“Down with Weapons, Down with Hammers” is the title of a talk that Rudolf Rocker delivered in 1919 at a trade union congress in Erfurt. The talk was followed by an invitation for Rocker to visit nearby Sömmerda, the founding of a local syndicate of the Freie Arbeiter Union Deutschlands (FAUD), and the workers’ takeover of the town for 12 days during the Kapp Putsch. With a local syndicate of 2,000 FAUD members among a population of 7,000, historic Sömmerda stands as a unique example of anarcho-syndicalism in Germany.
We will screen the 35-minute film “Anarcho-Syndicalism in Sömmerda” (1992), produced by the video newspaper Berliner Universitäten. The film features footage of the town shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, as well as numerous interviews with eyewitnesses from Sömmerda, on the history of anarcho-syndicalism and its relationship to the women’s movement.
The event is meant to benefit the Bakuninhütte, located in southern Thuringia. The hut’s history dates back to 1920 and the local FAUD syndicate there. Since 2015, the building has been the first and only recognised cultural monument of anarcho-syndicalism in Germany, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Members of the Bakuninhütte Hiking Club (www.bakuninhuette.de) will give a brief overview of its history and discuss the current state of the renovation and the fundraising campaign. The evening will conclude with a relaxed get-together.
When: Friday, November 6, 7:00 p.m.
Where: FAU Lokal, Grüntaler Str. 24
Language: German or English, depending on the attendees