Germany
Germany’s IG Metall union calls for alliance with government and corporations against workers
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 15 October 2019
IG Metall is offering the services of its apparatus to ensure labour peace in the factories and impose the cuts demanded by Germany’s ruling elite.
Large Berlin solidarity protests against anti-Semitism and right-wing terrorism.
By our reporters, 14 October 2019
This weekend’s protests underscored, once again, the widespread opposition that exists to the return of fascism in Germany.
Thousands protest in Germany against right-wing violence following fascist Yom Kippur attack
By Marianne Arens, 14 October 2019
Last Wednesday’s attack in Halle by a heavily armed fascist, anti-Semite, on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, has evoked horror and a wave of solidarity protests against right-wing violence.
Germany: The election of the SPD leader and the decline of social democracy
By Ulrich Rippert, 14 October 2019
A glance at the list of candidates for the leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) makes clear the wealthy social layers that set the tone and whose reactionary programme they represent.
Right-wing extremist network behind fascist synagogue attack in Germany
By Ulrich Rippert, 12 October 2019
The reality is that the “ideological inciters” of the right-wing terrorist attack in Halle hold top positions within the state and security apparatus, the intelligence agencies, the military and the federal government.
Dortmund, Germany withdraws prestigious award from the author Kamila Shamsie over support for BDS
By Sybille Fuchs, 12 October 2019
The withdrawal of the prize is yet another case of censorship by the German state and local authorities, which claim to oppose anti-Semitism but in fact suppress and criminalise any criticism of the Israeli government’s right-wing policies.
Right-wing extremist network behind fascist synagogue attack in Germany
By Ulrich Rippert, 11 October 2019
The reality is that the “ideological inciters” of the right-wing terrorist attack in Halle hold top positions within the state and security apparatus, the intelligence agencies, the military and the federal government.
German Nazi murders two in Yom Kippur Synagogue attack
By Johannes Stern, 10 October 2019
The Nazi assault on the Halle synagogue is aimed at demonstrating that anti-Semitism is, once again, a significant political force in Germany.
Theatres in Germany take a stand against the far right
By Verena Nees, 4 October 2019
A number of plays by the Austrian-Hungarian dramatist and novelist Ödön von Horváth took a clear stand against the rise of the Nazis and assume new relevance today.
Ahead of state election in German state of Thuringia
Left Party Minister President Bodo Ramelow lauds the right-wing CDU
By Johannes Stern, 3 October 2019
With its right-wing and pro-capitalist policies, the Left Party, whose predecessors reintroduced capitalism into East Germany 30 years ago, bears major responsibility for the rise of the far-right.
Germany: Bus drivers strike in Hesse and Saarland
By Marianne Arens, 1 October 2019
1,500 bus drivers in Frankfurt, Giessen, Darmstadt, Kassel, Offenbach, Hanau and Fulda took part in a 24-hour warning strike Friday for significant wage increases and better holiday arrangements.
Germany: Opel workers support GM strike in the US
By our reporters, 26 September 2019
News of the strike by 46,000 GM workers in America was met with great interest at Opel’s main plant in Rüsselsheim.
Siemens workers resist planned job cuts in Germany
By Gustav Kemper, 26 September 2019
The IG Metall trade unions supports the strategy of Siemens management to hive off the company’s energy division as a separate business and launch it on the stock market. This will lead to thousands of jobs being destroyed and working conditions being “renegotiated.”
German government extends war mission in Middle East
By Johannes Stern, 25 September 2019
The Grand Coalition is continuing the German military mission in Syria and Iraq and will deploy the Bundeswehr beyond its current mandate in the region.
The fascist network behind the murder of Walter Lübcke
By Peter Schwarz, 25 September 2019
Three months after the murder of Kassel’s regional president, there is mounting evidence that the Christian Democratic politician was the victim of an extreme right-wing network reaching deep into the state security apparatus.
Daimler-Benz workers in Germany support GM strikers
By Gregor Link and K. Nesan, 23 September 2019
German autoworkers in the city of Stuttgart support the strike of their American counterparts, against the auto companies and the union, as a model for their own upcoming struggles.
Germany: How the secret service and far-right AfD organised the ban on the “linksunten.indymedia” website
By Peter Schwarz, 20 September 2019
The cessation of criminal proceedings confirms that the ban on the website was an act of political censorship in which the Interior Ministry, the secret service and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) closely collaborated.
