Helmut Rüdiger (1903–1966) was a German-Swedish journalist and

anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade unions as both ...

activist. Born in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, he became involved with the anarchist movement after the

German Revolution of 1918–1919 German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, becoming a leading member of the

Free Workers' Union of Germany The Free Workers' Union of Germany (; FAUD) was an anarcho-syndicalist trade union in Germany. It stemmed from the Free Association of German Trade Unions (FDVG) which combined with the Ruhr region's Freie Arbeiter Union on September 15, 1919. ...

(FAUD). During the 1930s, he moved to Spain, where he participated in the

Spanish Revolution of 1936 The Spanish Revolution was a social revolution that began at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, following the Spanish coup of July 1936, attempted coup to overthrow the Second Spanish Republic and arming of the worker movements an ...

. After the defeat of the

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, he fled to Sweden, where he became a leading member of the

Central Organisation of the Workers of Sweden The Central Organisation of Swedish Workers (; SAC) is a Sweden, Swedish syndicalist National trade union center, trade union federation. The SAC organises people from all occupations and industries in one single federation, including the Unempl ...

and an influential figure in the "revisionist" tendency of anarcho-syndicalism. He died in Spain in 1966, while trying to make contact with members of the anarchist underground.

Biography

Helmut Rüdiger was born on 11 January 1903, in the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

town of Frankenberg, into the family of a theologian. He lived his early life in

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

, where he joined the

Wandervogel ''Wandervogel'' (plural: ''Wandervögel''; English: "Wandering Bird") is the name adopted by a popular movement of German youth groups from 1896 to 1933, who protested against industrialization by going to hike in the country and commune with na ...

youth movement. During the

, he began studying the works of the German anarchist Gustav Landauer, which converted him to anarcho-syndicalism. After working within the unemployed workers' movement in Chemnitz, in 1922, he joined the newly established

(FAUD). In 1925, he was elected chairman of the FAUD and moved to the Bavarian capital of

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, where he studied

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy ...

and

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. He then moved to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in 1927. He succeeded Augustin Souchy as the editor of the FAUD's newspaper ''Der Syndikalist'' in 1928 and was elected to head its executive commission in 1930. He soon became frustrated with the internal divisions within the FAUD, and in 1932, he left Germany and moved to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. Together with Arthur Lehning, he co-edited the German emigrant newspaper ''Internationale''. He also maintained contact with underground groups of the FAUD, which had been banned by the authorities of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. After the outbreak of the

, he was made head of German language propaganda for the

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo The (CNT; ) is a Spanish anarcho-syndicalist national trade union center, trade union confederation. Founded in 1910 in Barcelona from groups brought together by the trade union ''Solidaridad Obrera (historical union), Solidaridad Obrera'', ...

(CNT). That same year, he was also elected as secretary of the

International Workers' Association International Workers' Association may refer to: * International Workingmen's Association The International Workingmen's Association (IWA; 1864–1876), often called the First International, was a political international which aimed at unitin ...

(IWA). In 1937, he organised the IWA's extraordinary congress in Paris. With the defeat of the

in the

, he fled to Sweden, where he joined the

(SAC). Under the pseudonym "Ivar Bergeren", he edited the SAC's journal ''Arbetaren''. By 1949, he had become a Swedish citizen. He soon became one of the leading figures of the Swedish anarchist movement, and an influential theoretician of the "revisionist" tendency of anarcho-syndicalism. In response to the decline of the syndicalist movement and the increasing levels of sectarianism among anarcho-syndicalists, Rüdiger proposed that syndicalists work within existing trade unions rather than building new ones along syndicalist lines. In subsequent decades, he became to emphasise localism as a means to build

libertarian socialism Libertarian socialism is an anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist political current that emphasises self-governance and workers' self-management. It is contrasted from other forms of socialism by its rejection of state ownership and from other ...

through

federalism Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government (a central or federal government) with a regional level of sub-unit governments (e.g., provinces, State (sub-national), states, Canton (administrative division), ca ...

. During this period, he also contributed to the German anarchist magazine ''Die Freie Gesellschaft''. He visited Spain in 1966, looking to make contact with underground members of the CNT. In June of that year, Helmut Rüdiger died in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Selected works

The Revolutionary Movement in Spain
(1934)
Anarcho-Syndicalism in the Spanish Revolution
(1938) *''Syndikalism och Parlamentarism. Ett diskussionsinlägg om folkrepresentationens problem'' yndicalism and Parliamentarism: A Contribution to the Problem of People's Representation(1945) *''Federalismen. Bidrag till en frihetens historia'' ederalism: A Contribution for the History of Freedom (1947) * ''Rudolf Rocker und die jüdische Arbeiterbewegung'' (1951) * ''Der Sozialismus wird frei sein'' ocialism Will Be Free(1991)

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Articles by and about Rüdiger
- Libcom.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Rüdiger, Helmut 1903 births 1966 deaths 20th-century anarchists 20th-century German journalists Anarcho-syndicalists Exiles from Nazi Germany German anarchists German emigrants to Spain German emigrants to Sweden German male journalists German trade unionists Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Swedish anarchists Swedish journalists Swedish trade unionists

Biography

Selected works

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links