Germanindividualist philosopherMax Stirner became an important early influence inanarchism. AfterwardsJohann Most became an important anarchist propagandist in bothGermany and in theUnited States. In the late 19th century and early 20th century there appearedindividualist anarchists influenced by Stirner such asJohn Henry Mackay,Adolf Brand andAnselm Ruest (Ernst Samuel) and Mynona (Salomo Friedlaender).
The anarchistsGustav Landauer,Silvio Gesell andErich Mühsam had important leadership positions within the revolutionarycouncilist structures during the uprising at the late 1910s known asBavarian Soviet Republic.[1] During the rise ofNazi Germany,Erich Mühsam was assassinated in aNazi concentration camp both for his anarchist positions and for his Jewish background.[2] Theanarcho-syndicalist activist and writerRudolf Rocker became an influential personality in the establishment of the international federation of anarcho-syndicalist organizations calledInternational Workers' Association as well as theFree Workers' Union of Germany.
Contemporary German anarchist organizations include the anarcho-syndicalistFree Workers' Union and the Federation of German speaking Anarchists (Föderation Deutschsprachiger AnarchistInnen).
Historians often trace the roots of German anarchism back to the 16th centuryGerman Peasants' War, though historians of anarchismJames Joll andGeorge Woodcock hold that this link is exaggerated. The liberal thinking ofFriedrich Schiller,Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, andHeinrich Heine is also held as a precursor to German anarchism,[3] as well as the anarchist tendencies of several German socialists of this period. The youngWilhelm Weitling, influenced by both Proudhon andLouis Auguste Blanqui, once wrote that "a perfect society has no government, but only an administration, no laws, but only obligations, no punishment, but means of correction."Moses Hess was also an anarchist until around 1844, disseminating Proudhon's theories in Germany, but would go on to write the anti-anarchist pamphletDie letzte Philosophie.Karl Grün, well known for his role in the disputes betweenMarx and Proudhon, held a view historianMax Nettlau would liken tocommunist anarchism while still living inCologne and then left for Paris, where he became a disciple of Proudhon.Wilhelm Marr, born inHamburg but primarily active in theYoung Germany clubs inSwitzerland, edited several antiauthoritarian periodicals. In his book on anarchismAnarchie oder Autorität, he comes to the conclusion that liberty is found only in anarchy.[4]
German anarchists such as Nettlau andGustav Landauer creditedEdgar Bauer with founding the anarchist tradition in Germany.[5]
As the 1860s drew to a close,Johann Most was won over to the ideas of the emerginginternational socialism movement. Most saw in the doctrines ofKarl Marx andFerdinand Lassalle a blueprint for a newegalitarian society and became a fervent supporter of the Social Democracy, as theMarxist movement was known in the day.[6]
After advocating violent action, including the use of explosive bombs, as a mechanism to bring about revolutionary change, Most was forced into exile by the government. He went to France but was forced to leave at the end of 1878, settling in London. There he founded his own newspaper,Freiheit (Freedom), in 1879.[7] Convinced by his own experience of the futility ofparliamentary action, Most began to espouse the doctrine ofanarchism, which led to his expulsion from the German Social Democratic Party in 1880.[8]
The philosophy ofMax Stirner, a German, is usually called "egoism" and rejects political systems in favor of living without regard to others.[9] Stirner held that the only limitation on the rights of the individual is his power to obtain what he desires[10] without regard for God, state, or morality.[11] He proposes that most commonly accepted social institutions—including the notion of State, property as a right, natural rights in general, and the very notion of society—were figments (spooks) in the mind. Stirner wanted to abolish both state and societal responsibility for its people.[12] Stirner's egoism andThe Ego and Its Own (1844) were foundational to the development ofindividualist anarchism.[13]
The philosophy ofFriedrich Nietzsche, A German individualist held many Anarchist ideas and was in favor of more radical ways to personal liberation.
