Radical America - Vol 19 No 5 - 1985 - September October

8/8/2019 Radical America - Vol 19 No 5 - 1985 - September October

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Cover: Design by Nick Thorkelson

Vol. 19, No.5 Sept.-Oct. 1985(on newsstands Feb.1986)

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ARC

INTRODUCT ONPREFACE: GERMANY, ANTI-SEM TISM AND THE LEFTBITBURG

May and afterA Letter to the West German Left

oishe ostoneRAINER WERNER FASSBINDER'S"TRA H, THE CITY, AN DEATH

When Allegory Becomes Metaphor

eyla enhabibTHESES ON FASSB NDER ANTI SEMITISAND GERMANY

A Frankfurt Autumn

oishe ostoneTHE CRISIS OF THE GREENS

"Fundis "Realos and the Future,

hil ill LIFE AN D WORK AT EL CRUCERO

Interv ews w th N caraguan CoffeeWorkers

ntro uction by huck leinhans an uliaesa eGUATE ALA

The Trouble With Elections

lark aylor GOOD READ NG

eb hippen


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T D T

In o r las iss e, Cyn hia nloe reminded s in Bananas, Bases, and Pa riarchy:Some Feminis Q es ions abo he Mili ariza ion of Cen ral America, of how impor an iis o ask where are he women when examining he role of US imperialism in ha area In

his iss e we presen in erviews wi h Nicarag an coffee workers ha con in e o s gges heq es ion s sef lness for nders anding he promise and limi s of revol ionary change.

The in erviews, cond c ed and ranscribed by Ch ck Kleinhans and J lia Lesage, arewi h he local male organizer of a Sandinis a coffee workers nion and wo women coffeeworkers Bo h he organizer of he Of icial nion-over 80 percen of workers are organized, he majori y of hese in Sandinis a nions-and he wo kers give s impor an glimpsesin o he daily life of agric l ral workers in Nicarag a and an nders anding of how m chpeople val e improvemen s in increased power over heir lives and heir work The in erviews also show s he ways in which women were especially oppressed d ring he Somoza regime- neq al wages, child labor, poor ho sing, no a en ion o general heal h needs or

he speci c needs of pregnan women. In shor , hese personal his ories demons ra e harevol ion can make a difference in social rela ions and give poor people, especially women,new hope.

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Ronald Reagan's visit last Spring to the Bitburg Cemetery where SS and other Nazisoldiers were buried, came as a shock to many of us who had been following the politicalpolar zation within German society-a conservative government confronted by a broadbased peace movement, the growth of the Green Party, and the breadth of alternative politics. The existence of alternative politics meant that the question of how Germany viewedits past was always a contested issue Their challenge was to create an alternative Germany,one that had confronted the meaning of the past and uprooted the legacy of fascism andanti Semitism Yet as the project o Reagan and Kohl became clear public reconciliationwith the German past-the "Alternatives did not mobilize.

The failure of resistance to the visit seemed inexplicable to us It was left to the international Jewish community, spearheaded by American and Israeli Jews, to protest The protests failed to draw active support from the "Alternatives, otherwise no strangers to massmobilization Moreover, reports followed that polls indicated upwards of 0 percent of theWest German population favored the Bitburg ceremony

The letter we are re printing below, "Bitburg, May 5, 985, addressed to the WestGerman Lef , sharpens the issues raised by the failure of the Left around Bitburg. It was

t c t th J w sh q t C c w 1938 Ima e Bef e M E es


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written by Moishe Postone, who ived in Frank-furt from 1972 to 19 2 and was pub ished inPf asterstrand a biweek y ourna which is themost important and wide y read pub ication of the eft scene" in Frankfurt and which has become identified increasing y with the Rea o"wing of the Green Party (The best knowneditor of Pf asterstrand is Dany Cohn Bendit).

n a brief postscript, the author reports on thereaction and response to his Open etter.

We are pub ishing this document, and sub-sequent materia on the controversy over theperformance of an a eged y anti Semitic p ay(" rash the City and Death ' written by the

ate fi mmaker, Rainer Werner Fassbinder,3both out of our speci c interest in German po itics, but a so in an effort to under ine theimportance of deve oping a eft critique of anti-S mitism. When the Jewish community of Frankfurt took to the stage on opening night toprevent the production of a p ay which theyfound into erab e, the questions of anti Semi-tism, norma ization," memory and forgive-ness, imp icit y raised by Bitburg, both becamemore comp ex and were open y confront d.The response by many on the e t to the Jewish

community's protest, that the issue at stake wascensorship, is neither unfami iar nor adequate.t is te ing that the socia ist newspaper,In

hese imes head ined their story on the Fass-binder affair, Shou d rash Be Censored?"P acing the report in a specia section on

Censoring the Arts," they imp icit y equatedthe protest with the Right's assau t on rockmusic and Catho ic efforts to ha t productionof an irreverent p ay by an ex Catho ic(SisterMary Ignatius Explains It Al For You) whichthe Catho ic Church views as anti Catho icpropaganda.,, The equation of anti Semitismwith an attack on Catho ic schoo ing is striking-

y devoid of historica and po itica meaning.The civi iberties/censorship position, asMoishe Postone points out, imp icit y acceptsthe udgment that the p ay is anti Semitic and,significant y, bypasses a discussion of whatanti Semitism is.

Z m d -S m m

When mass cu ture reca s Nazi extermina-tion po icy, via the pro iferating survivor itera

ture, t.v. documentaries such as Ho ocaust,"fi ms ike Shoah," the imp ication is a mostinvariab y that Zionism answers Jewish history.The e t he ps create this vacuum by its re uc-tance to view anti Semitism as a phenomenonneeding exp anation. When the eft does consi-der anti Semitism, its response is o ten to ra-tiona ize it as an expression of c ass resentmentor anti capita ism. Yet such a reduction by-passes the identification of Jews with commun-ism, as we as with capita ism AsRadicalAmerica has argued before, the ack of a

anguage et a one a po itics to address anti-Semitism strengthens Zionism as the po iticaexpression of wor dwide Jewry The fai ure toe aborate a eft understanding of anti Semi-tism continues to haunt discussions of theMidd eEast. t is striking, as Postonepointsout, that Frankfurt's Jews have been forced tomove beyond Zionism to counter the currentanti Semitism.

-S m m d P pul r Cul ur

t was through a New York imes artic e(reprinted on the fo owing page) that we first

earned of the Frankfurt Jewish community sprotest which ha ted production of the Fass-binder p ay on opening night and succeeded inpreventing subsequent performances. Two fea-tures of the protest were particu ar y compe -ing. First, it provoked a controversy in whichboth sides (those against and those in favor of the p ay's performance) protested under thebanner Beware of the Beginning." The Jewishcommunity c aimed the p ay (one of its maincharacters is identified simp y as the RichJew") egitimated, re norma ized" traditionaanti Semitic stereotypes. Moreover, they argued, the staging of the p ay in a pub ica y sup-ported theater represented state subsidizedanti Semitism." Those in favor of the p ay sproduction, inc uding many Greens, evokedimages of Nazi bookburnings, and counteredthat artistic censorship marked the beginningsof repressive and dangerous thought contro . f anti Semitism exists in dai y ife,and thisneither side disputed, then, it was argued todeny its expression is to create a fa se sense of security, and b ock the chance to confront it.7Yet, there is sometimes a fine ine between


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exposing anti Semitism and ratifying it. Seyla Benhabib suggests that the p ay fai s as both artand po itics for it lacks a moment of redemption," of transcendence The b tant anti-Semitism in the play is eft untransformed

A second feature of the controversy thatcaptured our interest was the public role p ayedby Dany Cohn Bendit, who many of us remembered a Dany the Red," anarchist eader of the student movement in France in May, 1968Later, identified by the French state as a

German Jew," he was deported to Germany.He subsequent y took up residence in Frankfurt, where his fam had in fact been promi-nent in the prewar Jewish community, andbecame active in the Frankfurt a ternativescene, becoming involved in the Haeuser-kampfe (housing strugg es) of the 1970s Pres-ent in the theater o n opening night, he took tothe stage, arguing that the p ay shou dgo on,but so shou d the protest. He claimed the playwas not anti Semitic. The Jewish communityis making a mistake, but you have to admire its

Bubis d D iel C h -Be dit deb te, Der Spiegel

vita ty " There he confronted Ignatz Bubis, a eader of the Frankfurt Jewish community and

organizer of the protest. Bubis, rea estatespecu a tor, is rumored to be the mode for thecharacter R ch Jew " Cohn Bendit said how

p eased he was that the Jewish community wasbeginning to use our forms of action, occupation and trespassing," and in a subsequentdia ogue in the German news week DerSpiegel, 9 reproached the new activist Bubis fornot wondering about the protestors' motives in1974 (Bubis in 1974 had ca ed the poice toevict squatters trying to stop demo ition of a house he owned, provoking some of the mostvio ent strugg es of the housing movement inFrankfurt.) Peop e wanted those big houses inorder to make communes in them, to carry on a certain ife style. Those o d houses gave Frankfurt its character, and made it possible to ivetogether in a way that is not possib e in thesenew buildings. Today the West End is such thatno one below a certain socio economic level can

ive there."

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W c b gs s e p ay se f W e 19 5 6 was c cep a zed e m ds

f e e se s g s gg es f e seve esw c as C Be d d ca es we e s gg es

ve a way f fe a d e f e f e c y as

we as aff dab e s e e I RW Fassbde s T as T e C y a d Dea ; W eeg y Bec mes e ap Sey a Be ab b

d sc sses e p ay se f a d a ses s me f ekey e p e ve q es s p v es Hes mma y a d d sc ss s gges a a gay

ead g f e p ay w d be p v a P s ea g es e sec d p ece T eses Fassb de Sem sm a d Ge ma y: F a kf m 19 5 a e c e f ep ay s pe f ma ce p s B b g Ge ma y

a ses ss es a g we bey d e q es f w e e e p ay s a Sem c w e e s d s d ave bee pe f medRa e b P s e a d Be ab b s s eFassb de c ve s as bec me a w d w

e e a s p f c emp a y Gema y s s y

F ES1 Cf Radical America, V l 17, N ( 983) f annte p etat n f the s gn f cance f G een p t cs wh ch emphas zes th s theme.2. P asterstrand l te a l means the c bb est nebeach wh ch efe s t the sl gan, he beach s beneath the c bb est nes. Metaph cally the beach s the ut p an m ment wh ch s evea ed n the batt ebetween the a te nat ves" and the p ce, the state( he c bb est nes f m the st eet a e used t fend

ff the p l ce.)3 R W Fassb nde s best n wn n the US f h s

ms F x and h s F ends," Ma a B aun," L yMa een," Que e le," etc He s a s the auth f ab ut 30 plays ash, the C ty and eath" was publ shed n the c llect n, Fassb nde s P ays," ed ted by Denn s Ca and a, New Y Pe f m ng A ts J u nal, 1985 4 In These Times, N vembe 27-Decembe 0, 985, pp 11-14.5 P st ne's p nt can be gene a zed F example, the a gument used t defeat the Mac nn n/ w

n ant -p n g aphy efe endum was that t ep esented cens sh p. As a esu t, the ssues at sta e,fema e sexual ty and v lence aga nst w men, we en t cent al t the pp s t n's d scuss n. husLa y F ynt, publ she f Penthouse and the Femn st Ant -Cens sh p Tas F ce appea ed t have dent ca p s t ns.

