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The Communist Party of Germany (in German, Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands – KPD) was formed in December of 1918 from the Spartacist League, which originated as a small factional grouping within the Social Democratic Party (SPD) opposed to the First World War on the grounds that it was an imperialist war in which the working class had no interest. The faction was led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. During the Nazi period, the KPD was brutally suppressed, and known sympathizers were sent to concentration camps as a part of the Holocaust. After World War II, the Soviet occupation authority forced the KPD and SPD organizations in their sphere of influence to merge into the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), which they installed as the government of East Germany. Following German reunificationGerman reunification Deutsche Wiedervereinigung refers to the reunification of Germany from its constituent parts of East Germany and West Germany under a single government on October 3, 1990. An agreement to reunite both parts of Germany was reached on F, the SED became the Party of Democratic SocialismFor the Indian PDS, see Party of Democratic Socialism (India). The Party of Democratic Socialism Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus PDS) is a left socialist political party in Germany. The PDS is the legal successor of the Socialist Unity Party (SED) ( (PDS), which is still a force in German politics today, especially in the east.1 Early period
Technically, its first incarnation was as the Internationale, based on a journal of that name which was swiftly suppressed by the authorities. The faction became known as the Spartacus League after a series of letters written by Luxemburg, its preeminent theoretician, which she signed " SpartacusSpartacus was a Roman slave who led a large slave uprising in what is now Italy, then the Italian Peninsula, in 73 71 BC. His army of escaped gladiators and slaves defeated several Roman legions in what is known as the Third Servile War''. Other names for".
When the tide of popularity turned against the war, sections of the SPD turned leftwards and broke away to form the Independent Social Democratic Party of GermanyThe Federal Republic of Germany ( German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland is one of the world's leading industrialized countries, located in the middle of the European Union. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark and the Baltic Sea, to the east (USPD). The Spartacus League joined the new party as an autonomous faction. However, a debate was underway as to whether a new Communist partyA Communist party is a party which advocates Communism. Many such parties formally use the term "Communist" in their official name. Communist Parties first began to be established in various countries across the world after the creation of the Communist I should be formed in Germany that would ally itself with the Bolsheviks in Russia. As well as the Spartacus League, the International Communists of Germany (IKD), who had their theoretical point of origin in the pre-war Left Radical tendency, were to take part in the foundation of the Communist Party.
The party was first led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, though large portions of the membership opposed their views. Some even formed a splinter organization, the Communist Workers Party. The failed Spartacist Uprising in Berlin was carried out one month after the KPD's formation, in January of 1919, against the specific instructions of Luxemburg and Liebknecht. The right wing Freikorps militias joined with the remnants of the German army and the Social Democrats to suppress the revolt. Liebknecht and Luxemburg were captured, tortured, killed, and dumped into a canal.
This left the party in the hands of Karl Levi , who sought to win over social democratic workers. These efforts were rewarded when a substantial section of the Independent Social Democratic Party joined the KPD, making it a mass party for the first time.
Other prominent members included Leo Jogiches , Clara Zetkin , Paul Levi , Franz Mehring and Ernst Meyer .
