-ranking member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), was elected to its central committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
in 1927. Along with the faction led by Ernst Thälmann
Ernst Thälmann
Ernst Thälmann was the leader of the Communist Party of Germany during much of the Weimar Republic. He was arrested by the Gestapo in 1933 and held in solitary confinement for eleven years, before being shot in Buchenwald on Adolf Hitler's orders in 1944...
, they formed the leadership of the KPD from 1926 to 1928.
The leading people aligned with Meyer were Hugo Eberlein
Hugo Eberlein
Hugo Eberlein was a German Communist politician. He took part of the founding congress of the Communist Party of Germany , and then in the First Congress of the Comintern , where he held important posts until 1928, the result of his involvement with the Conciliator faction...
, Arthur Ewert, Heinrich Süßkind, Gerhart Eisler
Gerhart Eisler
Gerhart Eisler was a German politician. Along with his sister Ruth Fischer, he was a very early member of the Austrian German Communist Party and then a prominent member of the Communist Party of Germany during the Weimar Republic...
and Georg Schumann and came from the ranks of trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ists, intellectuals and full-time KPD employees. They supported a united front
United front
The united front is a form of struggle that may be pursued by revolutionaries. The basic theory of the united front tactic was first developed by the Comintern, an international communist organisation created by revolutionaries in the wake of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.According to the theses of...
with 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...
, similar to the right wing of the KPD, aligned with August Thalheimer
August Thalheimer
August Thalheimer was a German Marxist activist and theoretician.-Early years:August Thalheimer was born 18 March 1884 in Affaltrach, now called Obersulm, Württemberg, Germany.-Political career:...
and Heinrich Brandler
Heinrich Brandler
Heinrich Brandler was a German communist trade unionist, politician, revolutionary activist, and writer. Brandler is best remember as the head of the Communist Party of Germany during the party's ill-fated "March Action" of 1921 and aborted uprising of 1923, for which he was held responsible by...
. They also pushed for active participation with the Federation of General Trade Unions in Germany (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,...
), a federation of socialist trade unions
Free Trade Unions (Germany)
The Free Trade Unions comprised the socialist trade union movement in Germany from 1890 to 1933. The term distinguished them from the liberal and Christian labor unions in Germany...
. They opposed the ultra-left policies of the Revolutionary Trade Union Opposition against the International Federation of Trade Unions
International Federation of Trade Unions
The International Federation of Trade Unions was an international organization of trade unions, existing between 1919 and 1945. IFTU had its roots in the pre-war IFTU....
, who were social democrats. Adopted in 1928 by 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...
, the party line
Party line (politics)
In politics, the line or the party line is an idiom for a political party or social movement's canon agenda, as well as specific ideological elements specific to the organization's partisanship. The common phrase toeing the party line describes a person who speaks in a manner that conforms to his...
branded the social democrats 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...
". The Conciliator faction refrained from criticizing the hegemony of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
in the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
and they rejected all suggestion of a split in the KPD.
A series of events between 1928 and 1930 led to a loss of their influence in the KPD. In autumn 1928, there was a scandal
Wittorf affair
The Wittorf affair was an embezzlement scandal in Germany in 1928. John Wittorf, an official of the Communist Party , was a close friend and protégé of party chairman Ernst Thälmann. Thälmann tried to cover up the embezzlement, for which he was ousted from the central committee...
involving a close friend of Thälmann, John Wittorf, who was accused of embezzling between 1,500 and 3,000 Reichmarks from the KPD. He was defended by Thälmann, despite his guilt. Afterward, Thälmann was deposed from the party's central committee, with support of the Conciliator faction. Thälmann was soon reinstated by Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
and the Conciliator faction was driven out of the KPD leadership. With Meyer's death in early 1930, the Conciliator faction lost a large part of its influence in the KPD and afterward, found themselves needing to be discreet. Pressure from Stalin led to the expulsion and defamation of several members. Individual, unaffiliated Conciliator groups began to emerge. In 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...
, a group was formed by Hans Westermann
Hans Westermann
Hans Westermann was a German Communist, politician and fighter in the German Resistance against the Third Reich. He died in Nazi custody days after being arrested by the Gestapo.- Biography :...
in 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...
. Eduard Wald
Eduard Wald
Eduard Wald was a Communist politician, trade unionist and member of the German Resistance against Nazism.- Biography :...
founded the Committee for Proletarian Unity (Komitee für Proletarische Einheit) working primarily in Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
. Others joined the Socialist Workers' Party
Socialist Workers' Party of Germany
The Socialist Workers' Party of Germany was a political party in Germany. It was formed by a left-wing party with around 20,000 members which split off from the SPD in the autumn of 1931. In 1931 the remnants of USPD merged into the party, and in 1932 some Communist Party dissenters joined the...
or the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
(SPD).
After 1933, when the Nazi Party seized control
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...
of the government, the Conciliators joined the German Resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
, both unaffiliated groups and those still in the KPD, such as the "Berlin Opposition" aligned with Karl Volk
Karl Volk
Karl Volk was a Communist politician, journalist and German Resistance fighter against Nazism.- Biography :Volk was born in Schowkwa, Galizien to a middle-class Jewish family and grew up in Moravian Prostějov, where he attended gymnasium. He studied economics and philosophy at Charles University...
and Georg Krausz. There was a meeting of Conciliators in Zurich in 1933 and one group published a magazine in exile, called Funke. By 1940, many Conciliator groups had disintegrated, primarily because of repression by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
. Other prominent members, such as Eberlein and Süßkind, fell victim to the stalinist
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
purges
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
. Most members who survived the war rejoined the KPD and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
(SED) and some joined the SPD.
Postwar term
After the war, the German word for conciliator, versöhnler, was used in the German Democratic RepublicGerman Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
(GDR) to refer to anti-marxist tendencies. The term had been previously used by Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin to vilify certain party members. The third party convention of the SED continued the attack on Social Democratism, with propaganda including the fight against all liberalism and conciliatory tendencies as essential to the fight's effectiveness. The 1984 Handbuch der deutschen Gegenwartsprache ("Handbook of German Contemporary Speech") published in the GDR defined versöhnler as "within the labor movement, someone who exhibits unprincipled anti-marxist behavior, fomenting right or left opportunism".
External links
- Letters: Karl Volk (scroll down, don't use hot link) Revolutionary History. Retrieved July 18, 2011