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6 Cf P st ne, Ant -Sem t sm and Nat nal S c alsm," New German Critique, N . 19 (W nte , 1980),

wh a gues fu the that such Le t a guments supp ta fa se c ass c nsc usness7 Th s seems t be D ana J hnst ne's defense f the play Yet he lac f sympathy f the Jew sh c m

mun ty's p test, he mpl cat n that the F an fu tJews a e be ng used t f nt f a c nse vat ve cul tu al clean-up, seems t a l w l tt e m f a pub cc nf ntat n w th ant -Sem t sm8 The f ll w ng d scuss n f C hn-Bend t's nte vent n s d awn f m J hnst ne,In These Times,op cit., p 119 Der Spiegel N 46

T d d k A d kf s ass s a ass mb ma

s ma s ss


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BITBURG :May 5, 1985 and after

MOISHE POSTONE

A LETTER TO THE WEST GERMAN LEFT

Dear People:

I am writing to you because of t e s amefulevents of t e day My knowledge of and con-tempt for t e policies and ideologies of Reagan,Ko l, and t eir respective governments did notbuffer me from t e orror, rage, and deepsense of insult t at I felt as a result of t eir

bscene attempt to re abilitate t e common

Nazi T e main reason am writing, owever,is because I am very saddened by and disappointed in t e West German Le

T e istoric significance of May 5, 1985 was,unfortunately, also constituted by t e apparentlack of full awareness of its significance on t epart of large segments of t e West GermanLeft

At issue was t e question of t e relation of Germany today to Nazi Germany T is que

tion, of course, is not new. But it as nowemerged openly and occupied t e attention of

uc of t e world at a time w en t e Federal

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Republic as become a power, and stands at a cultural and political cro sroads. Because t eGermans failed to rise up against t e ThirdReic , even w en it was collapsing, becauset ey t emselve did not institute a new post-fa cist order, a system of psyc ic repres ionand denial wa constituted, upon w ic bot

t e FDR and DDR ave been built T e eventof t e past weeks ave s own t at at least inWest Germany, t at ystem as begun todecompose. W at ad always been t e onlyunderlying two c oices ave now clearly emerg-ed: an identity eit er based upon an open,ongoing confrontation wit and rejection of theNa i past, or one based on an ultimate reconciliation wit that past (purged of some of t emore unsavory leaders at t e top, perhaps, andt e one or two excesses" for w ic t ey alonepurportedly were responsible and about w ic99 9 percent of t e German populationpresumably knew not ing).


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Life M gthe condition th t llows theFRG to be considered new" without h vi g to fully bre kwith the p st, for m ny conserv tives

In Bitburg, Kohl nd Re g n were topublic lly s nction this conserv tive vision of respect ble reconcili tion with the N zi p stThe recognition by the m jor Western powerth t Germ ny could, once g in, be Germ ny,w s intended to fin lly end the postw r period

All ttempts to constitute different b sis forGerm nidentity on the b sis of thoroughgoing rejection of N zism nd those spects of

Deutschtum" of which it w s the ultim te,crimin l expression, were to be releg ted to th tpostw r period The end of th t period w s tobe m rked by the recovery by Ger ny of itsolder self

In th t sense, the Kohl Re g n visit to Bitburg should be seen s the ttempt to neg tehistoric lly th t vision of Germ n identity expressed by Willy Br ndt when he kneeledbefore the memori l to the W rs w GhettoBr ndt sign lled th t the question of reconcili

tion should be th t between Germ ny nd victims s the necess ry condition for the reccili tion of Germ ny with hum nity ( recocili tion most Germ ns dmittedly re not ev

w re is necess ry) Germ ny w s to recotute its identity by openly confronting its terrble p st, ccepting responsibility for it, nd jecting it

These two historic l gestures, nd th

conceptions of Germ n identity they expresre mutu lly exclusive For th t re son, moutside of West Germ ny not only hoped, butruly expected, th t the Kohl Re g n spectwould elicit very strong protests in Germ nfrom liber ls, soci l democr ts, the Le t, others A ter ll, it h d become cle r th tonly w s the Bitburg ct of reconcili tion" obscene nd brut l ct of violence g inst thvictims of N zism, but th t wh t lso w sst ke w s the soci l definition of Germ n idtity Yet the re ctions of those segments of Gm n society th t consider themselves representing n other, progressive Germ ny,


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bout t e Germ n p st I m suggesting t ougt t, if undreds of t ous nds re prep red todemonstr te g inst Americ n imperi lism inCentr Americ , nd on y undreds g inst

t e re bilit tion of t e N zi p st, t en t eformer c use s been instrument lized Ont is eve , ( nd not on t e eve of t e justice oft e c use itsel t e Le t replic tes t t perv sive bit of mind in Germ ny t t w ysseeks to excuse N zism by rel tivizing it (usuly wit reference to t e USSR) T t bit ofmind recent y found its dequ te expression int e recent l w equ ting t e Ho oc ust wit t eexpulsion of t e Germ ns from t e E st t t eend of World W r II Too often t e Left sreproduced, on one leve , t e p ttern of domin nt Germ n sentiments t t it s soug t toreject

T e point is not t t only t e Germ ns vecommitted gig ntic crimes T e po nt is t tyou re Germ n nd t t if you do not t keupon yourselves t e responsibility of f cing upto t e N zi p st, you too s re complicity in t etr nsmission nd reproduction of t e system oflies nd co lective psyc ic repression t t sc r cterized Germ ny since194 t t is,since t e f i ure of Germ ns to liber tet emselves T ere c n be no ot er Germ ny on

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t e b sis of deni l of t e p st, or n ttemto esc pe it, or to ignore it T ere re indeed tu lly on y two c oices, n ultim te reconciltion wit t t p st, or const nt bre k wit

t t p ster ps t is sounds unf ir t t t ose w ove no gui t, must be t ose w o t ke on t

responsibility for t t N zi p st But t ere is ot er w y, in my opinion T ere is no suct ing sSchlussstrich. T is s not ing to dowit collective gui t R t er, t e Germ ns wnever be ble to free t emselves, unless tot er Germ ny de ines itse f const ntly ot er And t t c nnot be done by pointing t1832 or 1848, or to t e workers movement

Ot er," since1933 c n on y me n ot er t nN zi Germ ny nd t ose elements t t g ve rito it T is is true no m tter ow people wis define t emse ves s Germ ns in someemp tic sense, or s Europe ns, t t is, s cmopolit ns In bot c ses, t t self definitionone directed g inst t e p st In t e l tter ct t is obvious But it lso olds true in tformer c se One c n't simp y be Germ

nd pretend not to know t t, s opposed to tsitu tion in m ny ot er countries, modern Germ n n tion lism w s w ys re ction ry

If, for w tever re son, it is import nt for

dr wing ine to m rk n end "


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a d o trat o that th a ur o tha v a t d o trat o to h d r

d ploy t o th Cru a d r h gII a t ll lt v ry ly

I a ot ra urt o g ough to g t a d p r a d or co pl t pr o o hyth t d d ot d o trat B t urg.I do

o that th qu t o a d cu d dur gth lat pr g a d ar y u r o -dog at c c rcl ra urt that part allyov rlap th th R a o" act o o thGr . Wh lI d agr tro gly th thPfl s e s nd p op r gard g th g ca co th B t urg v tI do th that add t oto hat I rot y l tt r th a ty o thp ac v t to pr v t pl tat o o

th T dou l trac " d c o ha d dhad gat v co qu c or th W t G r-a t a d had g rat d l g o d l u-

o t cy c a d d or tat o .T o oc o act v ty a d d cu o do -

at d th ra urt c " th autu u -qu t to y d partur Thr hour a t r y

s s g s R g s s B M y 9856

d cu o th th d tor o Pfl s e s nd,aa t a c t d o trat o too p ac

ra urt th cour o h ch th po cruta y l d a d o trator Gu th r Sar .

Th tr gg r d a r o d o trat o

ra urt a d oth r c t h ch la t d ort o a d r th o t v ol td o trat o o th d cad th d raR pu l c o G r a y. t r t g a c th v ry

t c o th d o trat o co trad ctth d ag o o th curr t pol t ca tuat o W t G r a y ad y th ta o Pfl s e s nd. u l c d cu o r v a dho v r that rath r tha g pr o oa t th proc o r v gorat g t l d o trat o r pr o o

hop l o a lac o p r p ct v a d ogr at d a o d a ct o o th part o a yyou g r p op th th Gr a hav g oldout." Th l g ha o t l y r

orc d y th S Gr coal t o th pro-v c o H a d th appo t t o Jo ch a ch r a R a o" Gr ro ra


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A E WE EFASSB E 'S "T ASH,TH E TY, A EATH :When Allegory Becomes Metaphor

S YLA B NHA

is a shor play, barely 50 pages. The s age direc ions ell us hai akes place on he "moon because i is jus as uninhabi able as he ear h. Wri en in1976, he play was originally inspired by he

m(housing s ruggles) in

Frankfur during he 1970s.In he la e 1960s he ci y of Frankfur , under SPD (Social Democra ic Par y) leadership,

oge her wi h a business consor ium consis ing mainly of he large banks, de eloped a plano ransform Wes end, a sec ion of he ci y. The confron a ion be ween he real es a e

specula ors and ci y au hori ies on he one hand, and he squa ers mo emen , domina edby he Spon is of he Frankfur New Le on he o her, can be iewed as he firs ba lebe ween he Old and New Lef , 2 an opposi ion which has domina ed German poli ics in he1 980s. The clash be ween he SPD, orien ed oward echnical de elopmen and "moderniza

ion, and he Gr en mo emen , cri ical of he effec s of echnical and economic grow h onhe quali y of life, was foreshadowed in he ba les o er he fa e of Wes end.The play i self has become a ex in search of a performance, and i s career is pro ing as

unfor una e and s ormy as ha of i s au hor. In March 1976, for he irs ime in i s his ory,he publisher Suhrkamp Verlag wi hdrew a ex from circula ion a er i had been prin ed

Opp s t Q sh tt ( C ss s ct ' , G g G s , B l , 19239


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This action was preceded by two highly criticalreviews of the play, one which accusedFassbinder's play of left fascism and left anti-Semitism Confronted with these charges, it wasno longe r possible for Fassbinde r, who ap-

parently also met with resistance from his owntheater group, to stage the play He then ter-minated his contract as director of theFrankfurter Theater am Turm and left the city.

