Protest movement - development, decline, renaissance. The New Left since 1968

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In his 1983 book Protest Movement - Development, Decline, Renaissance. The New Left since 1968 , the author Gerd Langguth analyzes the development and transformation of the “protest movement” and the “new left” from 1968 to 1983. The aim of the book is to describe the location of the left protest movement at the time.

Gerd Langguth mainly refers to the time after 1968 and describes the division processes that took place within the protest movement during the period mentioned above. He goes into detail on the important organizations of the protest movement, such as B. the SDS (Socialist German Student Union) or other organizations such as the DKP (German Communist Party) that still exists today . The development of the party “the Greens” (today Alliance 90 / The Greens ), which was almost 3 years old at the time of publication , is also described.

In the book, Gerd Langguth also goes into detail about the development of the SDS successor organizations, especially the so-called (Maoist and Stalinist) K groups or Trotskyist organizations.

Gerd Langguth divides the protest movement into eight phases.

Preliminary phase: 1960–1965

This phase was mainly characterized by the separation of the SPD from the SDS. In July 1960 the SPD officially distanced itself from the SDS, which it suspected of “communist activities”. The resulting isolation of the SDS was overcome in May 1964 by the Höchst Agreement , in which a cooperation with other student unions was decided. This agreement enabled the SDS to take over the leadership role within the student body when the “anti-authoritarian” revolt began.

First phase: Center Berlin (from May 1965 to May 1967)

The actions of the first phase are largely limited to Berlin and are predominantly internal to the university. For the first time, new demonstration techniques such as “go-ins” and “sit-ins” were adopted.

There are several reasons why West Berlin was the starting point for the student protests: Many students who came to Berlin escaped the social control of their parents' home and other social institutions, because the island location of West Berlin made constant contact with their homes impossible . In addition, the proportion of students who studied political science and were therefore also interested in political practice was relatively high.

Second phase: From the death of Benno Ohnesorg (June 2, 1967) to the anti-emergency campaign in the summer of 1968

After the death of the student Benno Ohnesorg , mourning rallies were held at almost all German universities. After the assassination attempt on Rudi Dutschke on April 11, 1968, the explosive mood of the young generation became clear. This was expressed in numerous actions against the Springer press and the grand coalition. About 20% of these actions involved the use of force and other violations of the law. At the same time, the aggressive goals of the SDS became increasingly clear, which were shown in the corresponding publications in the association's newspaper “New Criticism” and in the interviews with leading SDS officials.

In it they clearly called for militant actions to achieve their goal of "real Marxism".

Third phase: resignation and dissolution of the SDS (autumn 1968 to February 1970)

After the emergency laws were passed, the well-publicized campaigns of the “extra-parliamentary opposition” were disappointing and the response from the population also waned. A basic anarchist tendency emerged more and more in the SDS, and management functions were gradually denied to the federal executive committee. Although the SDS was still in many student parliaments and general student committees (Asten), it was at the delegates' conference on 13/14. April 1969 it became clear that the SDS federal board had almost no coordinating function and only functioned as an information point. On March 21, 1970, the SDS in Frankfurt (Main) finally disbanded.

Fourth phase: Leninism (March 1970 to summer 1971)

The fourth phase was marked by fragmentation and struggles for direction. From 1972 it was also under the sign of the “ radical decree ”, which on the one hand brought political intimidation and uncertainty among large sections of the student body, on the other hand aroused broad protests against this measure. Some groups assumed that a party had to be built in order to exert the greatest possible influence, while others stuck to decentralization. During this time, DKP-related organizations in particular played an increasingly important role, e. B. the " Marxist Student Union Spartakus " (MSB) and other orthodox-communist groups. In addition, there were numerous, unmanageable start-ups of left organizations.

Fifth phase: centralization (from July 1971)

The KPD / AO (Communist Party of Germany / structural organization) changed its name to KPD and thus initiated the phase of centralization of the previously fragmented groups. The decentralized, Marxist- oriented organizations came to the conclusion that only a central, nationwide active party could achieve political success. Other important organizations were the KPD / ML (Marxist-Leninists) and the Kommunistische Bund Westdeutschland (KBW).

Sixth phase: Terrorism (1974–1977)

The main ideological writings of the “Red Army Fraction” appeared between 1971 and 1972. From 1974 onwards there were increased terrorist activities, including a. the occupation of the Stockholm embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany on April 24, 1975, in which two diplomats and two terrorists died, the assassination of the Federal Public Prosecutor Siegfried Buback on April 7, 1977 and the kidnapping and murder of the president of the employers' associations and the BDI (Federal Association of Germans Industry) Hanns Martin Schleyer . Due to the suicides of Baader , Ensslin and Raspe, the RAF had lost its “hard core” and was therefore only able to stabilize with difficulty in the years that followed.

Seventh phase: spontaneous and alternative movement (from 1977)

In the second half of the 1970s, especially from 1977 onwards, so-called Sponti groups became more popular. They rejected a communism dominated by “parties” because it was too rigid and bureaucratic for them. The Maoist-Communist parties remained the strongest force within the organized “New Left”, but their political position declined. After Mao Zedong's death in September 1976, succession struggles broke out within the Chinese Communist Party ( CCP ), which led to irritation among West German supporters. This and the disappointment with revolutionary models in the third world (alongside China , Cuba , Vietnam , Cambodia ) led many members of the Marxist groups to turn to environmental protection or the alternative movement in general .

Eighth phase: squatting, influence of the "Greens" and the peace movement (from 1980)

In March 1980 the Maoist KPD disbanded and it is representative of the decline of the communist groups. The founding of the “Greens” and their participation in federal elections have contributed greatly to the decline of the communist groups. The members of these groups realized more and more that they could only reach a broad masses with the help of an environmental protection party aligned with popular demands. There were congresses at which commonalities and possibilities of influencing the “Greens” were discussed. In 1980 the "house-to-house" method of protest also spread, and more and more anarchist tendencies came to light. Due to the NATO double resolution of December 12, 1979, the " peace movement " became active from 1981 . In 1982 and 1983 the tradition of the "Easter marches" was resumed.

literature

  • Gerd Langguth : Protest movement. Development, decline, renaissance. The New Left since 1968 . Verlag Wissenschaft und Politik, Cologne 1983, ISBN 3-8046-8617-6 , ( Library Science and Politics 30).