Union of German Socialist Organizations in Great Britain

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The Union of German Socialist Organizations in Great Britain was the amalgamation of German socialist or social democratically oriented organizations in exile during the Second World War .

History and positions

A first attempt at closer cooperation between the socialist exile organizations had failed in 1938. It was not until March 19, 1941 that the Union was founded. Members were the Sopade (the exile organization of the SPD ), the SAP (Socialist Workers' Party), the ISK ( International Socialist Combat League ) and the resistance group New Beginning . There was also a representative of the trade unions.

Political statements were drafted jointly whenever possible. However, the individual groups retained a right of veto. The aim was to fight the Hitler regime together while preserving the independence of the individual organizations. An organizational unification of the exile groups was not agreed because of the still very different positions. The exiles wanted to let the socialists in Germany decide on this later. Last but not least, the Union should serve as a point of contact for other organizations in exile, trade unions, the authorities and the Labor Party . However, this partly remained at a distance from the new Union. There were also a number of internal conflicts. Still, the years mattered. Central lines of social democratic post-war development were pre-marked here. On the one hand, this includes the endeavor to overcome the divisions of the Weimar years . On the other hand, the socialist organizations began to relativize a number of earlier positions.

The chairman of the executive committee was Hans Vogel , the chairman of SOPADE. Two program commissions have developed concepts for the various political subject areas. Erich Ollenhauer (SOPADE) headed the political commission together with Wilhelm Heidorn (ISK). Erwin Schoettle (SOPADE, New Beginning) and another member headed an organizing committee. Together they formed an important basis for the reorganization of the SPD in the western zones of occupation. Other key members of the Union were Willi Eichler (ISK), Gerhard Gleißberg (SOPADE), Richard Löwenthal (New Beginning), Waldemar von Knoeringen (SOPADE, New Beginning), the trade unionist Hans Gottfurcht and the later Lord Mayor of Braunschweig , Otto Bennemann .

In terms of content, Marxism began to be pushed back in favor of ideological plurality and the notion of a party of the working class towards the concept of the people 's party began . There was also a clear refusal to work closely with the KPD .

After the end of the National Socialist regime, the alliance lost its raison d'etre. Most of the members returned to Germany from exile. Since then, the work of the Union has been directed by Wilhelm Sander . The exile groups of SOPADE, Neu Beginnen, SAP and ISK disbanded on December 2, 1945 and merged on December 15, 1945 in the “Association of German Social Democrats in Great Britain”. On December 8, 1945, the SPD's London representation was founded. Three weeks later, on December 29, 1945, the first elections in the "Association" took place.

literature

  • Ludwig Eiber : The Social Democracy in Emigration. The "Union of German Socialist Organizations in Great Britain" 1941-1946 and its members. Protocols, declarations, materials. Bonn 1998
  • Franz Osterroth , Dieter Schuster : Chronicle of the German social democracy. Vol II: From the beginning of the Weimar Republic to the end of the Second World War. Berlin / Bonn 1980, ISBN 3-8012-1084-7 , pp. 393-195.
  • Werner Röder: The German Socialist Exile Groups in Great Britain, 1940-1945 . 2., verb. Ed. Verl. Neue Gesellschaft, Bonn-Bad Godesberg 1973 (Munich, Univ., Diss., 1967)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Resolution on the formation of the "Association of German Social Democrats in Great Britain" of December 15, 1945, printed in: Eiber, p. 477 f.
  2. ^ The task of German socialists in Sozialistische Mitteilungen No. 82 from January 1946