210 The Open Letter by the IYSSE to the Association of German Professors
19 September 2019
German workers support GM strikers in US
By our reporters, 17 September 2019
News of the strike by nearly 50,000 GM workers in the US spread like wildfire through German factories and evoked powerful support.
A major exhibition at New York City’s Museum of Jewish Heritage
The story of Auschwitz
By Fred Mazelis, 17 September 2019
The fundamental lesson of a study of the Holocaust is that the alternatives before humanity remain those of socialism or barbarism.
210 Open Letter to German Assoc. of univ. profs over Baberowski
16 September 2019
IG Metall plays treacherous role in the Riva steelworkers strike
By Marianne Arens, 14 September 2019
The allies of striking Riva workers are not union officials but workers across Germany and internationally that are facing similar attacks.
Fascism and militarism characterise debate in the German Bundestag
By Johannes Stern, 13 September 2019
While opposition to war and fascism is enormous among workers and youth, even 80 years after the beginning of World War II, the ruling class is returning to its authoritarian, militaristic and racist traditions.
Fascism and militarism characterise debate in the German Bundestag
By Johannes Stern, 13 September 2019
While opposition to war and fascism is enormous among workers and youth, even 80 years after the beginning of World War II, the ruling class is returning to its authoritarian, militaristic and racist traditions.
German Christian Democrats, Social Democrats, Greens negotiating right-wing coalition agreement in Saxony
By Martin Nowak and Johannes Stern, 12 September 2019
A new coalition would continue the right-wing policies pursued by the former CDU/SPD government, which strengthened the far-right Alternative for Germany.
Representatives of the German establishment parties vote for fascist candidate
By Johannes Stern, 10 September 2019
The election of neo-Nazi Stefan Jagsch as local mayor in the Wetterau municipality of Altenstadt highlights the sharp turn to the right by the ruling class in Germany.
020 SPD, CDU back fascist candidate
9 September 2019
Germany’s Left Party reacts to electoral debacle in the East with sharp shift to the right
By Johannes Stern, 6 September 2019
After its electoral collapse in Saxony and Brandenburg, the Left Party is adopting the anti-refugee policies of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
WikiLeaks exposes crimes of German imperialism
By Gregor Link, 6 September 2019
The German media has slandered WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who faces possible life imprisonment or the death penalty in the US for making Washington’s war crimes public.
German president silent on the Holocaust at WWII memorial
By Peter Schwarz, 4 September 2019
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier failed to utter a word about the extermination of the Jews at a ceremony in Warsaw marking the 80th anniversary of World War II.
Far-right Alternative for Germany makes gains in state elections
By Ulrich Rippert, 3 September 2019
The fascistic party was the main beneficiary in the collapse in support for the parties that make up the ruling grand coalition.
Germany: Xenophobic and anti-Semitic offences are rising sharply
By Isabel Roy, 2 September 2019
On average, there were 26 offences against immigrants or Jews each day in 2018.
Twenty years of the Young Euro Classic festival: Beethoven caught between rebellion and EU propaganda
By Verena Nees, 2 September 2019
The 20th edition of the Young Euro Classic festival ended August 6 in Berlin with a record attendance of 27,000 visitors. At the center of the programmes were the nine symphonies and other works by Ludwig van Beethoven.
While Neo-Nazis kill, German authorities stonewall
By Marianne Arens, 29 August 2019
The alleged murderer of Kassel district president was known to German secret service for years.
German President Steinmeier and the Nazi massacre at Fivizzano
By Johannes Stern, 29 August 2019
Steinmeier cannot and does not want to speak about the origins of Nazi terror, because the ruling class is in the process of returning to an aggressive and imperialist foreign policy, and rehabilitating its fascist traditions.
German Socialist Equality Party answers legal document from Verfassungsschutz Secret Service
By Peter Schwarz, 28 August 2019
A legal brief submitted to the Berlin District Court by the SGP said Germany’s Secret Service was abusing its “constitutional role in a legally impermissible manner” when it “stigmatises criticism of the capitalist system as ‘anti-constitutional’.”
Germany: A politically motivated verdict in Chemnitz refugee trial
By Marianne Arens and Peter Schwarz, 26 August 2019
A 24-year-old refugee from Syria has been jailed for years, so that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the extremist mob, which rampaged in Chemnitz last summer, can claim their victim.
Tens of thousands demonstrate in Dresden, Germany, against the rise of the far-right
By Martin Nowak and Christopher Lehmann, 26 August 2019
Tens of thousands marched through Dresden on Saturday to protest against the rise of the far-right a week prior to state elections in Saxony and Brandenburg.