The Scottish-bornJohn Henry Mackay became Germany's most important individualist anarchist propagandist. He fused Stirnerist egoism with the positions ofBenjamin Tucker and translated Tucker into German. Two semi-fictional writings of his ownDie Anarchisten andDer Freiheitsucher contributed to individualist theory, updating egoist themes with respect to the anarchist movement. His writing were translated into English as well.[14]
The German Stirnerite and pioneer campaigner for malebisexuality and homosexuality,Adolf Brand, published the world's first ongoing homosexual publication,Der Eigene, in 1896.[15]
In the German uprising known as theBavarian Soviet Republic the anarchistsGustav Landauer,Silvio Gesell andErich Mühsam had important leadership positions within the revolutionarycouncilist structures.[1]
Rudolf Rocker returned to Germany in November 1918 upon an invitation fromFritz Kater to re-build theFree Association of German Trade Unions (FVdG). The FVdG was a radical labor federation that quit the SPD in 1908 and became increasingly syndicalist and anarchist. During World War I, it had been unable to continue its activities for fear of government repression, but remained in existence as an underground organization.[16] Rocker was opposed to the FVdG's alliance with the communists during and immediately after theNovember Revolution, as he rejected Marxism, especially the concept of thedictatorship of the proletariat. The FVdG grew rapidly and the coalition with the communists soon began to crumble. Syndicalist members of theCommunist Party were expelled. The organization became theFree Workers' Union of Germany (FAUD) in 1919 under a new platform written by Rocker—thePrinzipienerklärung des Syndikalismus (Declaration of Syndicalist Principles)—that rejected political parties, nationalization, the dictatorship of the proletariat, and the communist state. The program only recognized de-centralized, purely economic organizations.[17]
OnGustav Landauer's death during theMunich Soviet Republic uprising, Rocker took over the work of editing the German publications of Kropotkin's writings. In 1920, the social democraticDefense MinisterGustav Noske started the suppression of the revolutionary left, which led to the imprisonment of Rocker and Fritz Kater. During their mutual detainment, Rocker convinced Kater, who had still held some social democratic ideals, completely of anarchism.[18] In the following years, Rocker became one of the most regular writers in the FAUD organDer Syndikalist. The FAUD hosted an international syndicalist conference in 1920 that led to the founding of theInternational Workers' Association (IWA) in December 1922.Augustin Souchy,Alexander Schapiro, and Rocker became the organization's secretaries and Rocker wrote its platform.[19][20]
Germany's syndicalist movement declined in the mid-1920s. The FAUD reached its peak of around 150,000 members in 1921 before losing members to both the Communist and theSocial Democratic Party. In the1930 elections, theNazi Party received 18.3% of all votes, a total of 6 million. Rocker was worried: "Once the Nazis get to power, we'll all go the way ofLandauer andEisner" (who were killed by reactionaries in the course of the Munich Soviet Republic uprising).[21] Rocker left Germany after theReichstag fire, receiving news ofErich Mühsam's arrest as they left.[22]
AfterWorld War II, an appeal in theFraye Arbeter Shtime detailed the plight of German anarchists and called for Americans to support them. By February 1946, the sending of aid parcels to anarchists in Germany was a large-scale operation. In 1947, Rocker publishedZur Betrachting der Lage in Deutschland (Regarding the Portrayal of the Situation in Germany) about the impossibility of another anarchist movement in Germany. It became the first post-World War II anarchist writing to be distributed in Germany. Rocker thought young Germans were all either totally cynical or inclined to fascism and awaited a new generation to grow up before anarchism could bloom once again in the country. Nevertheless, theFederation of Libertarian Socialists (FFS) was founded in 1947 by former FAUD members. Rocker wrote for its organ,Die Freie Gesellschaft, which survived until 1953.[23]
East Germany carried out hundreds of arrests against anarcho-syndicalists in 1948-49, the leader Wilhelm Jelinek was murdered in prison in 1952.[24]
German authorities have tried to evict anarchist communities and squats that are the base of anarchist support. During the 2020 pandemic German authorities forcefully evictedLiebig 34, an anarchist autonomous zone. This resulted in clashes with police andriots, as well as large demonstrations in support of Liebig 34. Residents of Liebig 34 were later forcefully removed by German police.[25]
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