William Smaldone - Böcker

The stories of the individual men and women who led German Social Democracy's failed efforts to fend off the Nazi onslaught in 1933 have largely been lost in the wake of the cataclysmic war, the Holocaust, and the division of Europe that followed Hitler's victory. Confronting Hitler recovers their stories and places them at center stage. In a series of biographical essays focusing on the experiences of ten leading Social Democratic activists, Smaldone examines their defeat in 1933 from the perspective of individuals enmeshed in political struggle. This study reveals what aspects of these activists' lives were most important in shaping their political outlook during the republic's final crisis and it illustrates the key factors that guided their actions in the effort to keep the republic alive. In addition, the biographies raise the important issue of the degree to which the defeat of German Social Democracy in 1933 is comparable to the experiences of other democratic socialist movements in the twentieth century.

The stories of the individual men and women who led German Social Democracy's failed efforts to fend off the Nazi onslaught in 1933 have largely been lost in the wake of the cataclysmic war, the Holocaust, and the division of Europe that followed Hitler's victory. Confronting Hitler recovers their stories and places them at center stage. In a series of biographical essays focusing on the experiences of ten leading Social Democratic activists, Smaldone examines their defeat in 1933 from the perspective of individuals enmeshed in political struggle. This study reveals what aspects of these activists' lives were most important in shaping their political outlook during the republic's final crisis and it illustrates the key factors that guided their actions in the effort to keep the republic alive. In addition, the biographies raise the important issue of the degree to which the defeat of German Social Democracy in 1933 is comparable to the experiences of other democratic socialist movements in the twentieth century.

Until his death in a Gestapo prison cell, Rudolf Hilferding was one of Europe's most prominent socialist theorists and politicians. A leading economic thinker in the European socialist movement and an important politician in the German Social Democratic Party, he served as Weimar finance minister at the height of the inflation of 1923 and again at the onset of the depression in 1928. At a time when Germany faced one economic and political crisis after another, he led social democracy's efforts to strengthen the republic and to achieve its socialist objectives. This finely crafted intellectual biography illustrates how Hilferding's personal and intellectual journey reflected the failures of social democracy in its confrontation with nazism and communism. After Hitler came to power in 1933, Hilferding in exile continued the struggle against the Nazis. Caught in the maelstrom of the French defeat, in 1940 he was arrested by Vichy authorities and treacherously handed over to the Gestapo. Throughout his eventful life Hilferding analyzed the central issues facing modern socialism, including the development of finance capitalism, the nature of imperialism, the path to socialism, and the organization of socialist parties. For Hilferding, democratic freedom was at the heart of the socialist project, and in rejecting the tyranny of both communism and fascism, he made important contributions to the debate on the nature of totalitarianism. His insights into Marxist theory adn practice are still vital for understanding the development of socialism in the twentieth century.

Until his death in a Gestapo prison cell, Rudolf Hilferding was one of Europe's most prominent socialist theorists and politicians. A leading economic thinker in the European socialist movement and an important politician in the German Social Democratic Party, he served as Weimar finance minister at the height of the inflation of 1923 and again at the onset of the depression in 1928. At a time when Germany faced one economic and political crisis after another, he led social democracy's efforts to strengthen the republic and to achieve its socialist objectives. This finely crafted intellectual biography illustrates how Hilferding's personal and intellectual journey reflected the failures of social democracy in its confrontation with nazism and communism. After Hitler came to power in 1933, Hilferding in exile continued the struggle against the Nazis. Caught in the maelstrom of the French defeat, in 1940 he was arrested by Vichy authorities and treacherously handed over to the Gestapo. Throughout his eventful life Hilferding analyzed the central issues facing modern socialism, including the development of finance capitalism, the nature of imperialism, the path to socialism, and the organization of socialist parties. For Hilferding, democratic freedom was at the heart of the socialist project, and in rejecting the tyranny of both communism and fascism, he made important contributions to the debate on the nature of totalitarianism. His insights into Marxist theory adn practice are still vital for understanding the development of socialism in the twentieth century.

This volume offers the essential theoretical thought of the Austro-Marxist thinkers Otto Bauer, Max Adler, Karl Renner, Friedrich Adler, Rudolf Hilferding, and Otto Neurath over the span of their Austrian Social-Democratic careers, from the decades before World War I until the mid-1930s. Austro-Marxist theoretical perspectives were conceived as social scientific tools for the issues that faced the development of socialism in their time. The relevance of their thought for the contemporary world inheres in this understanding.

During the first half of the twentieth century, Austrian socialist thinkers - chief among them Otto Bauer, Rudolf Hilferding, Karl Renner, and Max Adler - emerged from and helped transform Austrian Social Democracy into one of Europe's best organized and most effective political and social movements. Through its expertly selected and introduced original documents this wide-ranging volume offers English readers the most thorough effort to date to provide a representative sampling of the Austro-Marxists' key theoretical ideas.

This accessible text offers a concise but comprehensive introduction to European socialism, which arose in the maelstrom of the industrial and democratic revolutions launched in the eighteenth century. Striving for sweeping social, economic, cultural, and political change, socialists were a diverse lot. However, they were united by principles asserting the social and political equality of all people, ideas that won the adherence of millions and struck fear in the hearts of their numerous opponents. William Smaldone shows how, over the course of 200 years, socialists successfully promoted the democratization of European society and a more equitable division of wealth. At the same time, he illustrates how conflicts over the means of achieving their aims divided them into rival “socialist” and “communist” currents, a rift that undercut the struggle against fascism and helped lay the groundwork for Europe’s division during the Cold War. Although many predicted the demise of socialism as a potent force after the end of the Cold War, the Soviet Union’s dissolution, and the rise of neo-liberal ideology, recent developments show that such a judgment was premature. The author argues that the growth of new socialist parties across Europe indicates that socialist ideas remain vibrant in the face of capitalism’s failure to solve chronic social and economic problems, especially following the deep global crisis that began in 2008. Combining an analytical narrative with a selection of primary texts and visual images, this book provides undergraduate students with a brief, readable history, including an overview of how socialist political movements have evolved over time and stressing the rich diversity that has characterized socialism’s foundations from its beginning.This new edition brings this text up to date and examines the European socialist movement in the face of 21st century challenges. It includes a new preface, including the 2017 American election, updated bibliographies, two new chapters and an afterword.