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The Dutch and German Communist Left (1900–68) ..................................................................................................................1 “NEITHER LENIN NOR TROTSKI NOR STALIN!” ............................................................................................................................1 AKNOWLEDGMENT..................................................................................................................................................................7 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................................8 PART 1: FROM TRIBUNISM TO COMMUNISM (1900-18) .....................................................................................................13 CHAPTER 1: ORIGINS AND FORMATION OF THE ‘TRIBUNIST’ CURRENT (1900-14): ...............................................................................14 A short outline of Dutch history .....................................................................................................................................14 The beginnings of the workers’ movement....................................................................................................................16 Domela Nieuwenhuis, the SDB and the SDAP .............................................................................................................17 Domela Nieuwenhuis and the roots of ‘councilism’ .......................................................................................................21 The beginnings of the SDAP – The three Marxist generations – Troelstra and the right of the party............................24 Marxism’s first struggles against revisionism ................................................................................................................29 The 1903 transport strikes ............................................................................................................................................30 The Marxist opposition within the SDAP (1903–1907)..................................................................................................33 The birth of the ‘Tribunist’ movement............................................................................................................................37 The split at the Extraordinary Congress of Deventer (13 th –14 th February 1909) ...........................................................40 The SDP‘s Activity in Holland up until 1914 ..................................................................................................................44 The SDP and the colonial question – The Tribunists and Sneevliet in Indonesia .........................................................47 The Dutch left and its influence on German radicalism.................................................................................................51 CHAPTER 2: PANNEKOEK AND ‘DUTCH’ MARXISM IN THE SECOND INTERNATIONAL ...............................................................................58 The philosophical bases of radical Marxism in Holland.................................................................................................60 The ideological obstacles to the proletarian revolution..................................................................................................67 From the mass strike to the proletarian revolution ........................................................................................................71 War or world revolution? ...............................................................................................................................................82 CHAPTER 3: THE DUTCH TRIBUNIST CURRENT AND WORLD WAR I (1914-18) ....................................................................89 Social democracy and Tribunism facing the war...........................................................................................................89 Gorter’s political and theoretical combat against the war..............................................................................................93 The SDP and the Zimmerwald Conference...................................................................................................................97 The development of the SDP: between revolution and opportunism ..........................................................................101 The SDP in 1917: its attitude to the Russian Revolution.............................................................................................105 1918: between revolution and opportunism. The birth of the Dutch Communist Party................................................110 Part 2: THE DUTCH COMMUNIST LEFT AND THE WORLD REVOLUTION (1919-27) ......................................................115 CHAPTER 4 : THE DUTCH LEFT IN THE KOMINTERN (1919-20) ...............................................................................................116 The left currents in the Komintern in 1919. .................................................................................................................117 The German Question.................................................................................................................................................120 The Amsterdam Bureau (1919-20)..............................................................................................................................122 The KAPD and the Dutch minority of the CPN............................................................................................................126 The turning point of the 2 nd Congress: infantile or lethal disorder of communism? .....................................................130 Communist Left’s arguments against Lenin’s book Left Wing Communism, An Infantile Disorder .............................133 CHAPTER 5: GORTER, THE KAPD AND THE FOUNDATION OF THE COMMUNIST WORKERS’ INTERNATIONAL (1921- 27)........................................................................................................................................................................................................145 The retreat of the world revolution. – The 1921 ‘Kronstadt tragedy’ and March Action...............................................145 Gorter, the KAPD and the building of the KAI .............................................................................................................160 The split in the KAPD and its international consequences ..........................................................................................166 Part 3: THE GIC FROM 1927 TO 1940..................................................................................................................................175 THE GROUP OF INTERNATIONAL COMMUNISTS (FROM LEFT COMMUNISM TO COUNCIL COMMUNISM) ...................................................176 The origins of the GIC.................................................................................................................................................176 The GIC press.............................................................................................................................................................177 4