The recent controversy over renewed at-tempts to perform the play in the FrankfurterKammerspiele is thus by no means the first; bet-ween 1976 and 1985 seven such attempts weremade in Frankfurt Yet the public discussionwhich began with the occupation of the stage

CONSTANT, concentrati kamp 1957

on the opening night indicates that somethingmore is at stake in the performance f this playthan frustrated artistic rights of expression oropportunistic desires to be the first to s ucceedin a controversial undertaking. For the rst

time, the real issues behind this controversy arebecoming clear and part of a broader publicdiscussion

Written as an allegorical play about themetropolis which eats its children," Trash,the City and Death has today become ametaphor for a different set of concerns: how,40 years af er the Second World War, Germansand Jews understand the meaning of their past,how to remember what im


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ages of se f and other they are w ng and readyto e w th

or the major ty of Germans, the ReaganKoh eremony at B tburg answered these quest ons n short phrases ke "forty years after,"norma zat on, "the w ngness to forg e,and n Chan e or He mut Koh 's words, "thew sh of the grand h dren and the h dren tofree themse es from the burden of the past,and to emerge nto the European ommun ty of nat ons w thout the burden of the past

assb nder d d not e to exper en e B tburgI persona y doubt that he wou d ha e been surpr sed As the ono ast and out ast of German postwar respe tab ty, n these re ent

e ents he m ght ha e seen a onf rmat on of h ssusp ons about what ay beneath the eneer of re onstru t on and respe tab ty n postwarGerman so ety In the present ontext, howe er, assb nder's p ay s not seen as shedd ngth s eneer, as destroy ng the myth of norma

ty, but as return ng the og of norma zat onto ts beg nn ngs: nterpret ng ant Sem t sm asant ap ta sm, and eg t m z ng ant ew shresentment How s th s read ng of the p ayposs b e? Or why does assb nder's p ay end

tse f to su h m sread ng?The p ay s about the metropo s and those

who nhab t ts p ts: prost tutes, p mps, homosexua s, trans est tes, and the r h ew who s a

ustomer of the prost tute Rosa B The fatherof Rosa B , Herr Mue er, an o d Naz , sbe e ed by the r h ew to be respons b e forthe death of h s parents Herr Mue er s h mse f a trans est te, who for h s n ght fe, takes the

othes off h s whee ha r-r dden w fe Rosa

B 's Yugos a p mp, ranz B , omes ou n theourse of the p ay, and s bruta zed by ar oushara ters for h s homosexua ty, among themhe Pres dent of the Po e, named Mue er II

t s hard to m ss the adm tted y rather hea yhanded symbo sm of the "trans est te Naz ,who be omes someth ng at n ght that he s notdur ng the day, an a egory for the way n wh hmany ha e hanged o or and s des n thepostwar per d n Germany Nor an one m ssthe po t a mp at ons of the fa t that the o dNaz and the Pres dent of the Po e, Mue erII, ha e the same name assb nder's message sthat h s s a so ety fu of rypto Naz s

Th s onfus ng array of hara ters meet one

ano her, bu era ; ey speak, buere s o u a on T e ru a s ene

betwee sa B a e r h ew s eft ambguous: a er e bru a za on of ranz, R sa,who o onger ants o e, asks the r h ew

od er the fa or of k g her He omp es,s rang ng her w h s e The L t e Pr e

o works for the r h ew, happens upon thes ene an says "He k ed her t s ear, he

o ed her He w o o es gamb es away h sr g ts In he ast s ene, the Pres dent of hePo e d spenses w th the test mony of the t ePr n e who hopes o get he r h ew s money,upon h s mpr sonment Ins ead, he s thrownout the w ndow of the bu d ng, w e he

bruta zed body of ranz B s dragge nto es ene as the urderer of Rosa BIs assb nder s po nt then that the r h ew as

we s the m of the system that dehumanzes a ? D d he rea y k Rosa B out of o e?

D d he ha e to k the m nu e he o ed? Or she r h ew he one who gets away thurder, who has a k nd of mmun ty an aerta n k nd of power pre se y be ause he has

been a m, n h s sys em at makes t sof e erybody n o ed? There s no answer to

hese quest ons n assb nder s p e e, just asthere s no moment of trans enden e, of re on

at on wh h surrounds the es of hose nhe p ts of the yThe p ay has been n erpreted by the o er

whe m ng major ty of those engaged n e ontro ersy as be ng e her about a r h ew orabou rea esta e spe u a on The ous ng batt es pro de the m ed ate ba kdrop for theportra t of he "r h ew, w de y be e ed o

be mode ed after he person of Ignatz Bub s, area estate spe u a or and e e oper n theestend, who ed the ew sh om un y s

protes at he open ng of the p ay Those whoew assb nder's p e e as a so o og a ra t

on rea es a e spe u a o a e y neg e t theransforma e a d symbo fu on of art as

we as bypass ng the most mportant ques on:who ndeed are he ews n postwar Germany;are hey w at assb nder h nks t ey are?

urt ermore, s rue, as Guen her Rueh e, theead of the ra kfurt Kam rsp e e, has

a med, at " e me of penan e s past,and t at now one a speak abou he ews

norma y,

2


24/76

I

I

I

I

\1

i1'

Fassbinder a e ed o wri e "a s onof e bi i b le in ose osde eaned down rodden and des era e of i s

rea ures ave a voi e As one of e ros iu es Miss Viole ex resses i "T e i

be o es bi er da b da e u ans in ibe o e s aller and s aller Man e bersof e Jewis o uni and o er o onen sof e la obje owever a i is re isel abasi o if of all odern an i Se i is o or

ra e Jew es e iall e ri Jew as ar of a de u anizin and abs ra ower of

odern so ie w i des ro s aliena es andu roo s a na ional o uni Is no e Jewi is ar ued believed o be e des ro er ofGemeins hajt ( o uni ) e re resen a iveof e os o oli an u roo ed lifeless

rin i le of one and of a i al Fassbinderis learl ons ious of is o if of odernan i Se i is and as several of is ara erss ea i ou We ave o as owever w ere

e la wri i self s ands w o le s isara ers u er su words In o er words e

ere fa a su in s are said in a la isno roof of i s an i Se i i ara er

Unfor una el i is re isel a is oin a

Fassbinder fails and e la rovides e afor i s own isreadin For ese s a e en s of an i Se i i rejudi e are no in er re ed eare la ed in no on ex e la or ra s rejudi e wi ou dealin wi i s is ori al roo sor brin in i o a rede ive resolu ion

For e Jewis o uni urren l livin inWes Ger an e erfor an e of Fassbinder s la no onl s boli all re resen s e end of e "Aus wi z bonus bu aso e level raises disquie in ques ions abou

eir olle ive iden i as well. A ain reasonw e la is so offensive o an e bersof e Wes Ger an Jewis o uni is aFassbinder s i ure of e Jews as ou siders asou as s w o alon wi ros i u es i sand ranves i es re resen e "o erof bour eois C ris ian so ie is one wi w i

e anno iden if aniel Co n Bendii edia el an re o nize i self in and ex

ress solidari wi e "ou sider e

"o er in w o e sees a o en of rede ion e resen e of o ressed values ouof w i a new so ie an e er e For e ro

es ors owever e o an in o w i Fass

22

A t S m c G m g m mov e oe o t e

binder as rown e is ab orren : on ebefore e saw e selves as e "o er and

is o erness w i e ave no de ind norosen is rea enin W a Fassbinder an

love re isel be ause of i s o erness I na zBubis a es and is rea ened b " reli ion

e sa s in aDer Spiegel in erview would forbide fro ever illin so ebod even for er

I don now an Jews li e e ri Jew.Co nBendi in an i a inar dialo ue wi Fassbinder ries o ex lain i o e de eased la

wri "Fro e s and oin of eir HavaNa ila ul ure e wri es " our love for eiro erness' is as unin elli ible as i is a eful.5C? n Bendi is ainfull disres e ful ere

bu be o es lear in e dis ussionbe weeni and Bubis a e ques ion is no onl one

of an i-Se i is bu one of Jewis iden i aswell In e a er a of e Holo aus ere isno lor in e ind of "o erness a Fassbinder a ribu es o e Jews His ru less ri

ique of e nor ali in o w i e avefallen and wi in w i e live in os warGer an is unse lin bu no orall o ellin


25/76

F ssbinde s p y en s become me p o o Ge m n iden i y e o yye s " s exp essed in e desi e o l genumbe s o e Wes Ge m n popul ion o be

ble o spe k no on y bou emse ves bulso bou e o e s e Jews wi ou ee inge censu e o guil nd e p s su oc ing

em s so become e occ sion o eJews in Wes Ge m ny o exe cise ei ig ode e mine o once ow one wi l spe k ndw i e bou em ow ey view emselves sopposed o ow ey e viewed oug ep o ec ing ens o e domin n popu ionFo is e son ei decision o occupy es ge on Oc obe 31 1985 symbo izes ns

o m ion o ei s us s ob ec s in emono ogue o no e in o sub ec s o conve s ion c ing o nd on be l o emselves o e on y w y o con on e de ini

ion o onesel s e o e " is o begin selde ini ion nd se icu ion. F ssbinde s

S bs d d A t S m t smDer Spiegel

pl y s become e occ sion o is sion be ween Ge m ns nd Jews w ic been missed un il now

OO O This s a refe ence to a 9 novel by a lef w ng w ter,Ge ha d Zwe enz, Th th Is As U h b t bl As ThM (D d s s b w h b w d M d)fromwh ch he p ay was adap ed Th s is And e Ma kowi ' formulat on Cf Hans von G uck's monologue R W Fassb nde ,D

M ll d St dt d d T d Ve ag de Au oren,F ankfu , 98 p 4 Jews who su v ved he Ho ocaust rece ved repa at onsand spec a cons dera ions from he West German gove nmen afte Wo d WarII

P l st st d, No , November 9 98

ey en bibteaches philosophy at BostonUni ersity and has li ed in West Germany

3


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TH E SE S FASSB DE ,A T -SEM T SM,A D E MA Y:A Frankfurt Autumn, 985

MO SH OST

I am go ng o ou l ne some aspec s of he bac groun o, an con ex of, he Fassb n eraffa r n Fran fur h s Fall. The ssue, as far as I am concerne , s no one of whe heror no Fassb n er s play s an Sem c, or wha he l m s o ar s c free speech shoube Ra her, wha s mpor an s he way n wh ch he con roversy surroun ngFassb n er s play n ca es he manner n wh ch an Sem sm an he rela onsh p oGermany o s pas have been eal w h.

