''Querfront'' ( – ) is a German term originating from

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

politics which refers to the cooperation between the

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

and

far-left Far-left politics, also known as extreme left politics or left-wing extremism, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single, coherent definition; some ...

, or between

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

and

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

ideologies, as well as the combination of their positions. It is primarily understood as a

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

strategy to unite forces in an effort to gain power. The term was first and most prominently used in the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

, where it referred to the cooperation between conservative revolutionaries and the

. The term sees adoption as a descriptor, or outright stated strategy, in modern-day Germany. Some have however criticized the modern usage as inaccurate from a historical perspective.

History

Some factions and members in the KPD and KAPD, who rejected the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

, were ready to align themselves with dissident nationalist groups in the German army in order to garner more support. These members, primarily Heinrich Laufenberg and Fritz Wolffheim, were at the time described as " National Bolsheviks", but would retroactively also be cited as examples of the ''Querfront'' strategy. Later, explicit National Bolsheviks such as Ernst Niekisch and Karl Otto Paetel would emerge, which directly supported the combination of

and

ideologies. Paetel explicitly engaged in this strategy, stating the goal of his organizations, first the '' Arbeitsring junge Front'', and later the Group of Social Revolutionary Nationalists, to bring together radicals of left and right in pursuit of a "third way" between the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

and the KPD, encompassing both

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

and socialist economics.

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

between 1932 and 1933,

Kurt von Schleicher Kurt Ferdinand Friedrich Hermann von Schleicher (; 7 April 1882 – 30 June 1934) was a German military officer and the penultimate Chancellor of Germany#First German Republic (Weimar Republic, 1919–1933), chancellor of Germany during the Weim ...

, is credited with the first practical use of the strategy, in part characterizing the term, seeking to create a Querfront as a support base for his chancellorship through attempting to split off the Strasserist segment of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

in order to merge it with the

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s as way of forcing Hitler to support his government. This plan however failed, and it is disputed if Schleicher was actually serious about his proposal.

Modern examples and usage

In a February 1989 interview with the magazine ' in February 1989, the leader of the German neo-Nazi scene at the time, Michael Kühnen, was asked why

anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or hierarchy, primarily targeting the state and capitalism. Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state w ...

and

neo-Nazis Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), to att ...

did not band together to fight the state, and stated in response: "There are a number of reasons for acting together: both the Autonomists and the National Socialists despise the bourgeois order. Both hate its decadence and fight against democracy. After we have gotten rid of this pig system, we can squabble about which order is superior." The Combat League of German Socialists (1999–2008, KDS) was founded with the explicit aim of uniting the political

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...

and

right Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...

via the Querfront strategy, wanting to eliminate differences between the two sides and serve as a "Discussion and combat forum on the basis of the collective commitment to ''

Volk The German noun ''Volk'' () translates to :wikt:people, people, both uncountable in the sense of ''people'' as in a crowd, and countable (plural ''Völker'') in the sense of ''People, a people'' as in an ethnic group or nation (compare the E ...

'' ationand homeland". The strategy has failed the group overall, it being able to attract few actual leftists and being described by a former member, Axel Reitz, as "nothing more than the usual neo-nazi group", which lead to its dissolution in 2008. Despite this overall failure however, the Berlin sector of the organization led by Michael Koth, a former communist activist who lead his own Querfront group before the KDS known as the Workers' Party of Germany (PdAD), was said to have a far more national bolshevik lean, taking influences from both

Juche ''Juche'', officially the ''Juche'' idea, is a component of Ideology of the Workers' Party of Korea#Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism, Kimilsungism–Kimjongilism, the state ideology of North Korea and the official ideology of the Workers' Party o ...

and the former SED. During the COVID-19 protests in Germany, some publications have used the term to refer to left-wing and right-wing cooperation on demonstrations. David Begrich however argued in '' Die Tageszeitung'' that the term was misused in the situation since, while the left and right had cooperated, their generally opposing ideals remained separate and didn't combine or move towards approaching each other. Former prominent politician Sahra Wagenknecht (formerly Left Party, now BSW, her own party) has on some occasions been accused of running on a Querfront strategy through her idea of "conservative leftism". This accusation became most prominent after the Berlin peace rally on 14 February 2023 organized by Wagenknecht and feminist Alice Schwarzer, which called for negotiations and a stop of military support to Ukraine, since many supporters of Russia and the far-right were in attendance. A 2023 article in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' additionally suggested that the

Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin (fortification), Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Mosco ...

is trying to establish a German anti-war coalition between Wagenknecht and the

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

based on the Querfront model. The term Querfront is also used to refer to the

taking on, or rather more explicitly talking about, left-wing issues such as

anti-capitalism Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. Anti-capitalists seek to combat the worst effects of capitalism and to eventually replace capitalism with an alternati ...

, or taking on left-wing strategies as seen in the Autonomous Nationalists.

Modern Querfront media

In Germany, a number of media outlets were founded in the 2000s that followed Querfront ideologies. Many of them defame those who work according to journalistic standards as “mainstream media” and use the term “alternative media” for themselves. According to a study by Wolfgang Storz from 2015, the heterogeneous actors consisting of right-wing populists, conspiracy theorists and anti-Semites used their exclusion offensively. It contributes to establishing identity and increasing attention. Main Querfront outlets are: * ''

Compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact, a type of agreement used by U.S. states * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a t ...

'', the

German magazine founded by former left-wing activist Jürgen Elsässer has variously been described as a "Querfront-Magazine". * '' Manova News'', formerly known as ''Rubikon'', is a German right-wing online blog, noted for spreading conspiracy ideologies. The motto of the blog is “Magazine for Freedom and Peace, Environment and Human Rights”. Its editor-in-chief is Roland Rottenfußer.https://www.rubikon.news/autoren/roland-rottenfusser

References

Literature

* Bozic, Ivo: ''Die Querfront als weltpolitisches Phänomen.'' In: Markus Liske, Manja Präkels (2015). ''Vorsicht Volk!, oder, Bewegungen im Wahn?''. Verbrecher Verlag. {{ISBN, 978-3-95732-121-3

External links