Geschichte der Roten Hilfe

‘Set up Rote Hilfe!’, ‘Help!’, ‘Organise solidarity!’: Slogans and logos alike have changed over the course of Rote Hilfe’s history, spanning more than a century. What has remained unchanged is the practice of supporting left-wing activists in the face of state repression – financially, legally and through public relations work. This volume outlines the solidarity work carried out by Rote Hilfe organisations from their beginnings to the present day. Founded in 1924, the Rote Hilfe Deutschlands (RHD) – which was closely associated with the KPD but cross-party in nature – ultimately had around one million members during the Weimar Republic. It provided material support to political prisoners and their families, funded legal representation and protested against the tightening of legislation. From March 1933 onwards, it was able to operate effectively for several more years whilst operating illegally. It was not until the 1970s that new, sometimes short-lived Rote Hilfe groups were founded, each with different areas of focus. One of these organisations gave rise in 1986 to the current cross-spectrum Rote Hilfe e.V., which has since undergone changes in its focus as well as structural transformations – and continues to hold its ground in an increasingly hostile climate.

Silke Makowski serves on the board of the Hans Litten Archive, which is dedicated to the history of solidarity organisations. The freelance journalist is the author of the book ‘“Help the prisoners in Hitler’s dungeons!” – Rote Hilfe Deutschlands operating underground from 1933’ (2016) as well as other publications on the subject.