In or er o be able o approach ha ques on I br e y shall g ve some bac groun nforma on abou he na ure of he Jew sh commun y n Fran fur , he e scene or

subcul ure n ha c y, he so calle hous ng s ruggle n Fran fur n he early1970s, as well as he charac er of he movemen owar s normal za on n he 19 0s n

he Fe eral Republ c of Germany

Of course, every h ng I shall escr be s very much suffuse by he h s or cal bac groun

of Na onal Soc al sm, Worl War II, an he Holocaus , an expresses an s express veof he complex alec c of normal y an non normal y ha has charac er ze Germanh s ory s nce 194 - ha s, s nce he Th r Re ch was brough o an en by he All es -ra her han by he Germans, he major y of whom ne her aff rma vely gree e nor

4


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es s ed he All ed v c o y nd occup onWh h s come o he d n Ge m ny n heF ll o 1985 h s been he n ns c ens onbe ween hese wo poles o he d lec c opos w Ge m n h s o y

The bno m l" ch c e o no m l y npos w Ge m ny s ve y ev den n hen u e o s Jew sh commun es The e e

bou 0 0 Jews n he Fede l Republ cod y The wo l ges commun es e n

F nk u nd e l n e ch o wh ch h sbou 5 membe sThe ove whelm ng m o y o hese Jewse no o g n lly om Ge m ny Th s

hey e no people who o pe son l opol c l o cul u l e sons e u ned ohe homes e 1945 R he mos ohem e o g n lly om Pol nd nd dec d

ed o s y n Ge m ny e 1945 e heD spl ced Pe sons c mps we e d ssolved

Th popul ion o F n u s bou 650 000

Why d d hey s y o n some ce u n? (Some s wen o s el nd e u ned n he 1950s ) One c n phe c h be ng mo e o less u

w ng o he Ame c n m l y occ

o ces hey no only el el velybu we e he ec p en s o benevo s om Ame c n Jew sh o g n

nd he Ame c n occupy ng u hohe pe od mmed ely ollow ng

bene s wh ch l e n he o m oon p ymen s we e ece ved om

Ge m n gove nmen

O cou se c o s on h s level h d

s u e ully dequ e expl n ond d o does me n psycholog c lemo on lly o Jews mos o whomconcen on c mp su v vo s o chs y n Ge m ny e 1945 when

ny m no y o hem h d h d ny

25


28/76

cultural or political relationship to Germany or Germans prior to 3 ? Whate erthe explanations, it is clear that these peopleremained caught in the grips of theirexperience of the Holocaust and of ha ing

sur i ed itIn fact, in terms of their self understanding,these ews ne erchose to li e in GermanyTh y always considered li ing there to bete porary, a temporary so ourn that hasnow lasted forty years.

This duality of li ing in Ge many and notli ing the e marked the fo m of t ei li esThey felt non identical, defensi e, andpe aps e en guilty li ing in Germany.They had business contacts with Germans,but no social contact They sought to a oidthe public, political sphe e and were erystrongly oriented towards Israel

By the same token, these ews were lookeddown upon by ews outside of GermanyThe form of their li es made them particularly ulnerable to pressures, both fromother ews and from non ews

In terms of their occupations, most areengaged in small scale businesses, particularly in the garment industry Othe s setup businesses which originally catered tothe needs of American soldiers (bars, etc ).Finally, one group became ery in ol ed inreal estate at a time of structural transfomation in Frankfurt a theme to which Iwill return.

0 It is really only in the past fi e or ten yearsthat the realization has slowly dawned onmost of these people that their stay in Germany no longer is temporary that they li ethere This, of course, has immediatelyraised the question of how such a normal"life is possible In other words, the questionof normalization" which has affectedmost segments of West German society hasbecome a double issue for the ews: On theone hand, what normalization for themcould mean on the other hand, what a p ocess of normalization for the Germans

6

would mean, and what its implicationswould be for the ews

The b g sy g g e B e est sse, K st ctN vembe 9 10 1938 ra rt C onicle

11 I now would like to describe brie ly thecharacter and history of the Le t inFrankfurt in the late 60s and 70s as was the social struggle in the early 70focused on the issues of housing and realestate speculation known in Frankfurt asthe Haeuserkampf T at st uggle constituted the immediate backg ound oFassbinde 's play which he wrote shortlyafterwards, ha ing ust come to Frankfurtas directo of one of its theaters

2 In Germany in the 70s, and especially iFrankfurt, the New Le t did not disappear,as in France and the United States, for ex-ample, but remained significant as a socialand cultural fo ce, although it was in a constant process of change and transformation

13 What characterized the New Le t inFrankfurt, was that neither orthodox Communism nor Maoism e er gained a significant foothold The hegemonic tendency"in Frankfurt was referred to as Sponti" for spontaneous Le ." Its history can btraced as a series of loosely organized struggles and campaigns beginning with organizing attempts in the factories and among


29/76

fore gn workers n e e rly 1 7 s, e form on o r ous so d r y comm ees,

roug e n nucle r power pl n mo e-men of e l e 1 7 s, e pe ce mo emeno e 1 8 s, d e ise of e Gr n p r y

impor n urn g poin w s e po i i-c deb e, conduc ed be wee 1 74 d1 77, concern ng e c cs nd poli c lworld ew of e ed rmy F c ion( AF), w c w s coupled w n incre s

ng emp s s, n uenced by fem n sm, onw w s frequen ly re erred o s e sub

ec e dimension " T e core of e soc lled re lis " c on of e Greens, f c on w c successfully rgued for nS D Green co li on n e pro nce ofHesse comes ou o e old Fr nkfur

Spon mo emen

Cen r l o our concern s eHaeuserkamp :

In e e 1 6 s, e c y o Fr nkfur ,oge er wi bus ness consor um

(b s c lly e rge b nks) de eloped pl no r ns orm Wes end neig bor ood

once d been bourgeo s nd e enp rici n, nd w ic w s en e ome ofm ny s uden s, ore gn workers, ndmembers of e Germ n lower middle cl ss

rom res den l o commerc lne g bor ood

e l es e specu ors were s rong y en-cour ged o p r c p e is process o

r nsform on.M ny res den l buildings were boug

nd en, f e en n s cou d no bee ic ed, were lowed o dec y un l eywere un n b ble w c po n demol on permi wou d be ob ned n

e ope of en building new ig r se.T ere w s d spropor on e y g

number o Jews mong e re es especu ors d ey were percei ed ssuc by e popul on.

T s de elopmen con erged wi e f c, e ime, e Le n Fr nk ur w s

s rongly in uenced by e emp s o LoCon i u nd o er le wing groups in y

o de elop orms o gi ion w ic wou d

Sq tt s h s F kf t H s ppst St ss 47W st ra rt C o ic e

ie oge er work p ce issues w work ng cl ss ne g bor oods (or, n

ngu ge of e mes, o e ogesp eres of produc on nd reproduc ion

T ere d been m ny ef wing cgroups" in e Fr nkfur re . Now,

ig ly poli c zed squ ers' mo e

beg n o occupy nd reno e bu dw ic were emp y er se er l ye rsp c ed b les w e police, mosoccupied ouses were cle red nd ordow T e l d, n mos c ses, w s m n unused or ye rs T e w o e perie ce le ery s rong res due o

nd bi ernessIn Fr nk ur , moreo e , form

s rugg e ook on ery di eres gni ic nce n i d in ly Now s cre ed be wee workp ce issuesissues o ousing s e d e superseded e ormer, w neg i e cquences were no c e rly unders

2


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31/76

Unde he Kohl gove nmen *, he desi eh he pos w pe iod in lly be ended, is

exp essed in di e en m nne , s desi eo econcili ion wi h he Ge m n p s An

ex mple o his ch nge is he new l wp ssed by he undes g, m king i c imin l o ense o deny o spe k ligh ly o

he Holoc us nd o he expulsion o Gem ns om he E s in 1944 45 l w, ino he wo ds, h equ es he su e ing o

he Ge m ns wi h h o he Jews ndhe eby seeks o wipe he his o ic l ledge

cle n. Ano he ex mple is he w ding byhe Ch is i n Democ ic M yo o he Ci y

o F nk u s Goe he p ize o E ns

M tt d d K t V d D gelmu Kohl he ds he conse v ive Ch is i n

Democ ic gove nmen which c me o powein he l s e ec ion

Juenge * Fin lly, nd mos se iouslyo cou se, Kohl s equ ion o he Fi

econd Wo d W s exp essed in hisis ence h Re g n should hold his in ges u e o econcili ion

us s Mi e nd h d done Ve dequ ion o he wo w s me n o imcou se, h , wi h m gin l excep o

he Holoc us), he Second Wo ld W ough by N zi Ge m ny w s w li

o he I implied h Ge m ns h do con on nd o e come hei p sh hey h d o con inue hiding i . Ih , wi hin limi s, hey now could hei own p s

E ns Juenge ep esen s he dic

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21 e g s s o B burg, he , w s e d-ed by he ohl go er me o m r symbo c y he end of e pos w r e In e -p e g h end e ms of reconc l onw h he Germ p s , he go er me -d c ed ude ow rds he p sd me r c lly opposed o h e pressed byW lly Br d s he el before hememor l o he W rs w Ghe o f f eeye rs go, ude h sough recoc o w h he oppo e s d c ms of

he N z p s , o he b s s of s repudo The s o B burg lso sough m-

pl c ly o releg e Br d s ges ure o hepos w r er ( e , o orm l er )