Intervention in the class struggle and the GIC’s audience ..........................................................................................178 The functioning of the GIC: the working groups ..........................................................................................................180 The GIC’s militants......................................................................................................................................................181 CHAPTER 6: THE BIRTH OF THE GIC (1927-33)............................................................................................................................185 The break with the KAPD............................................................................................................................................185 The GIC and the international regroupment of council communists (1929-32) ...........................................................192 Hitler’s coming to power and its consequences. – The GIC and the German situation...............................................198 Dutch Council Communism and Van der Lubbe .........................................................................................................201 CHAPTER 7: TOWARDS A NEW WORKERS’ MOVEMENT? A COUNCIL COMMUNIST BALANCE SHEET (1933-35).....206 German council communism after 1933. – Relationship with the GIC. – Definition of the ‘councilist’ current .............206 The adoption of the Theses on Bolshevism (1934).....................................................................................................209 Towards a new workers’ movement? — The Theses of the GIC (1935).....................................................................214 An ‘economist’ vision of the revolution? The Grundprinzipien.....................................................................................221 An anti-Leninist philosophy? – Pannekoek’s book: Lenin as Philosopher (1938) .......................................................228 CHAPTER 8: TOWARDS STATE CAPITALISM: FASCISM, ANTI-FASCISM, DEMOCRACY, STALINISM, POPULAR FRONTS: THE “INEVITABLE WAR” (1933-39) .............................................................................................................................239 The Theories of Capitalist Collapse ............................................................................................................................239 Fascism and anti-fascism............................................................................................................................................242 The Question of State Capitalism ...............................................................................................................................245 Class Struggle and the Popular Front: a new course?................................................................................................249 The ‘Inevitable War’. – War and war economy............................................................................................................252 CHAPTER 9 : THE DUTCH INTERNATIONALIST COMMUNISTS AND THE EVENTS IN SPAIN (1936-37) .........................256 The divisions of the Dutch council communism ..........................................................................................................257 The lessons drawn by the GIC from the events in Spain ............................................................................................258 The GIC and the anarchist current..............................................................................................................................263 The GIC and the Paris International conference on Spain (March 1937)....................................................................266 PART 4 : COUNCIL COMMUNISM DURING AND AFTER THE WAR (1939-68).......................................................................269 CHAPTER 10 : FROM THE “MARX – LENIN – LUXEMBURG FRONT” TO THE COMMUNISTENBOND SPARTACUS” (1940-42) ............................................................................................................................................................................................270 The Dutch council communism and the war ...............................................................................................................270 Pannekoek and the war. The Workers’ Councils ........................................................................................................271 From the RSAP to the ‘MarxLenin–Luxembourg Front’. – The ‘third front’ against the war.........................................276 The strike of February 1941 and its political consequences........................................................................................280 The rejection of the defence of the USSR. – The break with trotskyism .....................................................................283 The decapitation of the MLL Front leadership (1942)..................................................................................................285 CHAPTER 11: THE COMMUNISTENBOND SPARTACUS AND THE COUNCIL COMMUNIST CURRENT (1942-68).......................................286 The birth of the ‘Communistenbond‘ (1942-45)...........................................................................................................286 The Bond from 1945 to 1947 ......................................................................................................................................292 Political balance-sheet of the Communistenbond .......................................................................................................301 The Brussels International Conference (25–26 May 1947) .........................................................................................307 Return to the positions of the GIC...............................................................................................................................312 The decline of Dutch ‘councilism’................................................................................................................................314 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................................................................323 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................................................................332 Available sources ...................................................................................................................................................................331 Papers and reviews................................................................................................................................................................335 Texts ......................................................................................................................................................................................345 Eye-witness accounts ............................................................................................................................................................359 Specialised studies ................................................................................................................................................................361 5
Page 1 and 2: PHILIPPE BOURRINET The Dutch and Ge
Page 6 and 7: General studies ...................