German automaker Opel to cut workers’ hours and pay
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 26 August 2019
The action is part of a radical savings and cutback program, with which Opel’s parent company, French automaker Groupe PSA (Peugeot, Citroen), is responding to the global crisis in the auto industry.
Germany: New higher education law in North Rhine-Westphalia allows military research
By Inti Gomez and Philipp Frisch, 26 August 2019
The focus of the law is the abolition of the Civil Clause, which proscribes research for military purposes.
UK Prime Minister Johnson fails to secure Brexit concessions from Germany and France
By Robert Stevens, 24 August 2019
Corbyn’s meeting with Remain-supporting parties and MPs is his latest capitulation to the agenda of sections of big business opposed to leaving the EU.
210 Latest legal statement in the case against the Verfassungsschutz
24 August 2019
Merkel and Orbán: A sordid deal at the expense of refugees and democracy
By Peter Schwarz, 24 August 2019
On the 30th anniversary of the opening up of the Hungarian-Austrian border, Merkel and Orbán sang the praises of “freedom” while agreeing to closer military collaboration.
German defence minister visits troops in Jordan and Iraq
By Johannes Stern, 23 August 2019
The message of Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was the same everywhere: The German army should continue and even expand its operations in the resource-rich Middle East.
Brandenburg, Germany: Far-right AfD leads polls in state election
By Tino Jacobson, 23 August 2019
While large parts of Brandenburg have been deindustrialised and abandoned, nearly 600 millionaires live in the state.
Germany’s Merkel tells UK government no Brexit concessions—Labour’s Corbyn steps up calls for caretaker government
By Robert Stevens, 22 August 2019
UK prime minister Boris Johnson is seeking concessions based on convincing European Union leaders that Britain crashing out also poses major problems for Europe.
Anger among couriers is growing after Deliveroo quits Germany
By Gregor Link, 21 August 2019
Hundreds of couriers working for the online delivery service were informed in a short e-mail last week that they would be unemployed by Friday.
Germany: Ex-intelligence chief campaigns for Christian Democrats and far-right AfD
By Ulrich Rippert, 19 August 2019
Maassen is organizing election meetings in which there are often more supporters of the far-right AfD than CDU voters.
Germany: Plans to break up ThyssenKrupp take shape
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 19 August 2019
The ThyssenKrupp Group is accelerating its offensive against its 160,000-strong workforce.
German daily defends right-wing extremist professor Jörg Baberowski
By Johannes Stern, 19 August 2019
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung is outraged because students at Humboldt University in Berlin blocked plans to establish a centre for research into dictatorships.
German film prize goes to Margarethe von Trotta, director of Rosa Luxemburg (1986) and Rosenstrasse (2003)
By Bernd Reinhardt, 19 August 2019
Margarethe von Trotta (Rosa Luxemburg, Rosenstrasse, Hannah Arendt) is one of the most important German filmmakers of the postwar period.
German Greens prepare for participation in government
By Peter Schwarz, 17 August 2019
Fourteen years after the failure of the first Social Democrat-Green Party government, the Greens are being considered as a viable party of government in Germany once again.
Wall Street plunges on fears of global recession
By Nick Beams, 15 August 2019
Amid growing concerns that low interest rates and “quantitative easing” will not be enough to stave off a new global downturn, there is a deep fear in ruling circles of mounting opposition in the working class.
Three-star general stands for far-right Alternative for Germany in mayoral election
By Christopher Lehmann, 14 August 2019
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has selected Joachim Wundrak, a former Luftwaffe lieutenant-general, as its candidate for the Hannover mayoral election on October 27.
The German media and Julian Assange: Silence and slander
By Gregor Link and Johannes Stern, 13 August 2019
Over a week after a US federal court threw out a civil case brought by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) against Julian Assange, the German media has been dominated by an embarrassed silence.
German government and Greens promote military mission in Persian Gulf
By Johannes Stern, 10 August 2019
The German ruling class is intensifying its campaign for a European war mission in the Persian Gulf. Especially aggressive are the leaders of the Green party.
020 German government and Greens promote military mission in Persian Gulf
9 August 2019
What lies behind the fatal attack at Frankfurt Central Rail Station?
By Sven Wurm, 8 August 2019
While the media and establishment politicians stoke up racism and call for borders to be tightened, the suspect’s background indicates a severe psychological disorder.