I s cle r h h s form of o m l z oh s bee more h d ff cul for he Jew shcommu y wh ch w s beg nn g o y

o orm l ze s ow pos on n Ge m ny

I s llum g o comp re he re c o so B burg w h hose o he s g g of

F ssb der s pl y I sh ll, of ecess y, h eo s mpl fy

ohl s form of reco c l o w h hep s w s s ro gly suppor ed by co ser-es, we ly opposed by he Soc l

Democr s, d s ro gly opposed l -men by he Gree s, l hough e her hey,

o yo e else o he Le sough oo g ze l rge sc le pro es s g s he Bbu g s

Wh e pl s hese r ous re c o s? Idon bel e e he co ser e pos o re-qu res expl on I w sh s mply o o e

h , s he pro es s he U ed S es dIsr elgrew louder d mo e ns s e ,

glossy gh w g m g z e,Qui kpubl shed r cle o he power of heJews he U ed S es, d heFr ankfurter A lgeme ne Ze tung * n b ely d sgu sed e w o e he Jewsshould be c reful o o o e s r rel

o s, h he co seque ces could o ly beeg e for he Jews d for Isr el

The Soc l Democr s oo lu ew rmpos on, h g scer ed hrough op -on polls, h he e g ohl s o B

burg w s f rly popul r, d no w g o

30* Frankfurt Da ly News

d m ge he r ch ces of c ory hc l elec o s Nordrhe Wes

wh ch were held he follow g weeWhy were here so few pro es s o

p r of he Le ? I m o cer Bhowe er, I h h m y re e ger free of he b ll s of he p s I h

hey re lso e press g des re for ro orm lcy, f o he s me form

co ser es I bel e e h o her fwe l pl yed role, such s he refus lu ders d h such spec cle could deep pol c l s g f c ce I s e d

es g d rec ly g s B burg, fople, he e ecu e comm ee of he Gsough o m r he h ers ry oe d of he w r Europe by r ellAuschw z ges ure h , of course, wu o ced by he med

Whe F ssb der s pl y bec me ssFr fur h s f ll, he pos o s seh e ch ged The co ser es, np r cul r heFrank urter A gemeine

rgued h he pl y s Semhe feel gs of he Jews should be eccou ; he S D, s f r s I ow, ss m y o he Le , p r cul rly grorou d he Fu d me l s f che Gree s, h e rgued h he ssue

of ce sorsh p M y, dd o lly, rgued h he pl y s esse lly bo

es e specul o d he des ruc oc y The e l s f c o of he h s bee much less cer d h s bmore recep e o he rgume s of

Jew sh commu y, whose membe s, spresum bly ll ow, occup ed he s gpre e he prem ere f om g pl

c m r g he f rs me, o hmy owledge, h he Jew sh commuh s en e ed he pol c l en n d rec d publ c f sh o

I s w med ers o of F ssb ndeDe Muell, d e S d , de Tod (

b ge, he C y, nd De h ) n FSep ember 1984 d p c p edpubl c d scuss on of he lm h foll

s scree ng


33/76

e p ay far as am co cer ed s ap ay a ou a des royed soc e y a d a oua Sem sm A yo e w o s fam l ar w

ass der s wor s ows e e e ow c e pro a ly more a a y o er

pos war Germa ar s wres led w ero lems of Germa y s mmed a e pas a dhe n errel o o p s nd presen nor

m l y nd b orm l y n Germ n soc e ya d mse f I wr g s p ay

ass der oo a o el y Ger ardZwere z e Erde s u ewo ar w eder Mo d ( e Ear Is As U

a a le As e Moo ) w c deal we des ruc o of Wes e d a d w c (a d

s s fere ce o my p r ) was a e eryleas pro ema c s regards a Sem sma d soug o ransform s s or cal a dl erary ma er al o a playabout nSem sm W h s e press o s crude ess

he play was o be a m rror w wh cra fur recog zed self I re ec ed he

a Sem sm a was s ro g amo g par sof e popula o ra ur he meof eHaeuser amp

I s ead o ser g s a m rror owe er eplay has ee reg rded by mos as a w dow

a d s h s ha I co s der o be e realpro lem I has bee reg rded by e o erw elm g ma or y o hose e g ged n sco ro ersy (w h some s gn an e cep

o s) as be g e er a pl y a ou r chJew a d a couple of o er unsa ory c arac ers or as a play abou rea es a especul o

h pos o s a en s co ro ersyha e bee ery re eal g

I s ery u clear w y he dec s o o s gehe play was made las year by Ulr ch

Sc wa w o had us become he gener lma ager of he Al e Oper or h s ye r byGue her uehle he d rec or o he Kammersp el who had ee cul ure ed or or

eFran urter A gemeine Wha I do dn eres g s ha once he Jew s commu y bega ob ec ng o s ag g he pl yheFran urter A gemeine pu sel he

forefron of e le aga s ssb nder's

K hl Ber en-Belsen De Spie el

purpor ed a Sem sm You wa s was e same p per

less war ed e ew s commu y au der a g oo muc ga s e B

sI el e e a e d ere ce

of eFran urter A gemeine o B burga d o ass nder d ca es e wwh ch e ssue o a Sem sm

s rume al zed y co ser es

I a e me o ed a e co sero o ormal za o cludes a reco w e pas O course

o be ully a d wholly embr ced. Osolu o o s pro lem as ee o

Sem sm (u ders ood s mply Jew s pre ud ce) asthe u accep ble elemen of N o al Soc al sm he pcr que o a Sem sm (wh ch

s he abs rac hardly pol clem c) llows or he co uemal za on of Germ y Indeed

s cond ons

3


34/76

W en owe er, Jew concern e endeyond w a accorded a careful y

c rcum cr ed oun , w en e end n oarea of pol cal gn f cance, a wa eca e regard ng B urg, en e Jew arequ ckly rem nded o e r pl ceW a e er one may n of a nderp ece, n no way repre en a reconc a

on w e pa a e B urg ougo do Indeed, a nder a perfec arge

for e ra k urter Al eme e e ngulgar, omo e ual, and cal ng n o

que on e mora founda on of eepu c o accu e m of an Sem m

a low e con er a e o emp a ze e

d ance from e Na onal Soc al pa n amanner a no ng, ere y ll ngwo rd w one one

On e o er and, o e on e Le w ocla m a e ue only one of cen or

p ere y mpl c ly agree ng w eudgmen a e play an Sem c), or

w o cla m a a ou real e a epecula on and ma n a n a ould e

po le o cr c ze Jew a well, nd ca ea ey a e no a all recogn zedem el e n e m rror a nder eld

up If a nder' play, a I a e cla med, no an Sem c, mo of e reac on oe play mo cer a nly a e een, n one

form or no eror o e on e Lef o ee e pl y a

one a ou an Sem m, ra er an a oureal e a e pecula on, would nece a e

re ec ng e l ndne on e par of manyof em n e early 1970 a o e degree ow c e r a le found popular uppor aa popul ruggle, a form of rugglew c requen ly ended o e n em c

In ead, an a rac ly un er al c aude frequen ly u ed o e l e ue of

an Sem m One frequen ly ear peopleay ey re aga n pecula on, and ey

don' care a ou e den y of epecula or Suc an a ude, of cour e, uf

fer rom n a rac ne a nonor cal and non oc al I a o d ra nge que on of w y wa a , e en oug

Jew were ndeed d propor ona ely

repre en ed among e real e a e peor n rank ur n e l e 1960

1970 , eo ly pecula or commonlynown y name were e Jew w

cep on of one Iran an).W a would e een requ red woua e een reflec on, no only a ou en o w c an Sem m


35/76

m ny, but, more fund ment lly, w t ntSem t sm s Suc d scuss on would ver sed some quest ons bout t e tr ckyn ture of soc l struggle n Germ nyfoug t on t e terr n of f you w ll p r

don my term nology t e sp ere of ccult on, nd t erefore, necess r ly popul st*T s, n turn, would ve requ red

re n lyz ng t e form nd content of v r oussoc l struggles, nd would ve requ red work ng out of t ose spects of N t on lSoc l smnot gr sped by n ort odoxM rx st n lys s of ts rel t on to c p t l.

Actu lly, suc d scuss ons ve been t k ngpl ce n sm ller c rcles for t e p st f veye rs or so In gener l, I nd t t t ere sgre ter openness to d scuss ng nt Semt sm t n, s y, ten ye rs go T e ttempted st g ng of t e F ssb nder pl y bot ss own ow problem t c t e ssue st ll s nd

s el c ted gre t de l of very necess rypubl c d scuss on on t e m tter

31One l st po nt members o t e ew scommun ty n Fr nkfurt tr ed, or t e f rstt me, to ct s pol t c l sub ects, not ob

ects I sure t t t s w ll be followed by retre t w y from t e publ c sp ere, but t

could be nd c t ve of c nge. T e successof suc c nge w ll, of course, depend onw et er suf c ent numbers of Germ ns w llbe ble to de l w t t e ssue of ntSem t sm w en t s posed by Jews ct ng spol t c l sub ects.

