Interventionist left

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Logo of the IL

The Interventionist Left ( IL ) is a radical left organization with around 1000 members. It was founded at the turn of the year 2005 as an alliance of around 30 German and Austrian local groups and individuals. The Interventionist Left describes itself as a “multicentric post-autonomous organization”, which seeks the “abolition of all conditions in which man is a humiliated, enslaved, abandoned, contemptible being” and thereby appeals to Karl Marx .

Foundation phases

As early as 1999, the future alliance partners began to work together with the aim of "breaking the low point" of the radical left in Germany after the unsuccessful left radical mobilization against the G8 summit in Cologne. This first phase of the establishment lasted until 2004, a second phase lasted from 2004 to the first major event, the protests against the G8 summit in Heiligendamm in 2007, when the IL “was first experienced and perceptible in practice”, according to its own statements.

After some IL groups already existed nationwide, with the dissolution of the anti-fascist Left Berlin and the transformation of Avanti - Project Undogmatic Left in September 2014, the IL changed from an alliance project to a formative actor of the radical left.

On May 21, 2015, the group For a Left Movement (FelS) announced its merging into the Interventionist Left, which has now become an organization.

Theoretical foundations

After a discussion process lasting several years, the IL published the so-called “interim paper” in 2014, in which its goals were theoretically determined more precisely. According to this, the IL wants to be a left that “confidently and effectively intervenes in political struggles and is able to act outside of its subcultures, neighborhoods and open spaces.” This was preceded by a lengthy self-criticism of the so-called autonomous left, who in an appeal for a The result was a “post-autonomous” left, which should open up to broader social alliances instead of remaining in political niches, as was the case in the 1990s. The interim report declares "Patriarchy, racism and capitalism as a whole" to be opponents of the IL. They want to fight these and “keep looking for new alliances” and “prefer to make mistakes and learn from them instead of getting lost in the cynicism of pure criticism.” This position is seen as a demarcation to various left-wing extremist currents, which mainly wrote texts without socio-political to become active and usually take a resigned attitude, for example parts of the so-called anti - German left. In contrast to groups like Marx21 , the IL is not active in the Left Party, but sees itself as an extra-parliamentary opposition .

In choosing the means to do this, IL sees itself in the tradition of Karl Marx. It relies on “the revolutionary break” in order to overcome “all forms of oppression, disenfranchisement and discrimination”. Nevertheless, it was repeatedly accused , for example by the Interim , of being social-democratic-reformist and not revolutionary enough.

Main projects

Were among the national key projects of IL or belong to the G8 summit in Heiligendamm , Castor gravels , Stop NATO, end terrain and Dresden Nazi-free . The IL was a member of the “ No Pasarán ” alliance against the Nazi rally in Dresden. The IL is a member of the alliance " Stand Up Against Racism ", which is against the AfD and Pegida , and in the alliance " What the Fuck ", which is directed against the " March for Life ". The IL initiated the first “ Welcome-to-stay” congress and is a member of the alliance of the same name.

The local group in Berlin is a member of alliances for the investigation of the crimes of the so-called National Socialist Underground NSU .

In addition to the nationwide campaigns, the local groups are pursuing their own projects. The larger local groups focus on various topics, including: queer / feminism , the right to town / city for everyone, social struggles, anti-fascism and anti-racism , climate change and the environment, Rojava / Kurdistan solidarity and welcome-to-stay (practical Help for refugees).

Evaluation by the protection of the constitution

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution evaluates the Interventionist Left as a “nationwide network with the aim of a binding 'organization' of autonomous groups and activists”. This goal was largely achieved with the publication of an “interim report” in October 2014, so that it is now a nationwide organization. This endeavors "in alliances and initiatives to bring together left-wing extremist actors of different ideological backgrounds in a campaign-oriented manner in order to increase the ability to act both in Germany and in international campaigns ". The group acts “as a hinge between militant groups and non-violent left-wing extremists or non-extremist groups and initiatives”. The Interventionist Left has a tactical relationship to violence and pursues the goal of “radicalizing society in the interests of its own broader scope for action”.