What is the German secret service concealing about the Lübcke murder?
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 6 August 2019
New facts connected to the murder of the Kassel district president reveal the close links between right-wing terrorism and the secret service.
Study calls for closure of over half all health clinics in Germany
By Tino Jacobson and Markus Salzmann, 5 August 2019
With the argument that only the closure of clinics can achieve more staffing, better equipment and higher quality, the report calls for the closure of 800 of Germany’s 1,400 hospitals.
Forty years since first German broadcast of the “Holocaust” series
By Clara Weiss, 5 August 2019
Under conditions of an international resurgence of fascist forces, the series, which had an enormous impact in West Germany in 1979, has lost none of its relevance.
German auto supplier Eisenmann files for bankruptcy
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 3 August 2019
The family-owned company in Baden-Württemberg employs 3,000 workers at 27 locations in 15 countries.
Berlin’s Jewish Museum director Peter Schäfer forced to resign
By Verena Nees, 2 August 2019
The campaign against alleged “left” anti-Semitism and the BDS boycott movement serves to suppress leftist movements and fuel genuine anti-Semitism.
German politicians and media urge military action in the Persian Gulf
By Ulrich Rippert and Peter Schwarz, 1 August 2019
The more the US pushes ahead with its preparations for war against Iran, the louder the voices will become in Europe that are pushing for military action.
Die Zeit editor Jochen Bittner condemns “German pacifism”
By Johannes Stern, 31 July 2019
An op-ed by Bittner in the New York Times treats the German population’s aversion to war as a problem to be overcome.
Germany: New defence minister demands more money, recognition for the armed forces
By Ulrich Rippert, 30 July 2019
The change at the top of the Defence Ministry is linked to an intense campaign for military rearmament.
30 July 2019
New draconian police law introduced in Germany
By Tino Jacobson and Marianne Arens, 29 July 2019
With its new police law, the state government of the SPD and CDU is covering up the activities of far-right forces and at the same time implementing AfD policy.
German government uses 75th anniversary of plot to kill Hitler to promote rearmament and war
By Johannes Stern, 27 July 2019
It is only logical that the German ruling class hails the assassins of July 20, who were extreme nationalists and deeply involved in Nazi crimes.
Germany: Racist assassination attempt on Eritrean man
By Marianne Arens, 26 July 2019
On Monday a man from Eritrea was gunned down on the street and seriously injured in the town of Wächtersbach in the state of Hesse.
Stop the right-wing conspiracy! Defend the SGP against the Verfassungsschutz secret service!
Socialist Equality Party (Germany), 26 July 2019
The German Verfassungsschutz has produced a 56-page response to the lawsuit filed by the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party—SGP) challenging its official designation as a “left-wing extremist” organisation subject to state surveillance. The government’s response is an angry diatribe against Marxism and every form of socialist and progressive thought.
Modern art in Germany and the Nazis Part 2: The Die Brücke painters
By Sybille Fuchs, 26 July 2019
The exhibition at the Brücke Museum represents a welcome change in favour of art appreciation based on a critical examination of contemporary history.
Modern art in Germany and the Nazis, Part 1: Emil Nolde
By Sybille Fuchs and Stefan Steinberg, 24 July 2019
Two art exhibitions currently running in Berlin raise important questions about the relationship of certain modern artists to the Nazi regime.
24 July 2019
German automaker Opel to cut a further 1,100 jobs
By Marianne Arens, 23 July 2019
Shortly before the plants closed for the summer holiday, news emerged that 1,100 jobs will be cut in Rüsselsheim, Eisenach and Kaiserslautern.
22 July 2019
German Christian Democrat leader Kramp-Karrenbauer to become new defence minister
By Ulrich Rippert, 19 July 2019
The decision part of a shift to the right characterised by a vast programme of military rearmament.
German Defence Minister to become EU Commission president
By Peter Schwarz, 17 July 2019
For the first time since 1958, a German politician will occupy the most powerful office in the European Union.
Deutsche Bank to eliminate one in five jobs
By Gustav Kemper and Peter Schwarz, 17 July 2019
Employees are now paying the price for the bank’s criminal activities over the last 30 years.
New report confirms Germany’s deep-seated inequality
By Marianne Arens, 17 July 2019
The findings of the “Germany Atlas” reveal deep divisions, between West and East Germany, and also between the country’s southern and northern.
