- Karl Roche
Karl Roche (1862-1931) was a German
syndicalist andleft communist trade unionist. Roche joined theFree Association of German Trade Unions (FVdG) around 1900 as a seaman. He became a prominent member of the organization. In 1913,Carl Windhoff ,Fritz Kater , and he were the FVdG delegates at theFirst International Syndicalist Congress in London. In 1919, he wrote the FVdG's first post-World War I platform "Was wollen die Syndikalisten? Programm, Ziele und Wege der "Freien Vereinigung deutscher Gewerkschaften" ("What do the Syndicalists want? Program, Goals, and Means of the "Free Association of German Trade Unions"). The program summarized the FVdG's theory: a reaffirmation of the importance of strikes as a vehicle for emancipation and a rejection of the centralized mainstream labor unions. Roche was also a resolute proponent of collaboration withleft communist s. In late 1918,Rudolf Rocker returned to Germany, in March 1919 he joined the FVdG and started gaining influence. An avowedcommunist anarchist and follower ofKropotkin , Rocker rejected such close collaboration with Marxists. His growing influence led Roche to leave theFree Workers' Union of Germany , as the FVdG was now known, in 1920 and join theGeneral Workers' Union of Germany (AAUD). He became the leader of the AAUD inHamburg . In the mid-1920s he left the AAUD for theFederation of Communist Anarchists of Germany and then re-joined the FAUD.References
*cite book
last = Bock
first = Hans-Manfred
title = Syndikalismus und Linkskommunismus von 1918 bis 1923: Ein Beitrag zur Sozial- und Ideengeschichte der frühen Weimarer Republik
origyear = 1967
year = 1993
publisher = Wissenschaftlich Buchgesellschaft
location = Darmstadt
language = Germany
isbn = 3-537-12005-1 . Pg. 104-105, 189.
*cite book
last = Rübner
first = Hartmut
title = Freiheit und Brot: Die Freie Arbeiter-Union Deutschlands: Eine Studie zur Geschichte des Anarchosyndikalismus
year = 1994
publisher = Libertad Verlag
location = Berlin/Cologne
language = German
isbn = 3-922226-21-3 . Pg. 35.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