Page 8 and 9: INTRODUCTION Despite the theoretica
Page 10 and 11: In fact, it was not the GIC, but th
Page 12 and 13: history of the Dutch communist curr
Page 14 and 15: Chapter 1: Origins and Formation of
Page 16 and 17: 1862-1866, 1871-1872); these conser
Page 18 and 19: Dutch and German workers’ movemen
Page 20 and 21: However, this ‘radicalism’ of D
Page 22 and 23: emained an internationalist. It is
Page 24 and 25: a formidable weapon against the lef
Page 26 and 27: form the Tribunist movement: Mendel
Page 28 and 29: of the organisation. 31 He only dev
Page 30 and 31: The support given to the various re
Page 32 and 33: Using the pretext of the struggle a
Page 34 and 35: the end of 1903. 57 By contrast, a
Page 36 and 37: Bolsheviks had deputies in the Duma
Page 38 and 39: imposed to form an organised fracti
Page 40 and 41: was obliged to include in the pream
Page 42 and 43: ‘right’ 100 - which was based i
Page 44 and 45: This was the beginning of an increa
Page 46 and 47: carried out by the SDP - in the for
Page 48 and 49: The growth of Dutch imperialism cou
Page 50 and 51: Wijnkoop’s suggestion, the SDP’
Page 52 and 53: evolution. 125 Right up until the w
Page 54 and 55:
helped to write the pamphlet addres
Page 56 and 57:
section, supported a counter-resolu
Page 58 and 59:
Chapter 2 Pannekoek and ‘Dutch’
Page 60 and 61:
The philosophical bases of radical
Page 62 and 63:
Wrongly presented by its opponents
Page 64 and 65:
is most necessary. Only knowledge g
Page 66 and 67:
ended in defeat - but whatever help
Page 68 and 69:
The Dutch Left never considered the
Page 70 and 71:
ourgeois revolutions, thinks of not
Page 72 and 73:
eligious faith in the success of th
Page 74 and 75:
organisations they had so patiently
Page 76 and 77:
forces... The most backward country
Page 78 and 79:
mass strikes; the proletariat’s s
Page 80 and 81:
‘Great Night’: “[passive radi
Page 82 and 83:
economic, and whose political domin
Page 84 and 85:
letter to Paul Lafargue (20 th June
Page 86 and 87:
Luxemburg in urging a clear rejecti
Page 88 and 89:
explicit criticism of their leaders
Page 90 and 91:
As in most of the belligerent count
Page 92 and 93:
the main goal was the return to pea
Page 94 and 95:
Gorter’s analyses were remarkable
Page 96 and 97:
political factors which led to this
Page 98 and 99:
During 1915, opposition to the war
Page 100 and 101:
inform its readers about the Confer
Page 102 and 103:
It is noteworthy that Roland Holst
Page 104 and 105:
powerful opposition to this policy
Page 106 and 107:
The workers’ reaction was immedia
Page 108 and 109:
concealed the Wijnkoop leadership
Page 110 and 111:
Lenin was quite right to emphasise
Page 112 and 113:
“Don’t you feel, little by litt
Page 114 and 115:
dissolved itself. There only remain
Page 116 and 117:
Chapter 4 THE DUTCH LEFT IN THE KOM
Page 118 and 119:
Spartakusbund not rejected particip
Page 120 and 121:
However, the circular of the Komint
Page 122 and 123:
Kommunist, publication of the Breme
Page 124 and 125:
Russians - like Trotsky 433 - no lo
Page 126 and 127:
The resolution adopted by the confe
Page 128 and 129:
Led by Wolffheim and Laufenberg, th
Page 130 and 131:
Pannekoek’s great clear-sightedne
Page 132 and 133:
Rühle’s anti-party current. But
Page 134 and 135:
All these accusations fail to stand
Page 136 and 137:
not that of a general staff, in whi
Page 138 and 139:
democrats and bourgeois in the war
Page 140 and 141:
The unions also resemble the state
Page 142 and 143:
eal decision-making centre. In this
Page 144 and 145:
communism extends from the Rhine to
Page 146 and 147:
The NEP (New Economic Policy) in th
Page 148 and 149:
and the workers, who had all been a
Page 150 and 151:
However, all the left communists, G
Page 152 and 153:
was more disastrous for the VKPD th
Page 154 and 155:
At its 3 rd Congress, the Komintern
Page 156 and 157:
when he was in fact in Spain at the
Page 158 and 159:
workers, and that every three month
