German Union Government

**Article is a WIP**

The government of the German Union is a tricameral legislative body that was formed out of the emergency meeting of the German Socialist Council in Munich, and formed the basis of the German state along with several laws and its constitution.

## The German TUC

The German TUC or Trade Unions Congress is the biggest government body of the entire Union, made up exclusively of labor unions across the country. These labor unions represent trade unions on a higher provincial level. First, there is the working class of the country all organized in thousands of trade unions, which are then organized into labor unions according to German provinces, who then make up the entire Congress. These labor unions are voted in by the trade unions of said provinces and the number of seats each labor union receives is based on its provincial population. These labor unions are also organized into smaller sections based on the type of recognized industry by the German government. Due to the immense power of the TUC there are no party elections as although the president is elected by the people they have little to no power and serve only as a figure head, while elections within the trade and labor unions exist solely (on paper) to elect what the workers believe to be good representatives for their province not based in any sort of political standing.

That is on paper however as in reality a problem the TUC faces is its factionalism, as secretly anarcho-syndicalists, communists and even syndicalists wish to dominate the TUC, and some representatives are chosen due to their political stances as well.

## Status of the President

The status of the president is a widely debated topic, currently frozen in the TUC, but as the government body continually fractures, it is expected that this issue will once again be brought to the surface. After several laws were passed in Munich and the constitution was written, the power of the president was immediately curtailed. Whoever was made president would be nothing more of a figurehead to the people, while the TUC controlled all major powers that concerns the government. After the Anarchistens began to for, in the government, various anarcho-syndicalists like Rudolf Rocker won the presidency, and with their limited power they influenced the TUC, unintentionally decreasing the power of the president even further.

The Luxemburgists promise to change this if they win a majority in the TUC and hope to strengthen the president’s power and rival the Anarchistens, who work closely with radical anarchist figures and secretly hope to fully rid the president as a role in the government itself.

## New laws

Within the Munich Conference of 1920, several laws were established which were severely needed for the battered nation. All major industries were to be nationalized as economic privatization of any kind was outlawed. The Union of Germany in its constitution became a secular country with universal suffrage regardless of sex or race. All workers, age 18 and over had to be unionized and registered within one of many recognized unions. A workplace of over 100 people automatically can form new unions, while a workplace with under 100 workers can still unionize if the majority of workers vote in favor of unionizing. Various institutions were also given new statuses to adhere to. The church as one would expect was barred from operating in the Union, with it being seen as a "tyrannical bourgeoisie system". While Germany is a secular country, Christianity, mainly between Catholics and Protestants still held influence in German culture and everyday life. The government however seeks to suppress Christian influence, mainly through intentionally letting churches decay, "mysterious" burnings and desecration or through pressure. As such there has been a growing atheist movement in the Union, with radical zealous atheists claiming those who are religious put religion first over loyalty to one's own country.

While not being in the constitution, later laws, mostly with the Social Protection Act passed later on outlawed most if not all explicitly non-radical socialist political factions to prevent anti-socialists from gaining political power. Quickly in the Union's history Germany became a one-party state which has been criticized alongside the wider criticisms of syndicalism in general. Only moderate anarchists, syndicalists and communists can be in the government, while other forms of socialism are not technically outlawed, they cannot form their own factions and as a result either refuse to participate in politics or label themselves as either Unionists or Luxemburgists. Democratic socialists for example often rally behind the Unionists, partly because of ideological similarities but also because democratic socialists don't have enough power to challenge the status quo. The government of the Union is perhaps the most controversial thing in all of the German Union, as many socialists argue that after the Social Protection Act Germany, unfairly became a "syndicalist dictatorship" of sorts, as even the Luxemburgists who are Marists are regularly censored and suppressed by the larger Unionists as well as the Anarchistens, while supporters argue that it was a price to be paid for a stable government, arguing that a more direct democratic approach would have led to a very unstable system, while other syndicalists claim that the system in place doesn't accurately reflect syndicalist ideology.

