Swiss Communist Party
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The Communist Party of Switzerland (german: Kommunistische Partei der Schweiz; KPS) or Swiss Communist Party (french: Parti communiste suisse; it, Partito Comunista Svizzero; PCS) was a
communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
in Switzerland between 1921 and 1944. It was the Swiss section of 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 ...
(Comintern).


History

The Communist Party of Switzerland was founded in March 1921, in
Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...
, by dissidents from the left wing of the
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz; SP; rm, Partida Socialdemocrata da la Svizra) or Swiss Socialist Party (french: Parti socialiste suisse, it, Partito Socialista Svizzero; PS), is a polit ...
and a communist group formed in the aftermath of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Fritz Platten Fritz Platten (8 July 1883 – 22 April 1942) was a Swiss communist politician and one of the founders of the Communist International. Early life Platten was born in the village of Tablat, now part of St. Gallen, on 8 July 1883, to and Old Cathol ...
was a central leader in the new party. The party drew most of its support from
urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...
s in
German-speaking Switzerland The German-speaking part of Switzerland (german: Deutschschweiz, french: Suisse alémanique, it, Svizzera tedesca, rm, Svizra tudestga) comprises about 65 percent of Switzerland (North Western Switzerland, Eastern Switzerland, Central Switz ...
, most notably the cities of
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
,
Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a town with historic roots, a municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimate ...
and Zürich. It counted six thousand members upon its foundation, of which 15% were women. Through subsidiary organizations, the party gathered support from various groups, such as the unemployed,
women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
and intellectuals. From the late 1920s to early 1930s, the Communist Party's political program underwent Stalinization. A major turning point occurred in 1930, when the expulsion of Walther Bringolf led to the split of nearly the entire
Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a town with historic roots, a municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimate ...
section into the
Communist Party Opposition The Communist Party of Germany (Opposition) (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands (Opposition)), generally abbreviated as KPO or KPD(O), was a communist opposition organisation established at the end of 1928 and maintaining its existence un ...
, which merged into the Social Democrats five years later. The number of party members and voters decreased progressively, though the adoption of
popular front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...
tactics in 1935 led to a slight increase in membership. Nevertheless, anti-communist laws adopted by a number of
cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...
, as well as party policies such as abandoning anti-fascism (following the
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that enabled those powers to partition Poland between them. The pact was signed in Moscow on 23 August 1939 by German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ri ...
) and supporting the
Soviet invasion of Finland The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...
led to a decline in popularity. In November 1940, the Communist Party was banned by the Swiss government for its support of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, the non-aggression pact between the
Soviet Union 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, ...
and
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. The ban had been preceded by the outlawing of
communist propaganda Communist propaganda is the artistic and social promotion of the ideology of communism, communist worldview, communist society, and interests of the communist movement. While it tends to carry a negative connotation in the Western world, the t ...
and activities in Switzerland in August. On 12 June 1941, all four communist members of the National Council were removed from office. The party continued to operate illegally with about 350 members until 1944, when it merged with the Swiss Socialist Federation to form the
Swiss Party of Labour The Swiss Party of Labour (german: Partei der Arbeit der Schweiz; french: Parti Suisse du Travail – Parti Ouvrier et Populaire; it, Partito Svizzero del Lavoro – Partito Operaio e Popolare; rm, Partida svizra da la lavur) is a communist pa ...
.


Role in the Comintern

Despite its small size, the Swiss Communist Party played an important role within the Comintern. After the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) was banned by the Nazi government, in 1933, its leadership in
Southern Germany Southern Germany () is a region of Germany which has no exact boundary, but is generally taken to include the areas in which Upper German dialects are spoken, historically the stem duchies of Bavaria and Swabia or, in a modern context, Bavaria ...
went into exile in Switzerland and was sheltered by the Swiss communists. The party also gave financial aid to some KPD officials and shelter to some of the German-based Comintern press agencies. During the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
, the party contributed to the International Brigades by assisting the mobilization of volunteers from
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and other countries.


Election results

At the national level, the Swiss Communist Party had its best electoral performances in the 1920s. In 1928, with 19,7% of the popular vote, it won 25 seats in the
Grand Council of Basel-Stadt The Grand Council of Basel-Stadt (german: Grosser Rat) is the legislature of the canton of Basel-Stadt, in Switzerland. Basel-Stadt has a unicameral legislature. The Grand Council has 100 seats, with members elected every four years. Members of the ...
, the cantonal legislature of Basel-Stadt. At the federal level, the party received its highest vote share in the 1939 election, the last it contested, winning four seats in the National Council, the lower chamber of the Federal Assembly; it was never elected into the Council States (upper chamber).


National Council


References

{{Authority control Switzerland Defunct communist parties in Switzerland Banned communist parties Political parties established in 1918 Political parties disestablished in 1944 1921 establishments in Switzerland 1944 disestablishments in Switzerland