The Trade Union Propaganda League (, abbreviated 'FPF') was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

labour organization. FPF was founded in September 1919.
Mellan bolsjevism och socialdemokrati. Den kommunistiska rörelsen i Sverige och Komintern
' The purpose of the organization was to coordinate the leftist groupings within the reformist-led

Swedish Trade Union Confederation The Swedish Trade Union Confederation ( ; literally "The National Organisation in Sweden"), commonly referred to as LO (), is a national trade union centre, an umbrella organisation for fourteen Swedish trade unions that organise mainly "blue-c ...

(LO), with the objective of winning over LO to a revolutionary line. The programme of FPF mentioned sabotage and

general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

as means of struggle of the labour movement. During its existence, FPF organized trainings of agitators and issued various print publications. FPF was closely connected to the Social Democratic Left Party of Sweden (SSV, later the Communist Party of Sweden). Officially, SSV stated that FPF had surged as a spontaneous initiative on behalf of local workers' groups. However, SSV financed activities of FPF and

Karl Kilbom Karl Kilbom (8 May 1885 – 24 December 1961) was a Swedish politician and one of the founders of the Communist Party of Sweden. Youth As the son of a blacksmith, Karl Kilbom grew up in a working class family of Walloon origin in the small to ...

(a SSV executive committee member) acted as the spokesman of FPF. In many ways FPF was a continuation of a failed 1918 attempt (FO, 'the Trade Union Opposition') by SSV to gain influence in the trade union movement.Bolin, Jan. ''Parti av ny typ?: skapandet av ett svenskt kommunistiskt parti 1917-1933''. Stockholm: Distribution, Almqvist & Wiksell International, 2004. pp. 242-246 By the end of 1920 SSV claimed that FPF had 5,666 members, organized in 31 trade unions and 34 leftist and propaganda clubs. However, that figure was likely inflated. The activity report of FPF issued in January 1921 stated that FPF had 3,700 members. By January 1922 FPF claimed to have 5,450 members, in December the same year 3,235. FPF retained contacts with the

Red International of Labour Unions The Red International of Labor Unions (, RILU), commonly known as the Profintern (), was an international body established by the Communist International (Comintern) with the aim of coordinating communist activities within trade unions. Formally ...

. FPF was disbanded in 1923, as the organization had failed to make any major breakthrough.

References

{{Authority control 1919 establishments in Sweden Trade unions disestablished in 1923 Trade unions in Sweden Left Party (Sweden) Profintern Trade unions established in 1919

See also

References