''Vorwärts'' (, "Forward") is a
newspaper published by the
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been the ...
(SPD). Founded in 1876, it was the central organ of the SPD for many decades. Following the party's
Halle Halle may refer to:
Places Germany
* Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt
** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt
** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany
** Hall ...
Congress (1891), it was published daily as the successor of ''Berliner Volksblatt'', founded in 1884. Today it is published every two months, mailed to all
SPD members.
History
The paper was founded as a merger of the Eisenacher's ''
Der Volksstaat
''Der Volksstaat'' was the central organ of the German Social Democratic Workers Party (Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands). It was published in Leipzig from October 2, 1869 to September 23, 1876. It was edited by Wilhelm Liebknecht ...
'' and the
Lasalleans ''
Der Sozialdemokrat
''Der Sozialdemokrat'' was a German socialist publication. It was founded by Jean Baptista von Schweitzer. The first issue was published in Zurich on 28 September 1867.
Due to the Anti-Socialist Laws, the publication had to be distributed illegal ...
'' (
General German Workers' Association). Its first editors were
Wilhelm Hasenclever
Wilhelm Hasenclever (19 April 1837 – 3 July 1889) was a German politician. He was originally a tanner by trade but later became a journalist and author. However, he is most known for his political work in the predecessors of the Social Democ ...
and
Wilhelm Liebknecht.
and
Kurt Tucholsky both wrote for ''Vorwärts''. It backed the
Russian Marxist
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
economists and then, after the split in the Party, the
Mensheviks. It published articles by
Leon Trotsky, but would not publish any by
Vladimir Lenin.
During the
First World War ''Vorwärts'' opposed the SPD's ''
Burgfriedenspolitik'' in favour of
pacifism and
neutrality
Neutral or neutrality may refer to:
Mathematics and natural science Biology
* Neutral organisms, in ecology, those that obey the unified neutral theory of biodiversity
Chemistry and physics
* Neutralization (chemistry), a chemical reaction ...
until 1916 when, some time after
Rudolf Hilferding had been drafted into the
Austrian army, Friedrich Stampfer was introduced as editor-in-chief. He guided the central organ back towards the party line (prompting accusations from half of the Socialist camp that it had become
chauvinist
Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotis ...
).
The paper was staunchly opposed to the
October Revolution, standing up for the attempt to bring
parliamentarism to Germany.
In 1923, ''Vorwärts'' lost a libel trial brought by
Adolf Hitler, and was ordered to pay him 6,000,000
marks. The paper had claimed Hitler was financed by "American Jews and
Henry Ford."
During the
Nazi period, the Social Democratic Party of Germany was banned, and so the publication of ''Vorwärts'' in Germany had to stop in 1933, but it was continued in exile in
Czechoslovakia until 1938 and subsequently in
Paris until 1940.
In 1948, the paper was refounded as ''Neuer Vorwärts'' ("New Forward") and in 1955 renamed ''Vorwärts'' again. As of 2020, it has a circulation of about 360,000 every two months,
because it is mailed to all
SPD members.
Footnotes
External links
MIA Glossary of Periodicals''Vorwärts'' Website (German)Vorwärts archive 1876-1940
at the Friedrich Ebert Foundation
The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (''German: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: FES'') is a German political party foundation associated with, but independent from, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Established in 1925 as the ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vorwarts
Newspapers published in Berlin
Social Democratic Party of Germany
Publications established in 1891