IYSSE wins seat in student parliament at Institute of Technology in Karlsruhe, Germany
the IYSSE group at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 16 July 2019
The IYSSE’s electoral success shows widespread opposition to militarism, war and the rise of the far-right and the growing support for a socialist perspective.
Germany’s Grand Coalition intensifies war policy in the Middle East
By Johannes Stern, 12 July 2019
The German government wants to step up the German army’s war mission in Syria.
Germany: How a right-wing conspiracy in the state apparatus is suppressing the investigation of the Lübcke murder case
By Ulrich Rippert, 12 July 2019
Every effort is being made to cover up the close involvement of Lübcke’s assassin with a far-right terrorist network that reaches deep into the secret services and the state apparatus.
Refugee death toll rises in Mediterranean Sea graveyard
By Marianne Arens, 11 July 2019
The courageous action of ship captain Carola Rackete has again focused public attention on the plight of refugees seeking to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea.
Charité at War: A chilling portrayal of Nazism and its crimes
By Joanne Laurier, 11 July 2019
Charité at War is a German television drama, set in the years 1943 to 1945 at Berlin’s Charité hospital, one of the most prominent in Europe. The series depicts life under Nazi rule.
Germany: Riva steelworkers in Trier and Horath on strike for four weeks
By Marianne Arens, 9 July 2019
Workers are fighting against the wage dumping of parent company Riva Stahl, which is trying to pit them against the rest of the workforce to force down wages.
Massive forest fire in Germany exposes deadly legacy of World War II
By Marianne Arens, 8 July 2019
The forest area near Lübtheen is not the only one littered with old munitions: in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania alone, 38,000 hectares are contaminated with munitions.
Germany: Following the murder of politician Walter Lübcke—the call for a strong state
By Johannes Stern, 6 July 2019
The 2018 report by the secret service again describes the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei as “left-wing extremist” and an “object for surveillance.”
German minister of defence to head European Commission
By Peter Schwarz, 4 July 2019
The proposal is aimed at developing the European Union into a military superpower under German-French domination .
Germany’s Deutsche Bank slashes 20,000 jobs
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 4 July 2019
The plans confirm that workers in the service and banking sectors, like their counterparts in industry, are paying for the preparations for trade war and military conflict.
Statement of the IYSSE Karlsruhe: Against militarism, fascism and war! For socialism! Vote IYSSE!
By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality, 4 July 2019
The Trotskyist youth movement is running two candidates in the elections for the Student Parliament in at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
German IG Metall trade union promotes trade war at rally in Berlin
By Hendrik Paul, 3 July 2019
Germany’s biggest trade union used the demonstration to bang the drum for trade warfare, to promote nationalism and prepare the way for mass job losses.
The global war on refugees
By Will Morrow, 3 July 2019
All over the world, immigrants are being systematically persecuted by capitalist governments, which are increasingly adopting the policies of the extreme right.
240 IYSSE Karlsruhe election statement
3 July 2019
Students block right-wing think tank on “Dictatorship Research” at Berlin’s Humboldt University
International Youth and Students for Social Equality at Humboldt University, 29 June 2019
The attempt of far-right professor and Eastern European historian Jörg Baberowski to set up a think tank at Humboldt University has failed.
Lübcke’s murderer was part of vast underground German neo-Nazi terrorist network
By Johannes Stern, 28 June 2019
Stephen Ernst, the assassin of CDU politician Walter Lübcke, acted as part of a neo-Nazi network with close ties to the right-wing terrorist National Socialist Underground.
Two German fighter jets collide in midair during practice flight
By Marianne Arens, 28 June 2019
Following the collision of two fighter planes, which resulted in the death of one pilot, German media outlets expressed their outrage at the lack of patriotism in the response of the population.
Siemens cuts another 2,700 jobs in the energy sector
By Elisabeth Zimmermann, 26 June 2019
Shareholders are demanding that attacks on jobs and working conditions be stepped up in the name of increasing profits.
Fridays for Future: Tens of thousands demonstrate on climate change in Aachen, Germany
By our reporters, 26 June 2019
Under the slogan, “Climate Justice Without Borders—United for a Future,” about 40,000 young people in Aachen demanded a rapid shutdown of coal-fired power plants and other measures.
The Lübcke murder and the return of the “Nazi problem” in Germany
By Johannes Stern, 25 June 2019
The far-right murder of German politician Walter Lübcke has exposed the dirty truth of German politics: Nearly 75 years after the end of World War II and the downfall of Hitler’s Third Reich, Germany once again has a real Nazi problem.
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