*For n el bor t on of t s d scuss on see myrt cle, nt Sem t sm nd N t on l Soc lsm," nNew German Cr t que, #19, W nter

1980 n t t rt cle gue t tmode ntsem t sm s l nked to cert n mode of protest

g nst l te 19t century c p t l sm b sed on

spec f c m s ppre ens on of t e n ture ofc p t l

T s rt cle w s del vered s speec t Boston re consort um on events n WestGerm ny n 1986

e most important antholog seen in long time'' e rst edition o wh promises to be an important annualseries " Te Atr ve

Pess n uaedi ed by tricia J Case with theassistance of ibrarians, scholars, anda tern ive press peop eReprin ng some of he bes and mostprovoca ive n s r i s and com-men ar es hat appear in al erna ivepress n spapers and magazines, hisannua series w make an mpor ant

addi ion to almos any co lect on.Researchers nd a se ec ion ofquali y articles "missed by mainstream pub ications on war and peacehealth, emp oymen and unemploy-men , the governmen and he people

ewomen m ement a d much mo . Sign can not only because they

provide di eren perspec ves from heon media bu b

repor di eren n s.-Boopp IBN0-87722 355-6

432pp IBN0 87722-392-0 Also lable:

elect ons om the A rna ive Press,1979 1980edited by Elliott horericia J. Case and Laura Daly BN22-24 - 9 9

BN22 244-424 9

From your ibrary wholesaler or

T MP PRE

O O EEPH E H P 191


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C RI SI S O F T H EG R E E N S :" Fund is, Rea los, and the uture

H H

Fall, 1985. Th missil s that had to b stopp d ha b n in W st G rmany for twoy ars; at hom and abroad, th pr ss and th politicians ar satisfi d that th anti nukuph a al dir ct d first at pow r plants, th n at missil s-that shook th country for closto a d cad has sputt r d out, and G rmany is its d p ndabl s lf onc again No on is inth str ts any mor , and signs point to th coming of ag of an Atari g n rationSudd nly, it xplod s again A n o Na i rally in a Frankfurt n ighborhood so h a ily populat d by immigrants it is call d Cam roon (a t r th form r G rman colony , draws a larg count r d mo of for ign working class youth and th sc n -th larg , radicalcount r cultur G nt r Sa !, a d monstrator, is trapp d alon on th str t by two policwat r cannons On cannon knocks him down, th oth r runs o r him For a w k, th r isrioting from on nd of G rmany to th oth r, climaxing in a hug anti nuk rally inMunich Th polic launch a brutal, unpro ok d attack on th black block, th radical,

punk youth who ar th militant cutting dg of d monstrations Again th r is a battl ,mor injuri s, mor arr sts

Wh r , in all this, ar th Gr ns, W st G r any s radical alt rnati party? For atl ast six months, th y ha b n in a paraly d stat following disastr us l ctoral d f ats


38/76

l s spr ng n wo s e elec ons. In Mun c , ed y er e b g bus , undred punks, usrele sed rom l, crowd n o b r o c eer press con erence by e Green P r y s N on lExecu ve Comm ee ( uVo) s ow o

mu u l suppor bo s des needed b dly.u e uVo s dom n ed by e Greens r d -c l c on, e und s" ( und men l oppos -

on s s) n r nk ur , w ere e pr gm sc on, e Re los," run e s ow, ngs re

d eren T ere, e Greens ve been negong o pu Re lo" (re lpol kers) le der

Josc k sc er n o e Hesse s e c b new ere e would s w Hors W n ers e n, eIn er or M n s er w ose cops were respons ble

or k ll ng G n er r . In r nk ur s s ree s,punks c n slog ns g ns sc er, end ,nd W n ers e n. end s D ny Co n end ,one me le der o e 1968 P r s upr s ng, enm l n squ er n r nk ur n lly Green

c v sT e Re los nk s r ng l le o e

power e oc l Democr c P r y ( PD)olds n Hesse m y be e only w y orw rd or

e movemen , er wo dec des n e leg e o." ome o e r und r v ls s ll see e

Gre D v de s runn ng be ween e budd ngr d c l l ern ve oppos on o c p l ssoc e y on one nd nd e rul ng conserv -

ve/l ber l pol c l p r es on e o er nobe ween bourgeo s block" nd n PD-Green le oppos on." Only on low level,

nd or c c l dv n ge, w ll ey supporPD rule. T e p r y s now been pol r z ng

over e ssue or lmos wo ye rs, w eg ouc ng ll m or ssues. I con ron s

Wes Germ ny s l rge le / l ern ve/ecolo-g s com un y w e e ern l ques on oow you bu ld e beg nn ngs o n und ges ble

l ern ve o es bl s ed soc e y, w le s llunc on ng e ec vel w n

uppor or e und s comes rom m l -n c v s s, r d c l em n s s, e bl ck

block," w o suppor e p r y mos e ec velyw en ey burs on o e n on l scene s eyd d e end o l s ye r. T e Re los supporcomes rom b se o 1968 r d c ls w o re

now n eres ed n e concre e g ns p rks,cul ur l oppor un es, solu ons o r nsporon problems, e c. , ew Greens n c y

counc l c n m neuver e PD n o prov d ng.

36

T e grow n recen ye rs, o egroup s urn ng p r y o e mov

ow rds w one r d c l rom remen cp r y o e m ddle cl ss nd e e

T e perks nd expense ccoun s go p rl men ry members p ve been doedged sword, s well. As one member compl ned, No one does ny ng ny unless ey re go ng o ge p d or be ng e p r o e movemen s d s dv n ge e mos c ve pb se o suppor s o en oo busy workspec c ex r p rl men ry ssues o

c ve n e p r y. In c , ll p rlmembers, l ern es, nd s ers, nd o

re dded oge er, o l o 20 percenmembers p s eng ged n bure ucrde vors n c , ey m y cons u e

ve m or y.

P y f th m t

T s developmen s ser ousl eropr nc ples de r o e p r y s ounderslong go d ys (1979 1980) w en e moou r ged vo ce o Pe r Kelly s ll spoke

de l s c young p r y. T e new p r y wroo ed n e movemen s," p rl men be second ry. Represen ves nd p r y c ls were o ro e" res gn or n es. " T e Greens w n ed o move beyondconven n l c p l s v ew o democg ve e s s" e r nk nd leon e level o power be ween elec ons. bers were no o see emsel es s even

de l bourgeo s p rl men r n, bu sub ec o n mper ve m nd e" r nk nd le o e p r y And beg n19 2, gender p r y n elec or l nom n

s m de slow bu sure g ns Tod y, m

W p r y members p nc ng o4 , , e Greens ve e g es rmembers o vo ers :8 o ny p r y coun ry. T e sm ll l ber l ree Democr s,dr w bou e s me vo e, ve l os d

e members p. T e resul s n cu e

s or ge, w d spropor on e e oed o elec or l or p rl men ry work. Aelec on, e s u on o en worsensmos c ve members re en n p rl m

.1


39/76

Demonstrations against Startbahn West, construction of an

airport runway for military purposes, which also invol ed thedestruction of rural land.

these measu es a e unde attack as idealisticand inefficient along with the often chaoticcounty and state membe ship meetings and theissue o iented wo king g oups " Most impotantly, the p inciple that G een policy isdete mined by the pa ty st uctu e, not withinthe pa liamenta y caucuses, is being chal

lenged. All these a e sac ed to the Fundis.Realos, meanwhile, a e in the fo ef ont of

effo ts to foste smal scale economic alte na-tives Many Fundis come out of the socialistle t, and a e active, especially on the no thcoast, in maginative alte native p oductioninitiatives un by ank and file union opposi-tion. Feminists f om both camps have, afteyea s of st uggle, fo ced thei agenda on a pa tythat has often esponded unenthusiastically.And the e is little o no disag eement within theG eens on a wide va iety of issues: no nukes, nomissiles, solida ity with the Thi d Wo ld basedon ecological p inciples, and the absolute p ioity of health and life ove jobs" and

g owth "Both factions ep esent impo tant ele

ments of alte native" eality. Neithe can dowithout the othe Nonetheless, it is the non-comp omising half the Fundis that makes apa ty like the G eens diferent in a capitalistsociety. A pa ty of Realos would not folong any diffe en f om the SPD's mo eenlightened wing. So the question emains:Whe e do they go f om he e?

Hessian Realos

It was in the state of Hesse whe e theRealo faction st eme ged to challenge Fundidominance of the pa ty In 1982 afte a massive popula upheaval against extension of theF ankfu t ai po t (Start ahn West), theHessian SPD found itself sho t of a state legislative majo ity needed to gove n thei t aditional st onghold Neithe Fundis no SPD leade swe e in those days willing to coope ate witheach othe , so new elections we e held TheG eens lost votes the second time a ound, butthe e emained no SPD majo ity At a G eenstate pa ty cong ess in Octobe 1983, a g oup offo me squatte s and st eet fighte s f omF ankfu t led by Joschka Fische and DanyCohn Bendit eme ged as the clea ly dominantfo ce and began to push fo a Red G een"coalition gove nment in Hesse. A e two mo eyea s of maneuve ing, inc eased faction fighting, on again off again deals between the twopa ties, and a final delay due to the G nte Sa incident, a coalition was finally wo ked out lastNovembe In Decem e Joschka Fischebecame the Hessian Ministe of the Envi on

mentIn the meantime, howeve , the factionaldispute sp ead nationwide. At i st, the Fundisseemed to have the uppe hand. The mostimpo tant faction, the Ham u g based G oupZ " pushed socialist ele ents st ongl and succeeded in getting one of its t ade union o ganize s, Raine T ampe t, elected to the BuVo in1982, succeeding Pet a Kelly Also elected tothe BuVo at that time was the long standingG een philosophical gu u, fo me East Ge mandissident Rudi Bah o Initia ly, T ampe t'sha d headed socialist adicalism seemed theantithesis to Bah o's oma ticism, but by 1984the two ep esented the impo tant wings of theFundi tendency, as it began to face off with theRealos And 198 was the G eens heyday, ayea when all elections yielded smashing victo ies, and no act of adicalism f om the election of an all women leade ship of the Bunde-stag caucus to the nomination of Eu opeanpa liament candidates linked by the p ess withthe u ban gue il a movement seemed todamage thei public image The G eens appea -ed as a pa ty dominated by Fundi adicalism

37


40/76

W t G m G y l ght m m t th B d t g.

After Vict r Defe t

A e elec o l se b cks l s sp ng oweve e Fund s we e suddenly vulne ble In

e l nd e de e w s w dely bl med on s e execu ve comm ee dec s on no oo m co l on w e PD. Nume ous

G een vo e s e e o e vo ed o e t c veoc l Democ c c nd d e op ng o elp

m de e e conse v ve ncumben w ce d d In No R ne Wes p l demol zed nd c on dden s e p y w s

suddenly s uck by e p ess d s o ons o esolu on by e G een g y wo k ng g oup c llng o dec m n l z on o consensu l sexu lc v y. No one w s ble o cle up e epo s

be o e w s oo l e nd e elec on led og ve e G eens e 5 pe cen m n mum needed

o ep esen on. W e e m ny membe ssked e Fund s w s s ve b l d c l sm

ge ng e p y? T e vo e s w n ed d c ll e n ve could ge ngs done.W en e s ken p y ep esen ves

g e ed n H gen Wes p l o n on lcong ess n June sol d y seemed o ve epl ced c mony le s su c en ly o beg n

e cl mb b ck up T e s ngle m nded concenon on e c s s me n one o e m n

e sons o c ll ng e ex o d n y cong ess

38

long pl nned deb e on b nn ng expe men on w s educed o

oug T s d e un o unsp k ng e es gn on om e p

o nd s love C s ne co e n m l g s movemen .

nc e s ngly d s llus oned w some mon s s e Re los g ned n

F d th t R d B h


41/76

Six feminists, largely Fundi leaning , andincluding Bundestag caucus speakers ChristaNickels and An tje Voll er agreed with R alocriticisms of ineffectiveness sufficientl to callfor professionalization as soon as possible

The main motion passed. Introduced by threemembers from Berlin, it re ected the sentimentof the membership that animosity should,above all, be overcome.

