By Jeremy Dewar
OUR SISTER organisations in Germany and Austria and the socialist youth organisation Revolution held their annual summer camp in eastern Germany this year. Over 160 communists from around the world withdrew from the hustle and bustle of the daily struggle for five days to focus on Marxist theory and the analysis of new developments.
With 70 sessions, led off with high level introductions and followed by penetrating discussions, there was plenty to choose from. We can only give you here a small taste of the food for thought we enjoyed.
Several workshop courses concentrated on key tactics in the period ahead, like the united front and the question of war. After a solid grounding on the conquests of the four revolutionary Internationals, these sessions investigated how we could apply their lessons to today’s struggles, for example, how we can support Ukraine’s resistance to Russian imperialism, while opposing Nato’s aggression.
Likewise a day was given over to developing a common approach to communist work in the schools, universities and trade unions. In some cases this work was quite advanced and aided the development of action programmes. In the unions it was more a question of understanding the different ways the bureaucracy works in different countries.
Some issues, like Palestine, the women’s movement and China, were of such burning importance that whole days were dedicated to their study. We were able to explore the contradictions within the Israeli working class and the politics of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine; the inspiring feminist struggles in Iran, Switzerland and Palestine; how its unique restoration of capitalism has led to emerging problems in China.
Because of the League’s growth in new countries and the attendance of other Marxist tendencies, we were able for the first time to gain a first-hand understanding of the struggles in Italy, Switzerland, Denmark and Argentina. The latter discussions, across two sessions, were one of the highlights, as Argentina is not only facing a huge crisis but is also a country with a number of large Trotskyist groups, who are now being put to the test by Milei’s offensive.
Although many individuals from other organisations were present and contributed, it was the comrades from the International Trotskyist Opposition and the International Socialist League who made the biggest impact. While discussions on key issues have been progressing with the ITO for over a year now, they have only just started with the ISL. The camp provided a constructive context in which to examine issues in depth.
But of course there was time to get to know each other, with three meals a day laid on and a bar every evening. We even managed to let our hair down and have a dance on the final night. All of us departed with new contacts on our phones and a renewed spirit of proletarian internationalism.
We look forward to an even bigger and better camp next year.
