Robinson successfully defended his school from closure, fought for the unification of the teaching unions, mentored future trade union leaders and transformed teaching at the Marx Memorial Library, writes JOHN FOSTER
The roots of neofascism in East Germany
The fall of the Berlin Wall enabled neofascist activity to spill over into East Germany, laying the groundwork for the strengthening of right-wing forces today, writes JACOB YASKO
LETTING THE RIGHT IN: Men chip away at the defunct Berlin wall, 1989
A judge in a German court ruled that the ban activity imposed on renowned Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah was unlawful, reports LEON WYSTRYCHOWSKI
At the very moment Britain faces poverty, housing and climate crises requiring radical solutions, the liberal press promotes ideologically narrow books while marginalising authors who offer the most accurate understanding of change, writes IAN SINCLAIR
From Gaza protest bans to proscribing Palestine Action, political elites are showing a crisis of confidence as they abandon Roy Jenkins’s apologetic approach for Suella Braverman’s aggressive ‘hate march’ rhetoric, writes PAUL DONOVAN
ANSELM ELDERGILL examines the legal case behind this weekend’s Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival and the lessons for today
Ben Chacko talks to RMT leader EDDIE DEMPSEY about how the key to fixing broken Britain lies in collective sectoral bargaining, restoring unions’ ability to take solidarity strike action and bringing about the much-vaunted ‘wave of insourcing’
The summer of 1950 saw Labour abandon further nationalisation while escalating Korean War spending from £2.3m to £4.7m, as the government meekly accepted capitalism’s licence and became Washington’s yes-man, writes JOHN ELLISON
ON November 9, 1989, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) relinquished its border security to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). While the world watched images of euphoric citizens pouring into West Berlin, the political reality of the moment was far more sobering: the opening of the border sealed the future of socialism in Germany. What followed was annexation, accompanied by economic liquidation, mass unemployment and the subjugation of the entire GDR population under a new order.
The FRG, designed as a front-line state against socialism, had long incorporated far-right elements into its institutions. In this context, the Berlin Wall was not just a border, but also a protective barrier against fascism.
After 1989, neofascist groups rapidly expanded into East Germany, reinforcing the argument that the wall had served as a defence against reactionary forces. Even figures like John F Kennedy understood that without the wall, conflict was inevitable. The same claim was later supported by Heinz Kessler and Fritz Streletz, who presented extensive evidence on the subject in their book Without the Wall, There Would Have Been War.
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