Karl Roche (1862–1931) was a German

syndicalist Syndicalism is a labour movement within society that, through industrial unionism, seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes and other forms of direct action, with the eventual goal of gainin ...

and

left communist Left communism, or the communist left, is a position held by the left wing of communism, which criticises the political ideas and practices held by Marxist–Leninists and social democrats. Left communists assert positions which they regard ...

trade unionist. Roche joined the

Free Association of German Trade Unions Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, the ability to act or change without constraint or restriction * Emancipate, attaining civil and political rights or equality * Free (''gratis''), free of charge * Gratis versus libre, the difference bet ...

(FVdG) around 1900 as a seaman. He became a prominent member of the organization. In 1913, Carl Windhoff,

Fritz Kater Fritz Kater (1861–1945) was a German trade unionist, publisher, and anarcho-syndicalist. He was active in the Free Association of German Trade Unions (FVdG) and its successor organization, the Free Workers' Union of Germany. He edited the FVdG's ...

, and he were the FVdG delegates at the

First International Syndicalist Congress The First International Syndicalist Congress was a meeting of European and Latin American syndicalist organizations at Holborn Town Hall in London from 27 September to 2 October 1913. Upon a proposal by the Dutch National Labour Secretariat (NAS ...

in London. In 1919, he wrote the FVdG's first post-World War I platform ''Was wollen die Syndikalisten? Programm, Ziele und Wege der "Freien Vereinigung deutscher Gewerkschaften"'' (''What do the Syndicalists want? Program, Goals, and Means of the "Free Association of German Trade Unions"''). The program summarized the FVdG's theory: a reaffirmation of the importance of strikes as a vehicle for emancipation and a rejection of the centralized mainstream labor unions. Roche was also a resolute proponent of collaboration with

s. In late 1918,

Rudolf Rocker Johann Rudolf Rocker (; March 25, 1873 – September 19, 1958) was a German anarchist writer and activist. He was born in Mainz to an artisan family. His father died when he was a child, and his mother when he was in his teens, so he spent som ...

returned to Germany, in March 1919 he joined the FVdG and started gaining influence. An avowed communist anarchist and follower of

Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist and geographer known as a proponent of anarchist communism. Born into an aristocratic land-owning family, Kropotkin attended the Page Corps and later ...

, Rocker rejected such close collaboration with Marxists. His growing influence led Roche to leave the

Free Workers' Union of Germany The Free Workers' Union of Germany (; FAUD) was an anarcho-syndicalist trade union in Germany. It stemmed from the Free Association of German Trade Unions (FDVG) which combined with the Ruhr region's Freie Arbeiter Union on September 15, 1919. ...

, as the FVdG was now known, in 1920 and join the

General Workers' Union of Germany The General Workers' Union of Germany (; AAUD) was a factory organisation formed following the German Revolution of 1918–1919 in opposition to the traditional trade unions. The AAUD was formed by the left communists in the Communist Workers' ...

(AAUD). He became the leader of the AAUD in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. In the mid-1920s he left the AAUD for the Federation of Communist Anarchists of Germany and then re-joined the FAUD.

References

*. Pg. 104-105, 189. *. Pg. 35.

External links

Archiv Karl Roche
German anarchists Members of the Free Association of German Trade Unions Members of the Free Workers' Union of Germany Left communists 1862 births 1931 deaths {{Syndicalism and Anarcho-Syndicalism in Germany