Fritz Wolffheim
Encyclopedia
Fritz Wolffheim was a German
communist
politician and writer. He was a leading figure in the National Bolshevism
tendency that was briefly influential in Germany after World War I
.
. From 1910 to 1913 he lived in San Francisco where he was a member of the Socialist Party of America
. In the United States
he also became a member of the Industrial Workers of the World
, editing a paper for them. He also served as secretary of the movement in San Francisco, working alongside Lala Hardayal in this capacity. Whilst involved with IWW Wolffheim became convinced of the need for a united revolutionary organisation instead of the distinct party and trade union
model and would later use his theories in Germany where Anton Pannekoek adopted them enthusiastically. After arriving in Hamburg
in 1913 Wolffheim won support for his ideas amongst the local party to the point where in early 1919 the Hamburg KPD declared that it was incompatible to be a member of both the Party and a traditional trade union.
with Rudolf Lindau, Wilhelm Düwell and Paul Frölich
amongst his closest lieutenants. Wolffheim became associated with this tendency and before long became Laufenberg's closest collaborator.
As leaders of the KPD in Hamburg the duo strongly attacked imperialism
in Germany, publishing a joint pamphlet in 1915 in which both expansionism and the support that they felt was being given to it by the SPD were attacked. In October 1919 Wolffheim and Laufenberg brought their ideas, which were already known as "national Bolshevism" by that point, to Karl Radek arguing that they should unite behind a dictatorship of the proletariat
which would harness German nationalism
in order to renew war on the Allies
in an alliance with the Soviet Union
. The policy emphasised a co-operative struggle for national liberation at the expense of class war
and thus broke from Marxist orthodoxy. Wolffheim even suggested that in order to bring about the desired revolution the far left
combat units could be fused with elements of the far right
Freikorps
. The idea was rejected as nonsense by Vladimir Lenin
whilst Radek also criticised the plan strongly. Before long Wolffheim was expelled from the KPD along with Laufenberg after the pair had tried to wrest control from Wilhelm Pieck
.
Along with Laufenberg Wolffheim was in attendance at the Heidelberg
conference Laufenberg that saw the birth of the Communist Workers Party of Germany
(KAPD) and was a founder member of this group. By 1920 however he had been expelled from the party, with his national Bolshevism the official reason for his departure. Individually Wolffheim was close to the rightist General Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck
whilst along with Laufenberg he had met with Ernst Graf zu Reventlow
immediately prior to the Kapp Putsch
.
was never more than perfunctory and he instead became associated with the Gruppe Sozialrevolutionärer Nationalisten, a national revolutionary group founded by the journalist Karl Otto Paetel in 1930. Arrested by the Nazis in 1936, he died in the Ravensbrück concentration camp
in 1942.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
politician and writer. He was a leading figure in the National Bolshevism
National Bolshevism
National Bolshevism is a political movement that claims to combine elements of nationalism and Bolshevism. It is often anti-capitalist in tone, and sympathetic towards certain nationalist forms of communism and socialism...
tendency that was briefly influential in Germany after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Early life
Wolffheim, who came from a leading Jewish family, trained as an accountant and first became active in politics in 1909 when he joined the Social Democratic Party of GermanySocial Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
. From 1910 to 1913 he lived in San Francisco where he was a member of the Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
he also became a member of the Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
, editing a paper for them. He also served as secretary of the movement in San Francisco, working alongside Lala Hardayal in this capacity. Whilst involved with IWW Wolffheim became convinced of the need for a united revolutionary organisation instead of the distinct party and trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
model and would later use his theories in Germany where Anton Pannekoek adopted them enthusiastically. After arriving in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
in 1913 Wolffheim won support for his ideas amongst the local party to the point where in early 1919 the Hamburg KPD declared that it was incompatible to be a member of both the Party and a traditional trade union.
National Bolshevism
Within the Hamburg party a power base had been built up by Heinrich LaufenbergHeinrich Laufenberg
Heinrich Laufenberg was a leading German communist and was one of the first to develop the idea of National Bolshevism...
with Rudolf Lindau, Wilhelm Düwell and Paul Frölich
Paul Frölich
Paul Frölich was a journalist and left wing political activist who was a founding member of the Communist Party of Germany and founder of the party's paper, Die Rote Fahne. A Communist Party deputy in the Reichstag on two occasions, Frölich was expelled from the Party in 1928, after which he...
amongst his closest lieutenants. Wolffheim became associated with this tendency and before long became Laufenberg's closest collaborator.