The result of al this was that the questionof wh ther to cooperate w ith the SPD was nolonger on the agenda Any for of parliamen-tary contact with t e SPD i s now approved; the

battle will henceforth be over what "costs ofcooperation are ' 'unacceptable.

Coalitions and Principles

But ven if all formal barriers on how tocooperate with the SPD are down, there are dif-fere nt views on why to do so. On one side is theview, largely associa ted with the Fundis, thatcooperation would be a tactical step, designedto win immediate gains, but not to compromiseGreen principles. Implicit in the views of manyRealo leaders, however, is a strategic view of

,til 'eQ ) c a4 ;us &. xe f v : Omr Y: i o '.($lreh fat)".T posit o. ar d ' n :; Oail t r\ e f d v's caQo 1oli: Pjf y .o c , M 4B n L ... nM j Ne .

' ____: ;: > : ::: \_ __, ', < _ ;',>< " , ' :",O, , _:' :: , '< ::

e o (Il US y dha tU le; () n1l !U\t < p f wi /

39


42/76

cooper t on rem n scent oft l n styleh stor c comprom se " Th t th s d s on c n-

not beco ered up s e dent from the f ct th t,desp te the good w ll of H gen, the d de con-t nues Ludger Volmer, Westph l n Member

of the Bundest g (MdB) nd soc l st Fund ,tr ed t r lly centr l st" f ct on of non dog-m t c Re los nd Fund s A p per he c rcul tedcont ned well thought ut pr nc ples for cont nu t on of common Green work:

The alter ative that we have o posit aims atmore tha just the a ti ulatio of what is feas

ible here a d ow It mea s a demo stratioof what would be possible if a suf ie tlbroad politi al supported it Th po ibi itywhich w count rpos to r a ity is not th sma l r form We eed orga ized omprehe sivesubsta tial ou ter- o eptualizatio Herea d ow we posit a o ept for alter ative

o texts agai st the o texts of thought a da tio of traditio al so iety whi h we riti ize

The mport nce of efforts l ke Ludger Volmer's s not whether they succeed n p per ngo er n rreconc l ble d de, but th t they m ysp rk reformul t on of wh t t me ns tobe fund ment ll opposed to ex st ng soc ety,

yet comm tted to work ng w th n ts structuresThe rony s th t the Fund s h dalreadye ol ed, by the t me the cr s s h t, f r beyondthe s mpl st c crypto Gh nd sm of Petr ellIn f ct, ust four months before the f tefulS rl nd elect ons, Tr mpert nd fellow H mburg eco soc l st" Thom s Eberm nn, h dpubl shed book wh ch represented the bestpol t c l formul t on the Fund s h d to offerAs result, t h s become m or focus of d scuss ons the cr s s sp wned deb te cont nues

Not th t the eco soc l sts re w thout str tegy They h e l ys, for nst nce, held synthes s of ecolog st nd work ng cl ss polt cs, rooted n the own person l exper ence nhe y ndustry n H mburg Tr mpert worked

t Tex co for 2 ye rs, much of th t t me s r d c l d ss dent le der nd elected pl nt coun-c l represent t e Eberm nn uses the ex mpleof the l the oper tor wh ch now s th ng ofthe p st, s nce l thes e numer c ll controlled The worker, therefore, h s been robbedof cre t ty the percept on, so f r, s s m l r toth tg en n th s country by Br erm n3Eber-m nn does nota e t the technolog c d

40

nce of the numer c l control process g enh s str tegy s m ss work ng cl ss to re ect such d nces n order to mex st ng en ronments nd s e obshowe er, of workers who don't do nyth nch lleng ng or s nteresting s oper t ng those, for nst nce, who oper te wordcessor (or who oper te numer c lly contrl thetoday ? Pre ent on sm gets them nowhe

s they need newly ormulated type of worken ronmentin or orating or trans ending thetechnolog c l processes c us ng the l ethey re f ght ng

C itique of Fundamentalism

The centr l po nt of Volmer's cr t quethe Fund s s th t they nclud ng both B

nd Eberm nn st ck to neg t on of exre l ty, r ther th n propos ng pos t e t e structures The cr t que s l d out det l, n reg rd to Tr mpert nd Eberm nW ll r ed M er, n h s re ew ofZukun t derGr nen 4Such neg t on s ncomp t ble

ny re l cooper t on w th the systemSPD s nce th t would mpl ccept nce cert n qu ntum of the system's m sdeedsM er el bor tes:

How do you solve the dilemma of: dema dsfor more publi regulatio ( e of i dustry et ) o the o e ha d a d reje tio of statea tio o the other? The remar that it ismerel a matter of providi g the mass moveme ts with room to develop does ot do the tri The e essity to regulate a so iety whi h produ es a ordi g to a divisio of labor is etwor ed i ter atio a l a d is

largel stripped of atural developed so ialstru tures a ot be ful illed by moveme tsa d their spo ta eous u tuatio s alo e Pa ti ularly the moveme ts have to fi d politiforms in whi h they a develop a d formulate the New.

Beyond "mo e

It h s been one of the m or contr butth t the eco soc l sts nd others nGreens nclud ng B hro) to ch llenge the olst nd rd tr de un on dem nd of moret me,Tr mpert nd Eberm nn h e s dm ke cle r th t some products should not

Betr ebsr t, the elected employees' coum nd ted by l w t West Germ n f ctor e


43/76

"E ch f hims nd fil h f s ll, B nte a dem Un er nd

a a lable because the r product on s too pol ut on ntens e; others w ll ha e to be less a a lable because the r acqu s t on n ol es plunderfrom the Th rd World

The un ons' largel unsuccessful f ght for a3 hour week as full supported by theGreens (and not t should be noted by theS D) on the grounds that w th enough grow

ng product ty product on should be used toncrease le sure t me Trampert and Ebermann

do not e en stop here they see the concept ofle sure" as an express on of explo tat onhey wanta l human l fe to be structuredmean ngfully But certa nl worke s demands

for le (work e en f not less pay) are a smallstep ahead. The spread ng outrage o er thedeathof the German forest due to ac d ra n alsopro des an opportun ty for su h a mo ementSo far t has been l m ted to demands for cata-l t c con erters oppos t on to sulphur ox deand n trous ox de em t ng factor es Othersha e called for an ant c r campa gn whose

embers would oluntar ly renounce autosand ght for a car less soc ety.The goals of these mo ements m ght be

ore mmed atelyreal zable than those of thepeace or ant nuke mo ements; nor are they

necessar ly more utop an In fact they areconcrete s nce the mo ement could crel ngexample of fe style alternat es n usof food or transportat on for nstance whm ght not concretel effect the global s tuatbut wh ch nonetheless m ght w n the resand attent on of the publ c at large wh le

ng concrete knowledge for the mo e entMoreo er they would strengthen th

soc al base of the mo ement by expand ng deepen ng the soc al context w th n wh c

sts l e The strength f the mo emeWest Germany n the past 10 years comparedth s country s n large part due to the aof a soc all based alternat e structure large degree that structure has not broken sn cantly w th the more destruct e featurthe system and t could benef t from a stado ng so The rad cal forces n the Greenrectl see th s stratum as the party s soc altoday; they ha e a respons b l ty dur ncurrent per od of redef n t on of the r po

to do so w th n the context of that stratuOtherw se as the party matures t w lw th n the establ shed pol t cal structurethan as an oppos t on force

4


44/76

Since be Hagen Confe ence

I the mo ths s ce Hage thoseea os a d there are some who hoped the

cr s s wou d a ow them to mpose the r mpr m-atur o the party comp ete y ha e bee d sappo ted The re orm comm ss o s set up Hage came up w th comprom se ormu at o sthe structure c mm ss o ew d or g a as acha c to root out dea st c exper me ts o thepast stead became a eh c e or a a rmat e act o " pus by em sts he Wackersdor uc ear reprocess g p a t wh ch sparkedthe arge Mu ch demo strat o the aprom ses to bethe Gree ssue o the ate sLast December s at o a party co gress O e burg was cut short so the de egates cou dtra e to a demo Wackersdor a d somewere arrested there

Amo g the other major at o a ethe party ast a were a ter at o

ere ce a co ere ce o peace mo emo the oca e e a par ame tary Nam b a a d a co ere ce o wometer two were smash g successes a more o ess dom ated by u dpeop e The grow g mpo ta ce o wh ch was d cated stro g by the co

s tr s ca sub ers e o theusua te de cy o the ea os e e prom e t a d ded cated em sts caucus co speaker Wa traud Schoppe

ea os T e member BuVo a d thstag Caucus Speaker s Cou c (a 6group compr s g co speakers wh ps) rema u d ed

Jo chk ch n m ni f om H De Spie e4


45/76

Pa ty of Ecology, Minister of Environment

The eal s ha e, h we er, sc red maj rp nts n the med a: sc ka F scher s the f rstGreen m n ster; h s fr end ubert Kle nert leadsthe battle f r Green part c pat n n the watchd g c mm ttee f the secret ser ces; and MdBOtt Sch ly has just caused charges f perjury tbe br ught aga nst Chancell r elmut K hl f rh sr le n a br bery scandal These f rays ntthe strat sphere f statesmansh p are the

eal s' natural hunt ng gr unds, just asm ement p l t cs" are f r the Fund s, and a

plum s awa t ng them th s une: the state fL wer Sa ny h ds elect ns n wh ch an ther

red green maj r ty" s l kely; already Waltraud Sch ppe s a speculat e L wer Sa nM n ster f r W men's Affa rs (the Greensfa led t f rce the ess an g ernment t set upa s m lar department)

But the d ff cu t es n c mb n ng the twGreen fact ns was e dent aga n ear th s yearwhen the ess an g ernment the SPD

ess an g ernment ssued a rep rt thatwh tewashed the r le f the p ce n the k l ng

f G nther Sar . Immed ate the Greens pr -tested, and there were rum rs that the newc al t n m ght c lapse

St l , an e ect ral success s needed tpsyc g cal c unteract ast spr ng's asc s

w th n the party and am ng ts p tent a sup-p rters at arge If g d sh w ngs can a s behad n Ba ar a (where the Wackersd rf repr -cess ng p ant w bessue) and amburg(pr bab y the Greens' str ngest state) ater nthe year, ree ect n t the Bundestag ne t

anuary p ss bly w th en ugh seats t bl ck amaj r ty s a g d p ss b l ty. T e sur althat de e pment w ensure w be a pre-requ s te f r w rk ng ut f pract cal answerst the quest ns the Greens a e ra sed f rthemse es and r rad ca s n al ndustr a ec untr es

P is a reelance ou alist whose articleshave appeared in the ua anand other publi-cations. He has closely ollowed the Greens and developments in Germany in the past ew years

This ar icle is excerpted and updated rom alon er ersion which appeared in S c a stP t cs,Num er (Fal /Winter 1985) SPcan

e con ac ed a 2020 W. Sta e St Sui e 168Milwau ee WI 53233

OO O. Vol e "Gege Realo gege Fu da e alo fu ei ea ke Ze alo F a io a u ip : i e publi hed iKomm ne, Ju e 85.

