NEWS

EVENT: Non-Alignment and Socialism 

Today, many argue that a new Cold War has begun between the USA and China. Since Febru­ary 2022, it also appears as if a new group of non-aligned states might be emer­ging. How do these deve­lo­p­ments compare to the Cold War and Non-Aligned Move­ment (NAM) of the 20th century? How did the socia­list states’ approach to anti-impe­ria­­lism and the NAM during the last century? On 7 July 2023 we will be discus­sing with Indian histo­rian and commu­nist Vijay Pras­had how non-alignment and anti-impe­ria­­lism relate to the struggle for socia­lism – both in the past and present.

Read more » 

Dossier: What happened on 17 June 1953 in the GDR? 

This year marks the 70th anni­ver­sary of the unrest during 17 June 1953 in the German Demo­cra­tic Repu­blic (“East Germany”). With this dossier of trans­la­ted article excerpts, we want to shed light on signi­fi­cant aspects of the events and make them acces­si­ble to an inter­na­tio­nal audience.

Read more » 

EVENT: WHY TALK ABOUT THE GDR? 

We were invi­ted by The People’s Forum in New York City to discuss the history of the German Demo­cra­tic Repu­blic (GDR) and its endu­ring rele­vance for progres­sive move­ments today. In the two-session semi­nar, we covered the histo­ri­cal context in which the GDR was foun­ded, the charac­ter of its plan­ned economy, the func­tio­ning of its socia­list demo­cracy, and the signi­fi­cance of prole­ta­rian internationalism.

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EVENT: MEDICINE FOR THE PEOPLE 

What charac­te­ri­zes the socia­list approach to health? We will explore expe­ri­en­ces from the German Demo­cra­tic Repu­blic, the Geor­gian Soviet Repu­blic, and modern-day Belgium to under­stand how socia­list systems of the past and present have defied econo­mic cons­traints and trans­for­med health care to serve the needs of the people rather than profit.

Read more » 

November 1918: The Unfinished Revolution 

On 9 Novem­ber 1918, the German Empire was topp­led after mass upri­sings brought the monar­chy and First World War to an end. The achie­ve­ments and limi­ta­ti­ons of the Novem­ber Revo­lu­tion greatly shaped the deve­lo­p­ment of the German state in the fateful deca­des of the 1920s and 1930s. Analy­sing the histo­ri­cal lessons of the Novem­ber Revo­lu­tion has also been a crucial point of conten­tion within the German workers’ move­ment, for it raises the ques­tion of the working class’s rela­tion to state power. 

Read more » 

EVENT: Non-Alignment and Socialism 

Today, many argue that a new Cold War has begun between the USA and China. Since Febru­ary 2022, it also appears as if a new group of non-aligned states might be emer­ging. How do these deve­lo­p­ments compare to the Cold War and Non-Aligned Move­ment (NAM) of the 20th century? How did the socia­list states’ approach to anti-impe­ria­­lism and the NAM during the last century? On 7 July 2023 we will be discus­sing with Indian histo­rian and commu­nist Vijay Pras­had how non-alignment and anti-impe­ria­­lism relate to the struggle for socia­lism – both in the past and present.

Read more » 

Dossier: What happened on 17 June 1953 in the GDR? 

This year marks the 70th anni­ver­sary of the unrest during 17 June 1953 in the German Demo­cra­tic Repu­blic (“East Germany”). With this dossier of trans­la­ted article excerpts, we want to shed light on signi­fi­cant aspects of the events and make them acces­si­ble to an inter­na­tio­nal audience.

Read more » 

EVENT: WHY TALK ABOUT THE GDR? 

We were invi­ted by The People’s Forum in New York City to discuss the history of the German Demo­cra­tic Repu­blic (GDR) and its endu­ring rele­vance for progres­sive move­ments today. In the two-session semi­nar, we covered the histo­ri­cal context in which the GDR was foun­ded, the charac­ter of its plan­ned economy, the func­tio­ning of its socia­list demo­cracy, and the signi­fi­cance of prole­ta­rian internationalism.

Read more » 

EVENT: MEDICINE FOR THE PEOPLE 

What charac­te­ri­zes the socia­list approach to health? We will explore expe­ri­en­ces from the German Demo­cra­tic Repu­blic, the Geor­gian Soviet Repu­blic, and modern-day Belgium to under­stand how socia­list systems of the past and present have defied econo­mic cons­traints and trans­for­med health care to serve the needs of the people rather than profit.

Read more » 

November 1918: The Unfinished Revolution 

On 9 Novem­ber 1918, the German Empire was topp­led after mass upri­sings brought the monar­chy and First World War to an end. The achie­ve­ments and limi­ta­ti­ons of the Novem­ber Revo­lu­tion greatly shaped the deve­lo­p­ment of the German state in the fateful deca­des of the 1920s and 1930s. Analy­sing the histo­ri­cal lessons of the Novem­ber Revo­lu­tion has also been a crucial point of conten­tion within the German workers’ move­ment, for it raises the ques­tion of the working class’s rela­tion to state power. 

Read more »