The International Anarchist Congress, Amsterdam 1907

7/31/2019 The International Anarchist Congress, Amsterdam 1907

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/the-international-anarchist-congress-amsterdam-1907 1/4

This 280 page book is built upon a pamphlet of Italian Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici (FdCA – Federation of Communist Anarchists) that was publishedsome years ago in the series “Studies for a Libertarian Switch” (“Studies for aLibertarian Alternative”) in English (and which is also available online).

This book is largely the work of historian Maurizio Antonioli, who is professor of Contemporary History of the Faculty of Political Science, University of Milan. Weshould note here that Maurizio Antonioli has published several studies on thehistory of the Italian labor movement, especially on the history and struggles of

the Federation of Metal Workers and Labour Centres (Camere del Lavoro) of Milan and Lombardy regions.

The translation in English and general editor of the publication is the work of Nestor MacNab, amongst the others, a member of FdCA and the editorialcollective of www.anarkismo.net



The book "The International Anarchist Congress, Amsterdam 1907» consists of separate chapters on the six days of the duration the Congress, since the book'seditors cited the presentations, the positions of the key-participants and points of the dialogue that developed on each separate issue that was presented to theCongress. The subjects were on many and so diversed issues such as

participation in antimilitarist Conference that was hold the same days in Amsterdam, reports on the state of the anarchist movement, in a series of countries from which delegates came from (Belgium, Bohemia, Holland,Romania, U.S.A., Austria, Germany, Russia, Serbia, Italy, England), anarchismand organisation (which lasted the entire second day of the Congress party andthe third), the Anarchist International, anarchism and syndicalism, anarchistpress, the Russian Revolution (of 1905 ), trade unionism and the general strike,anarchism and trade union movements in Argentina, anarchism andantimilitarism, education of children, alcoholism, productive c-operatives,Esperanto language and others. (Note that in most of these issues the Congressadopted and issued respective Resolutions).

Also in the book several texts, reports on the activities of anarchists and other documents een published especially on Russia and the Russian Revolution of 1905, that been submitted to Congress.

This Congress was held between 26-31 August in 1907, at Plancius Hall in Amsterdam. This year close to 105 years of this so important for the internationalanarchist movement Congress.In the previous (of this) Anarchist Conference that was held in London to1881, anattempt was made for reconstituting the old First International, but theninaugurated the period known as "anarchist terrorism” (propaganda by deed), bywhich the anarchist movement expelled of the toiling masses.

During the period between 1881 and 1907 several dramatic changes in the labor movement took place. This time, however, the anarchists were placed entirelyoutside the realm of the working class, though some few comrades remained bythe side of workers. When the anarchist movement at some point realised that ithad to put an end to this isolation, the result was to convene the InternationalCongress in Amsterdam that it had to discuss the most important issues of theday: the attitude of anarchists in the (then) new phenomenon of syndicalism andthe question of anarchist organisation.

During of the time of a week, the delegates who attended the Congress dealtseriously with a number of key issues employing the international anarchistmovement of the era, like the always thorny issue of organisation and the work inthe trade union movement, the issue of a general strike as a method wrestlingand various others, including the possibility of setting up a new AnarchistInternational.



As we said before, those years were the next season of the time during which theanarchists finally realised that the propaganda by deed does not lead anywhereand decided to return to their roots from which the anarchist movement was born,ie years of Mikhail Bakunin and the First International. So, then, it was all naturalthat of all those issues discussed in this Congress the most debatable and most

important ones regarding the future development of the anarchist movement,was the question of organisation and the issue of the then new trade and labor movements that emerged everywhere and compared with those of theanarchists, and the relationship between the specific anarchist organization in themass labor organisations. How could to interact with each other? Had anarchiststo participate in workplace struggles as members of political organizations?

Note that in this Congress some important figures of the international anarchistmovement of the era participated, such as Christian Cornelissen, ErricoMalatesta, Luigi Fabbri, Emma Goldman, Aristide Ceccarelli, Thomas Keel, KarlWalters, Nikolai Rogdaev, S. Velev, Pierre Monatte, Amedee Dunois and several

otherw frpm countries such as Holland, Italy, Germany, U.S.A., Argentina,England, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Belgium, France and Bohemia.

Towards the realisation of this publication and the introduction of the book«Dibattito sul sindacalismo: Atti del Congresso Internazionale anarchico di

Amsterdam (1907)» (published in Italian in 1978), historian of the working classmovement Maurizio Antonioli, examines the process that led to the AmsterdamCongress and its importance for the labor and anarchist movements of the time.Thereafter, Antonioli lists the various references to anarchist literature of his timeon the Congress, creating the most comprehensive work on thiw important event,and cites the whole debate that lasted six days.

In this book, except the record of six days during the conference, the Resolutionsand the Annexes, there is also a brief prologue by the translator in English andeditor Nestor MacNab, and follows a fairly thorough introduction entitled"Anarchism and / and Trade Unionism "of Maurizio Antonioli with a quite usefulinformative document by a historical point of view of the same editorial note onthe relevant reports, and the area took the Congress through the pages andcolumns of anarchist newspapers, magazines and other publications of this time.

Today, more than a century later, the different positions and views of todaysanarchist militants and organisations have lose none of their value or their fighting ability and continue to be key points of departure for all those presentand those facing similar situations and dilemmas wearing out the same top-downissues and problems. This book on the International Anarchist Congress of

Amsterdam of 1907 is just one of all those most historical and non unshakeableinvaluable reports of ours.

Finally we want to note that the book was published by Black Cat Press based inEdmonton, Alberta in Canada and everyone who wanted to buy it or have more



information can visit their website at http://www.blackcatpress.ca

Dimitris Troaditis

Published in “Rebel Worker”, anarchosyndicalist journal from Sydney,

issue 214, August-September 2012. Also in www.anarkismo.net

Documents

The International Anarchist Congress, Amsterdam 1907