Page 160 and 161:
committee is also of the opinion th
Page 162 and 163:
large towns passed from capitalism
Page 164 and 165:
KAI would be “infinitely difficul
Page 166 and 167:
private property”. They constitut
Page 168 and 169:
side, of two KAPDs, with two papers
Page 170 and 171:
intention of working for the reunif
Page 172 and 173:
‘old enemy’ Paul Levi. 650 Deth
Page 174 and 175:
district in Amsterdam, condemning a
Page 176 and 177:
THE GROUP OF INTERNATIONAL COMMUNIS
Page 178 and 179:
the Dutch theoretical review Radenc
Page 180 and 181:
the CPO decided to dissolve in orde
Page 182 and 183:
political sleep by the crisis of th
Page 184 and 185:
economic, rather than the political
Page 186 and 187:
the nationalist, even anti-Semitic
Page 188 and 189:
parliamentary stipend financed the
Page 190 and 191:
shreds”. 706 But significantly, t
Page 192 and 193:
KAPD. The GIC, followed by Pannekoe
Page 194 and 195:
It was a party which dared not spea
Page 196 and 197:
a big impact in the unemployed move
Page 198 and 199:
anarchist group like the BAS was ch
Page 200 and 201:
The other factor in the defeat of t
Page 202 and 203:
would ‘awaken’ the German prole
Page 204 and 205:
Spartacus, organ of the LAO, while
Page 206 and 207:
Chapter 7 TOWARDS A NEW WORKERS’
Page 208 and 209:
The evolution of the Dutch GIC towa
Page 210 and 211:
the world, especially since 1968. 7
Page 212 and 213:
Secondly, by trying at all costs to
Page 214 and 215:
In a contradictory way, the GIC rep
Page 216 and 217:
The ‘new workers’ movement’ a
Page 218 and 219:
The function and functioning of the
Page 220 and 221:
een eclipsed and replaced by a “d
Page 222 and 223:
and developed since the birth of th
Page 224 and 225:
GIC recognised the fundamental role
Page 226 and 227:
This view has a certain resemblance
Page 228 and 229:
“At the beginning of the period o
Page 230 and 231:
Bogdanov, the social process was re
Page 232 and 233:
to construct a coherent and ordered
Page 234 and 235:
“As soon as the proletarian class
Page 236 and 237:
the danger of state capitalism. The
Page 238 and 239:
inseparable from the anti-organisat
Page 240 and 241:
growing uncertainty of existence is
Page 242 and 243:
indivisible unity operating like th
Page 244 and 245:
“freedoms” and the introduction
Page 246 and 247:
Steuermann 972 , Rühle showed that
Page 248 and 249:
Russian capitalism. It was only con
Page 250 and 251:
The unemployed workers of Amsterdam
Page 252 and 253:
Unlike the Paul Mattick group in th
Page 254 and 255:
The contribution by this group, whi
Page 256 and 257:
Chapter 9 THE DUTCH INTERNATIONALIS
Page 258 and 259:
workers’ councils”, the KAPN’
Page 260 and 261:
impoverished peasants and, on the o
Page 262 and 263:
The first ‘minority’ was formed
Page 264 and 265:
iting, since the Dutch RSAP and the
Page 266 and 267:
seems to have come from an ex-membe
Page 268 and 269:
esult which appeared positive to th
Page 270 and 271:
Chapter 10 FROM THE “MARX - LENIN
Page 272 and 273:
to the previous history of Germany
Page 274 and 275:
posterity a political, as much as a
Page 276 and 277:
Council communist theory had a revo
Page 278 and 279:
organisations together, including t
Page 280 and 281:
This ‘broad’ policy towards oth
Page 282 and 283:
The MLL Front played a considerable
Page 284 and 285:
workers had been liquidated. A tota
Page 286 and 287:
Chapter 11 The Communistenbond Spar
Page 288 and 289:
political past, marked less by synd
Page 290 and 291:
process, and “the [capitalist] sy
Page 292 and 293:
organisation, once theoretical and
Page 294 and 295:
organisation: “The Bond is a temp
Page 296 and 297:
The implicit rejection of the Russi
Page 298 and 299:
the ‘right’ to speak in the Ber
Page 300 and 301:
slavenmaatschappij tot arbeidersmac
Page 302 and 303:
In 1945-46, the Bond examined sever
Page 304 and 305:
Luxemburg’s conception, it was fo
Page 306 and 307:
draws in ever greater masses. [...]
