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Sozialistische Zeitung used to be a fortnightly paper (founded 1986) published by the then section of the United Secretariat of the Fourth International, the VSP. Since the slow collapse and the final winding-up of the VSP, the paper has gone monthly and is offically not a "party organ". In reality it is published by ex-VSP members who have grouped themselves in another organisation, the ISL, which is a sympathising group of the USec in Germany.
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Today's "Inprekorr" is the "information bulletin of the (United Secretariat of the) Fourth International". "Inprekorr" stands for "International Press-Correspondence". The German edition is available on the net to download in PDF as well as an archive in HTML. As very few of the articles are actually written in German, reflecting the weakness of the USec's sections in German-speaking areas, the German edition is almost exclusively made up of translations from other languages, notably French, that appear in the German edition sometimes months after they were first written. Those who can read French are advised to read "Inprécor", available from the LCR, and on the net (see France links), or the English-language "International Viewpoint". The future of the German edition of "Inprekorr" is in doubt.
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The SAV is the German section of the Committee for a Workers' International (in England and Wales: Socialist Party). Publishes the monthly paper "Solidarität - Sozialistische Zeitung" (formerly "Voran").
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The DGB is the German Confederation of Trade Unions (the German TUC). It is made up of 8 trade unions, the two largest are Verdi (United Service Industries Union) - the biggest free trade union in the world, founded after a merger of 5 unions, 4 of which used to be members of the DGB; and the IG Metall (engineering and electrical workers' industrial union), which until the founding of Verdi was the biggest free trade union in the world. Parts of the DGB's website can be also read in English, French and Spanish.
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The IS is a group adhering to the International Socialist Tendency (IST, in England and Wales, the SWP). The IS comrades were expelled from the previous section, the SAG, when the SWP leadership told them to dissolve themselves into German Social Democracy, and form Linksruck (see Tony Cliff's autobiography). The IS's monthly journal, Klassenkampf ("Class struggle") can be read on the website. The IS present themself as being the official section of the IST, but this is not the case.
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Junge Linke, a youth group, "against capital and the nation". Describe themselves in a long self-description as "Marxists", but exactly why and how this is meant is hard to see.
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Gruppe Arbeitermacht ("Workers' Power") is the affiliate in Germany of the "League for a Revolutionary Communist International". Publishes the irregular journal "Arbeitermacht".
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A radical-democratic activist youth group. The "Jungdemokraten" were the youth section until 1982 of the FDP (Liberal) party, when it split from the FDP over the party's decision to bring down the SPD-Liberal coalition and swap allegiance to Kohl's Christian Democrats. The "Marxistische Jugendvereinigung Junge Linke" - Marxist Youth Organisation Young Left - emerged as part of the revolution in Stalinist East Germany in 1989, as a nationally-organised Marxist youth group, independent from the state and its youth front, the "Free German Youth" (FDJ). In 1992, the West German Jungdemokraten and the East German MJV-Junge Linke merged, hence the organisation's name "JD-JL". It is the most important political youth organisation not connected to a party in parliament. Despite this, JD-JL is a useful springboard for wannabe parliamentarians to get a post in the PDS, for example. Does a lot of anti-militarism and pro-drugs work, and work around education and the school system (organises burnings of school reports, for example).
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AK ("analysis and criticism - newspaper for left-wing debate and practice") is a monthly publication dealing with theory from a (on the whole) Marxist background. AK originally stood for "Arbeiterkampf" ("Workers' Fight") and was the publication of the Maoist group Kommunistische Bund (Communist Alliance). The paper remains today as an end in itself and is not related to any political organisation.
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The group "Arbeiterpolitik" can be best described as being "right-communist", having its roots in the "Brandlerite" KPO, the "Communist Party - Opposition" in Germany in 1928-9, founded by Heinrich Brandler and August Thalheimer.
