Party and Movement History

An important focus of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation’s historical work is the various attempts by working people to organize themselves politically, culturally, and economically. Of particular significance is the German and international workers’ movement.
In their abundance and diversity, social movements have become an indispensable part of the political landscape. They are often referred to as “new social movements” in distinction to the “old” labour movement and the first women’s movement in the nineteenth century, although at least in West Germany their emergence dates back to the 1950s. Today, there is no social conflict that is not accompanied by social movements. Their relationship to parties and unions fluctuates between dissociation and willingness to form alliances. The appropriation of different left-wing traditions is of great importance for the differentiated and critical self-discovery of a pluralistic Left.