Extract: Order reigns in Berlin
On the 97 anniversary of Rosa Luxemburg‘s murder, Jonas Liston introduces an extract from her final article “Order Reigns in Berlin“. In November 1918, a revolt of German sailors and soldiers sparked a mass workers’ revolution that would see the establishment of democratic workers’ councils, the end of World War One and the abdication […]
Sexism is not an imported product
Dozens of women were sexually harassed on New Year’s Eve in Germany. But rather than connecting the events to everyday sexist violence in Germany, the political and media establishments have focused on the nationalities of the alleged perpetrators argue Silke Stöckle and Marion Wegscheider. Originally published in German by marx21, translated into English by Kate Davison. […]
A homosexual Christmas in 1905 Berlin
Colin Wilson rediscovers a forgotten chapter of LGBT history in this account of a “uranian” Christmas, written by a leading campaigner over a hundred years ago. Magnus Hirschfeld was a doctor and a leader of the German LGBT movement from the 1890s to the 1930s.The text translated here is an excerpt from one of his earliest books, […]
Migration FAQ: why now?
Nick Evans answers some common questions around the migration crisis Why now? More people around the world were forcibly displaced in 2014 than ever before in recorded history. Of those 59.5 million people, 19.5 million were classed by the UN as refugees. The overwhelming majority of those refugees were hosted in developing regions, but unprecedented numbers have […]
Making live and letting die: ‘refugees’, ‘migrants’ and Fortress Europe
Chloe Haralambous reports on the refugee crisis from the Greek island of Lesvos and examines the function of the division between ‘refugees’ and ‘economic migrants’.
Refugee crisis: Merkel’s double game
The media has shown refugees being welcomed to Germany, and Cameron’s response has been so inadequate he’s made even Angela Merkel look good. But, as Mark Bergfeld writes from Germany, the government there has its own motivations – and the welcome of the last few days may quickly sour. The media here is full of photos, videos […]
Britain and Europe after the general election: An interview with John Palmer
John Palmer was a leading member of the International Socialists from 1959 until 1975. He later worked in Brussels as the European editor of the Guardian. With a referendum on the EU looming, we interviewed him on its history, institutions, and the truth behind the Tory bluster. rs21: Could you say something about the terms […]
Book review: Radio Benjamin
Andrew Neeson reviews a collection of Walter Benjamin’s radio scripts Radio Benjamin This review first appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of the rs21 magazine In the early days of radio, Marxist critic Walter Benjamin wrote and presented 80 plus broadcasts on German radio. For the first time in English, Radio Benjamin is the full […]
Germany 1918-23: A forgotten history of revolution
Joe Sabatini reviews a collection of articles about how the German Communist Party organised in the early 1920s – only a few years after revolution had swept through Germany – and translates two of the pieces. Best of KPD: Linke Organisierung Damals Und Heute – in English Left Organisation Then and Now – is a […]
East Germany, 1989: when power was in the street
Within a few weeks in the autumn of 1989 a regime fell which had seemed invulnerable. While Reagan and Thatcher seek to take credit for these events, the truth is that millions of East German people took their destiny into their own hands.
World War One: The main enemy was at home
Karl Liebknecht’s burning words of opposition to the imperialist slaughter of World War One.
2013 in YouTube videos
Mark Bergfeld collects videos showing episodes of resistance from across the world in 2013.