The Union of Communist Groups ( cs, Svaz komunistických skupin) was a communist organization in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, led by

Stanislav Kostka Neumann Stanislav Kostka Neumann (born: Stanislav Jan Konstantin Václav Bohudar; June 5, 1875, in Prague – June 28, 1947, in Prague) was Czech writer, poet, literary critic and journalist. He has undergone many stages of creative: symbolist (''I Am an ...

. The Union of Communist Groups was founded in the spring of 1920 as followers of Neumann moved away from the Federation of Czech Anarcho-Communists. Neumann's publication ''Červen'' had carried pro-communist articles since 1919. Neumann and other anarchists around ''Červen'' had tried to work within the Czechoslovak Socialist Party, but felt disillusioned with the party after the

1920 Czechoslovak parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Czechoslovakia on 18 and 25 April 1920. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p471 Members of the Chamber of Deputies were elected on 18 April and members of the Senate ...

. With the founding of the Union of Communist Groups ''Červen'' issued a declaration denouncing any collaboration with the Czechoslovak Socialist Party. A workers conference was organized in Lom May 23–24, 1920 at which Neumann declared the objective of the new organization to be in line with the

Communist International The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by a ...

(Comintern), and called for the formation of workers, peasants and soldiers'

soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

s. Nevertheless, in practice the group retained many anarchist political traits it spite of its support to the Comintern. The Union of Communist Groups sent a delegation to the

2nd World Congress of the Comintern The 2nd World Congress of the Communist International was a gathering of approximately 220 voting and non-voting representatives of Communist and revolutionary socialist political parties from around the world, held in Petrograd and Moscow from J ...

; consisting of

Ivan Olbracht Ivan Olbracht, born Kamil Zeman (6 January 1882, Semily, Kingdom of Bohemia, Bohemia – 20 December 1952, Prague) was a Czech people, Czech writer, journalist and translator of German language, German prose. Biography The son of writer Antal S ...

, Emanuel Vajtauer,

Hugo Sonnenschein Hugo Sonnenschein (pseudonym: ''Sonka, Hugo Sonka'') (May 25, 1889, Kyjov, – July 20, 1953, Mírov) was an Austrian writer from Bohemia. He contributed to the Czech-language Communist newspaper ''Průkopník svobody ''Průkopník svobody'' ('Pi ...

and Helena Malířová. Following the congress, the Union of Communist Groups unsuccessfully sought recognition as the Czechoslovak section of the International. The Union of Communist Group expressed strong criticism against the Social Democratic Left led by

Bohumír Šmeral Bohumír Šmeral (25 October 1880 in Třebíč, Margraviate of Moravia – 8 May 1941 in Moscow) was a Czech politician, leader of the Czech Social Democratic Party, and one of the founders of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Early life Šm ...

, accusing it of opportunism. But the Comintern had not fully given up hope in Šmeral's group. The Union of Communist Groups was dissolved in the summer of 1921, encouraging its members to join the

Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Cominte ...

instead.

References

{{reflist

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Communist parties in Czechoslovakia Political parties established in 1920 Political parties disestablished in 1921