Participation in protests

Participation in the protests against the G8 summit in Heiligendamm

With the participation of the IL, according to Die Zeit, at the G8 summit in Heiligendamm 2007 - among other things - a black block under the motto Make capitalism history took part in the large demonstration on June 2, 2007 in Rostock , which according to the newspaper report led to the riots. The IL denied this: "The police beat themselves up and thereby deliberately let the situation escalate." According to the Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the IL had explicitly "the aim of radicalizing the protests on the occasion of the G8 summit. This is a necessary step to overcome the free democratic basic order ”. However, the IL does not formulate in its own words the goal of overcoming the “free democratic basic order”, but rather “patriarchy, racism and capitalism”. At the G8 summit, the IL wrote: “In the radicalization and expansion of all these initiatives, the question of a break with the class, patriarchal, racist and imperial (istic) system and the question of property will ultimately be raised anew.”… “For For a left that sees the open and underground social conflicts and all their contradicting forms as the starting point and the potential for every form of revolutionary social change, it will be important to help these conflicts in and around Heiligendamm to be expressed. [...] Whether and to what extent the G8 summit can be made the point of reference or even the focal point of class disputes here in this country is also a measure of the current social-revolutionary significance of the radical left. "

According to the report on the protection of the Constitution, the IL was “anxious to organize the broadest possible alliance, including trade unions and church groups, in order to be able to mobilize a large potential for protest”.

Participation in the protests against the transport of nuclear waste

On the occasion of the Castor transports from the French reprocessing plant in La Hague to the Gorleben nuclear waste storage facility in 2010 and 2011, the Interventionist Left organized the campaign “Castor?” With other groups from the autonomous spectrum. gravel ! ".

Participation in the protests against open-cast lignite mining

The IL participated in the alliance “ End of Terrain ”. The IL succeeded, as attested by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, “with the help of action alliances to take up current political issues and to establish itself in the scene as a focus of agitation.” It was “significantly involved in the organization and mobilization of the days of action” and “proved to be reliable and active partner ”in the alliance. According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, "the IL also rated the protest as a great success and sees starting points for further actions."

Participation in the protests against the G20 meeting in Hamburg

The IL participated in the alliance against the G20 meeting as well as in the planning and implementation of several demonstrations around the summit days. The IL was also involved in the Block G20 campaign , which aimed to block the access routes to the summit venue. The fact that the IL did not clearly distance itself from militant opponents of the summit and excesses caused controversy before, during and after the summit days .

structure

Member groups

According to its own information, the Interventionist Left had local groups in the following cities and regions in August 2017: Aschaffenburg, Berlin, Bielefeld, Bremen, Darmstadt, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Freiburg, Göttingen, Graz, Halle, Hamburg, Hanover, Heidelberg, Heilbronn, Hiltrup , Karlsruhe, Kassel, Kiel, Cologne, Leipzig, Lübeck, Mannheim, Marburg, Munich, Münster, Norderstedt, Nuremberg, Rhine-Neckar, Rostock, Ruhr area, Tübingen, Vienna and Worms. The editorial team of the newspaper analyse & kritik is close to the IL.

Regional naming

In the interim report of the Interventionist Left, the goal is formulated to rename all local groups as Interventionist Left City and, if available, to unite several local groups in a city. This has not yet happened everywhere: In Freiburg the IL appears as the Antifaschistische Linke Freiburg , in Marburg as a dissident group , in Göttingen as the Antifascist Left International and as the grassroots left , in Düsseldorf as I Furiosi and see red! on.