Eb a a d T a pe Z k nj e G nen: Eine lis isches Konzep j eine dik le P ei (Fu u e of he

G ee A Reali i o ep fo a Radi al Pa y) Ko k eVe lag Ha bu g 984.3 Brave man, "Labo a d Mo opoly CapitaMonthly Review Press New York 1974.

4. Maie "Radikale K i ik a h o h kei e ad kalePoli ik Komm ne, v # ,Ma h 985,p. 5He e Maie efe s to a passage i n T amper! and

Ebe mann p.cit., 2 06 Ma e p.c t. p. 2

Featur ng BANANAS, BASES AND PAT IA C Y: S me Fem n st QuestAb ut the M tar at n f Central AmerCynth a Enl e; AT A M'S LENGT :Fem n sm and S c al sm n Eur pe by MKennedy and Chr s T lly; T E

B OT E OOD OF TIMBE WO KE SAND T E SOUT E N LUMBE T UST:ega epress n and W rker esp nse by

Ferre and Ke n yan

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March oj the Workers, photo by Tna Modotti

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P blo M yo g L P lm

the e e m ny g een be ns We need co ee s high ty e o t c o to he b nce om o t e o t t on.

The F rmworker ' U o

The who e n on movement h s g own since the evo t on e o e th t some b nwo ke s nde stood the ink to g ic t

wo ke s nd t ed to o m mwo kenions, b t th t who e movement w s w edo t. A te the evo t on, w ge di e ences c-co d ng to se we e bo shed by w, nd th t

mmed te y h d g e t e ect he e bec sewomen w ys we e ge t o thewo k o ce b t e ned s gn c nt y ess th nmen in th s e oweve , te the evo tion,

t st on y men tici ted in the m-wo ke s n on, w th women beg nning to o n

n 1981 o 98 O i st dem nds we e o nds y, the second to est b ish st nd di edo no ms

In the o d d ys n ove see shed theie dwoke s to inc e se od ction. Eve yone

h ted th t e son Now we st h ve wdi ecto who g ides those not e y mwith the wo k The k nds o t sks he s e

e w s ng, d y ng nd o d ng the be nying s cks, t ns nting, etc. Most m

t nt, the m nion e esent t ves co nt y got togethe to n me the obs th t co

se the bo o d y s w ge, now2 co -dov s

When I w s n on o g n ze n E Co b ggest st gg e w s to m ove the qo ood n the comm n din ng h , esto g ntee n t t on y b nced dito c y, mwo ke s h ve w ys e

ce nd be ns Since the t m h we h vbeen b e to im ove th t diet m ch. Wo know do not get s set bo t s y s

ood nd iv ng cond t ons. oweve , wo ke sdo h ve m ch bette ving cond tionYo m y not see th t m ovement on the s

ce, b t n tic the gove nment is su m ch mo e e icient ch nne s o ood db t on, o wh ch the n on w s emech n sms. The othe se o s com

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I

t

w k h d w b ni i n nd w kc ndi i n . F x mpl wh n p p g p 5 .m nd w hing h c ff b n in big

nk h w m y b b l ly f ing.Th y w n b c ndi i n d h . Th y

r d m nding c n w d ink ndx min k p in c f h iving

q .A f f d g h b ic p vi i n wi l

b d l w b idi d pic igh hm f m c n .[Tran no e: Th b ic

ic b n c n mill c king il ip p nd p.] F h m in h diningh l wh h w k g h m d y

h y n w g p in ch m gg ch f h m in m vy hd y nd f n v d y

O ni n i figh ing f p imn l w k ' p gn ncy b n fi Wh n

w m n f mw k p gn n h y dk p n w king. F l im w m n f mw kh v h m igh b n ind iw k wi h ix w k l v b f nd ixw k f h y giv bi h. ny c l ni n

b nch igh ing x nd h igh byc n c w m n wh w k n l y i

hi i n w i n in w. D ing h hwh n m p pl w k h nly hing hp im w k h v c v d w kin i ch f l ing c ing h mwhil c ly w king in h fi ld . Th n h

mp y m c v m dic c .

Social Relat ons

ci l i n in l h v ch ngd ic ly h v l i n. I hp p h v g n mb f f i nd n w

nd h i nd hip h v g wn f p pl

ying cc mp i h c inci l kg h In p ic m n h v l nf mh hi m i n hip n np im i y d g ing b p

g h . n m ly d g g hd inking b ddi nd h b w c n fvic . n nd w m n m k f i nd n w wh

h y w k nd whn f fiv w k f mdiff n w kpl c g g h i ' di

A TC u m mb s l l m t g h m. El C u N gu S p mb 984 Ph : Chu k Kl h s

5

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some k nd of problem At that po nt they ga n anew soc al understand ng of the problemswh ch other people ha e and they also learn anew form of soc al nterchange We had th s

nd of problem o er here and th s s what wed dabout t " they say Not only do they learnabout d fferent solut ons to ar ous problems

romeach other but or men th s k nd ofnteract on has completely changed the r m nd-

set about fraternal relat ons and fr endsh pWomen ha e trad t onally bu lt up th s k nd

of relat onsh p dur ng the har est alongs deother women Women who come from ne gh-bor ngfarms look forward to meet ng eachother at har est t me. Somet mes they w ll forma work group to go off and har est together n ad fferentarea. We' e used th s n ormal soc al

ormat on to mpro e the har est by ha ngd erentgroups compete aga nst each other

n terms of lo e relat ons farm courtsh ps doot last as long as n the c ty where people

m ght court a year or two You m ght hear aellow serenad ng h s lady n the m ddle o the

ght but t's not l ke omeo and ul et n thety people n the r s often ha e not had

h ldren yet but here adolescents o 1 or 16usually do. requently the couple l e on theame arm. robably the g rl's or boy's mother

ll set as de a room n her house for them toe together. The extended am ly un t then

unct ons as a un f ed econom c un t and allu ua ly wor together n the same work groupdu ng har est f howe er the couple d d not

a e good relat ons w th the r parents theyould probably both go to wor on another

a mural courtsh p relat ons are ery legant butbr A d usually the pa r w ll st ck together

r a ery lo g per od of t me although a mane has ch ldren by se eral women t s rare

that people get marr ed by a udge or a pr esto rs get together because they lo e eacht er but are not t ed together formally e en

though most o the people are Cathol c. N caragua has many s ngle mothers

econom c terms when a man and aoman are together they both help support the

ldren. On the other hand a s ngle mothert ery l ttle support and she has to work to

d her ch ldren by hersel . S ncea woman'sband m ght ha e ch ldren by another

C ying coff dling o h fi ld fo n pl n ing idi ion lly wom n ' ob Pho o Ch ck Kl inh n

woman a woman knows she's really got towor for er k ds At har est t me you'll semany ch ldren out cutt ng co fee because thwhole am ly has to earn as much as they cathen so they can sur e for the rest of the yeaWhen a woman runs a household as de rohar est t me only she and not the ch ldren wbe able to nd work When there are a bunchch ldren the adolescents go out to wor aadults and g e money to the fam ly a chthat's usually about years old w ll be left ta e care o the younger ones

Econom cally the am ly's ncome couldsupplemented by ra s ng an mals for foodnow t's usually a hog and some ch ckens. th nk that the rural workers ha e not organ zeth s aspect o the r l e ery well and ha e faulted here for a lac of plann ng and n

t at e As coffee product on has become msoph st cated technolog cally people say tdo 't ha e the t me to ra se an mals collectly f they d d the an mals would be n pe

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cagesand not just wande ing a ound. As we getinc eased coffee p oduction we a e cultivatingmo e small plots which the wo ke s move f oma eato a ea to tend O ten people aise one hog

c ose to thei house and keep it tied up by itshind eg and feed it off table sc aps. utothe times hogs a e left out on thei own to

oam and get in the small newly planted plotsand oot up the seed ings.

Gl G v Ch 1982, f mC a e a B y D k

The sleeping qua te s p ovided fo fa m-wo ke s ep esent a ongstanding p ob emwhich we ve on y pa tially been able to so veThey ve been emodeled somewhat but a e ce -tainly not what we d ike. Stil they a e not aste ib e s befo e the evo ution. eedy nd-

o ne s o iginally bui t them so as to c asmany peop e as possib e into the sma lestamount of space. Imagine an ea of 4 squa emete s 3 mete s by mete s 4 peop ewould sleep the e S eeping boxes which a e oneand a ha f mete s wid tw mete s long and

50

one and a half high wou d be stacked inth ee o fou high

A fathe mothe and child en slept ibox so you would get five o six peopleing in such a tiny sp ce This ent itselte ib e deg ee of p o iscuity and child abuse And vene al and infectious dissp ead fast If a woman had a d ughteman othe than the one she was cu ent ywith then that daughte would be subject cestuous e ations. Even though we havbeen able to imp ove the living conditions pletely we have enla ged the boxes"gua anteed each family two boxes so that

adult couple sleeps in one p ace and the chiin anothe This has cut down on p omisFa mwo ke s ea ly attacked these

conditions at the beginning of the evolutiois c ea that economic esou ces wi nbuild individua houses fo eve yonethough in a few a eas we have been able tobui ding te ia s to fa i ies who cobuild thei own houses unde the supe visa pe son who knows something about cons

tion. A big union dem nd ea ly on was tlandlo ds to fumigate the s eeping quaeg

Documents

Radical America - Vol 19 No 5 - 1985 - September October