Page 308 and 309:
The onset of the Cold War left the
Page 310 and 311:
- General rejection of all groups t
Page 312 and 313:
disappeared in 1948. Canne-Meijer w
Page 314 and 315:
Bond arrived at the idea that the R
Page 316 and 317:
After World War II council communis
Page 318 and 319:
joined the left wing of the SPD or
Page 320 and 321:
Like SB, it paraded a strong anti-b
Page 322 and 323:
If ‘councilism’ as an organised
Page 324 and 325:
The history of the Dutch and German
Page 326 and 327:
organisational discipline, both exp
Page 328 and 329:
looked to changes in the sociologic
Page 330 and 331:
The criticisms put forward by Geyer
Page 332 and 333:
BIBLIOGRAPHY A bibliography on the
Page 334 and 335:
Stan POPPE (1899-1991) archives: mi
Page 336 and 337:
Rote Armee (constituted in April 19
Page 338 and 339:
Korrespondenz-Blatt der KAPD, ‚an
Page 340 and 341:
‘Monatsblätter aus der Jugendbew
Page 342 and 343:
Nasha Duma, Sofia, Oct. - Dec. 1919
Page 344 and 345:
THE NETHERLANDS The Dutch communist
Page 346 and 347:
Uit eigen kring; intern orgaan (the
Page 348 and 349:
(These latter two texts have been t
Page 350 and 351:
There is a good choice of texts, tr
Page 352 and 353:
Zur Psychologie des proletarisches
Page 354 and 355:
Marxism: last refuge of the bourgeo
Page 356 and 357:
(These texts are in Authier-Barrot,
Page 358 and 359:
Der Kampf um die Macht in der Gegen
Page 360 and 361:
Pamphlets by the Bulgarian left com
Page 362 and 363:
REICHENBACH (Bernard), ‘Moscow 19
Page 364 and 365:
‚Über Karl Korsch’, in Jahrbuc
Page 366 and 367:
ROEGHOLT (Richter), Ben Sijes. Een
Page 368 and 369:
JANEV (Nikola), Balgarskata komunis
Page 370 and 371:
The ‘intellectual current’: lit
Page 372 and 373:
MALANDRINO (Corrado), ‘Anton Pann
Page 374 and 375:
BERENDSEN (Hans), & WEEDA (Rik), Ui
Page 376 and 377:
HARMSEN (Ger), Historisch overzicht
Page 378 and 379:
NGO VAN, Vietnam 1920-1945, révolu
Page 380 and 381:
WINCKLER (Heinrich August), Arbeite
Page 382 and 383:
Protokolle der Vereinigungs-Konfere
Page 384 and 385:
Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli,
Page 386 and 387:
CWI: Communist Workers’ Internati
Page 388 and 389:
NSV: Nederlandsch Syndikalistisch V
Page 390 and 391:
VOC: Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compa
Page 392 and 393:
Blackwell (Russell) [alias: Negrete
Page 394 and 395:
Fischer (Ruth) [Eisler (Elfriede),
Page 396 and 397:
KAPN, 17, 138, 172, 187, 199, 204-2
Page 398 and 399:
Most (Johann), 29 Mühsam (Erich),
Page 400 and 401:
Rühle (Otto), 13, 17, 21, 62, 120,
Page 402 and 403:
Vonk (group De), 324, 329, 337, 351
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