Groups absorbed in the IL

  • Antifaschistische Linke Berlin (ALB) (dissolution and accession of some of the former members in the Berlin local branch of the IL, September 2014)
  • Antifascist Action Hanover [AAH] (merged into IL Hanover)
  • attac campus Bochum
  • Avanti - Project Undogmatic Left (Transformation into the IL, September 2014)
  • For a left current (joining the Berlin branch of the IL, May 2015)
  • Critical collective, Rhein-Neckar
  • Libertad! (Incorporated into the Berlin local group, among others)
  • no lager, Bremen
  • Organized autonomy, Nuremberg
  • Project Interventionist Left Ravensburg
  • Radical Left Nuremberg
  • Editorial office one way or another
  • Rote Aktion Kornstraße (RAK), Hanover (Incorporated in the IL Hanover, May 2013)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Constitutional Protection Report 2018. (PDF) In: Federal Ministry of the Interior, for Building and Home . June 2019, p. 122 , accessed on February 23, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Constitutional Protection Report 2018. (PDF) In: Federal Ministry of the Interior . June 2016, p. 124 , accessed on February 23, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b c IL on the move - an interim report. In: interventionistische-linke.org. Retrieved February 4, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Thomas Seibert: the mobilization of the common. In: prager-fruehling-magazin.de. June 21, 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2017 .
  5. ↑ Everything goes on ?! In: antifa.de. September 8, 2014, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; Retrieved July 6, 2017 .
  6. ↑ a b 25 years of Avanti - from now on we are interventionist left. In: avanti-projekt.de. Retrieved February 4, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Erik Peter: Left-wing extremist associations: Cuddling in an alliance. In: taz.de. September 10, 2014, accessed July 10, 2017 .
  8. ↑ See Stop To Carry On! Message from FelS, May 21, 2015, accessed on July 6, 2017.
  9. ↑ Sarah Liebigt: FelS sets out for new shores. In: neue-deutschland.de. Retrieved February 4, 2017 .
  10. ^ Necessity of a new left organization. Retrieved February 4, 2017 .
  11. ↑ # Stand Up Network - Stand Up Against Racism! In: aufhaben-gegen-rassismus.de. Retrieved February 4, 2017 .
  12. ↑ March for Life? What the fuck! Retrieved February 4, 2017 .
  13. ↑ Welcome2stay. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on February 3, 2017 ; accessed on February 4, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / welcome2stay.org
  14. ^ The NSU system. In: interventionistische-linke.org. Retrieved February 4, 2017 .
  15. ↑ Verfassungsschutz Report 2017. (PDF) In: Federal Ministry of the Interior, for Building and Home . July 2018, pp. 111, 138 , accessed on February 23, 2020 .
  16. ↑ a b Karin Geil: After the G8 demonstration: "These are criminals!" In: zeit.de. June 4, 2007, accessed January 31, 2015 .
  17. ↑ IL on the move - an interim report. In: interventionistische-linke.org. Retrieved February 4, 2017 .
  18. ↑ a b Department for the Protection of the Constitution on "Left-wing extremist protest preparations against the G8 summit 2007". ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Berlin Senate Department for the Interior and Sport, p. 2 ff.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.berlin.de
  19. ↑ Review of the organization on the actions: Castor? Gravel! In: interventionistische-linke.org , accessed on July 6, 2017.
  20. ^ Constitutional Protection Report 2015, Federal Ministry of the Interior, pp. 120f.
  21. ↑ Interventionist Left - Actions and Actors. Retrieved March 14, 2018 .
  22. ↑ Mobi - BLOCK G20. Retrieved March 14, 2018 .
  23. ↑ FOCUS Online: Downplaying in 3 acts: So an attempt is made to disguise radical left-wing G20 violence . In: FOCUS Online . ( focus.de [accessed on March 14, 2018]).
  24. ↑ Katharina Schipkowski: Emily Laquer on protests against G20: “The police are responsible” . In: The daily newspaper: taz . July 13, 2017, ISSN  0931-9085 ( taz.de [accessed on March 14, 2018]).
  25. ↑ IL on site. In: interventionistische-linke.org. Retrieved August 26, 2017 .
  26. ↑ Third phase - organization and organization. In: interventionistische-linke.org. Retrieved November 17, 2016 .
  27. ↑ New Germany editorial team: Antifa in crisis? In: neue-deutschland.de. Retrieved February 4, 2017 .
  28. ↑ Stop to move on! In: fels.nadir.org. Retrieved February 4, 2017 .
  29. ↑ Everything has its time. (No longer available online.) In: libertad.de. Archived from the original on November 7, 2016 ; Retrieved November 17, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / libertad.de
  30. ↑ Somersault forward. In: avanti-projekt.de. Retrieved February 4, 2017 .