As leaders of the KPD in Hamburg the duo strongly attacked imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
in Germany, publishing a joint pamphlet in 1915 in which both expansionism and the support that they felt was being given to it by the SPD were attacked. In October 1919 Wolffheim and Laufenberg brought their ideas, which were already known as "national Bolshevism" by that point, to Karl Radek arguing that they should unite behind a dictatorship of the proletariat
Dictatorship of the proletariat
In Marxist socio-political thought, the dictatorship of the proletariat refers to a socialist state in which the proletariat, or the working class, have control of political power. The term, coined by Joseph Weydemeyer, was adopted by the founders of Marxism, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, in the...
which would harness German nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
in order to renew war on the Allies
Allies of World War I
The Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
in an alliance with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The policy emphasised a co-operative struggle for national liberation at the expense of class war
Class conflict
Class conflict is the tension or antagonism which exists in society due to competing socioeconomic interests between people of different classes....
and thus broke from Marxist orthodoxy. Wolffheim even suggested that in order to bring about the desired revolution the far left
Far left
Far left, also known as the revolutionary left, radical left and extreme left are terms which refer to the highest degree of leftist positions among left-wing politics...
combat units could be fused with elements of the far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
Freikorps
Freikorps
Freikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...
. The idea was rejected as nonsense by Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
whilst Radek also criticised the plan strongly. Before long Wolffheim was expelled from the KPD along with Laufenberg after the pair had tried to wrest control from Wilhelm Pieck
Wilhelm Pieck
Friedrich Wilhelm Reinhold Pieck was a German politician and a Communist. In 1949, he became the first President of the German Democratic Republic, an office abolished upon his death. He was succeeded by Walter Ulbricht, who served as Chairman of the Council of States.-Biography:Pieck was born to...
.
Along with Laufenberg Wolffheim was in attendance at the Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
conference Laufenberg that saw the birth of the Communist Workers Party of Germany
Communist Workers Party of Germany
The Communist Workers Party of Germany was an anti-parliamentarian and council communist party that was active in Germany during the time of the Weimar Republic. It was founded in April 1920 in Heidelberg as a split from the Communist Party of Germany...
(KAPD) and was a founder member of this group. By 1920 however he had been expelled from the party, with his national Bolshevism the official reason for his departure. Individually Wolffheim was close to the rightist General Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck
Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck
Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck was a general in the Imperial German Army and the commander of the German East Africa campaign. For four years, with a force that never exceeded about 14,000 , he held in check a much larger force of 300,000 British, Belgian, and Portuguese troops...
whilst along with Laufenberg he had met with Ernst Graf zu Reventlow
Ernst Graf zu Reventlow
Ernst, Count Reventlow was a German naval officer, journalist and Nazi politician.-Early life:Ernst Christian Einar Ludwig Detlev Graf zu Reventlow was born at Husum, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, the son of Ludwig Reventlow, a Danish nobleman, and Emilie Julie Anna Louise Rantzau...
immediately prior to the Kapp Putsch
Kapp Putsch
The Kapp Putsch — or more accurately the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch — was a 1920 coup attempt during the German Revolution of 1918–1919 aimed at overthrowing the Weimar Republic...
.
Later years
Following his expulsion from the KAPD Wolffheim became a member of the League for the Study of German Communism, a pro-nationalist group that included representatives of business and army officers amongst its membership. Wolffheim's membership of this group brough him into contact with elements on the fringes of the Nazi Party. However his involvement with NazismNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
was never more than perfunctory and he instead became associated with the Gruppe Sozialrevolutionärer Nationalisten, a national revolutionary group founded by the journalist Karl Otto Paetel in 1930. Arrested by the Nazis in 1936, he died in the Ravensbrück concentration camp
Ravensbrück concentration camp
Ravensbrück was a notorious women's concentration camp during World War II, located in northern Germany, 90 km north of Berlin at a site near the village of Ravensbrück ....
in 1942.
Written works
He wrote several texts with Laufenburg:- Democracy and Organisation (1915)
- First Address to the German Proletariat (1919)
- May Appeal to Proletarians (1920)
- Communism Against Spartakism (1920)
- Moscow and German Revolution (1920)