In the beginning (mostly in the months after the Social Protection Act was passed) center-left liberals and the Social Democratic Party of Germany weren’t banned from the political scene, mostly because they also aligned themselves with the strikers before and after the revolution, even as the SPD and various center-left liberal groups felt alienated from the far-left government in office. In 1925, with the second elections (both general and governmental), both the SPD and various liberal groups tested their luck by announcing they would run in both elections, hoping to gain influence in the TUC and possibly even elect a social democrat president if lucky. This announcement caused a scare in the TUC, as they didn’t want social democrats and liberals to directly have influence in the country for fear of the revolution being reversed. Shortly before the elections the TUC passed several laws in rapid succession, banning the SPD and any large liberal groups still active, resulting in the SDP and most liberals fleeing into various countries. Now, the far-left truly had full control over the political scene.

## Factions

### Unionists

The Unionists are revolutionary syndicalists who wish for the status quo to remain within the TUC and the German Union as a whole. Since the establishment of the TUC they have dominated the legislative body, but recently Unionist influence has declined as it seems that communism and anarcho-syndicalism are seeing a surge in popularity. While the Unionists are willing to work together with both sides, they aren’t so willing to give up their extensive amount of influence in the TUC just yet. Recently, the communists and anarcho-syndicalists within the government have begun to challenge the syndicalists on several issues that will soon be debated on within the Congress. These range from the status of money to the final policy of the church. B7t the Unionists have to be careful, as if they loose these debates they will loose popularity as well.

### Luxemburgists

Luxemburgists, named after loved Marxist Rosa Luxemburg are a coalition of communists that hold positions in the Trade Union Congress. While they have been sidelined for over a decade since the revolution, with popular pressure the TUC has loosened their restraint on communist movements. The biggest movement within the communist faction are, unsurprisingly, Luxemburgists. They oppose authoritarianism, are orthodox Marxist and take various stances echoing Rosa’s own political beliefs like being part of the anti-war movement which is still strong in Berlin. Secretly the Luxemburgists hope that, as they have recently challenged the Unionist TUC to takeover the government in the November general and legislative elections, to transform Germany from a revolutionary syndicalist state to a Marxist one.

Luxemburgists are overwhelmingly pro-feminist and part of their rhetoric is a greater emphasis on social change and progress, with the faction dominated by women. Most people describe Luxemburgism as “inherently feminist” due to its past. During the civil war, in its opening stages before the syndicalists took control of most of the country, the German Republic enlisted the help of far-right militias to suppress “socialist rabble”, but it soon escalated. These militias began targeting random civilians in various cities in the weeks following their mobilization, but soon after, about a month after the civil war began, militias in Hamburg uncovered a small far-left feminist organization operating in various churches within the city. After further investigations, militias in the city decided to target the leaders of the group, which they discovered all got together on Sundays, as a way to mask their operations by pretending they were attending church mass. The militias quickly decided to open fire on one particular church in Hamburg, killing over 10 as well as all the female members of the group, and shortly after telegraphed other militias in Germany, telling them to “keep a close eye on the women of Germany, for many are traitors to this nation” and thereafter the “Rape of Germany” began. Militias targeted women leaders, organizers, and those “suspected” of aiding the syndicalists.

Rapes, assaults and murder became widespread, especially in rural areas out of the cities. Still, many crimes were committed within cities, which got so bad that even Rosa Luxemburg herself had to flee momentarily out of the country. As the war raged on, and as the syndicalists occupied more territory, government control was very hollow in many cities and rural regions, resulting in them, especially the Northern Seaboard descending into chaos as well as East Germany before the syndicalists arrived. Women feared for their lives, as now no government soldiers could keep order and hold the militias in check. As a result, women in these territories began arming themselves and fighting back en masse, radicalizing much of the population, including those who were previously far from supporting revolutionary ideals. Ironically, the base of operations for these new women-lead militias became abandoned churches, which became safe havens for women fleeing violence, especially in Berlin and Hamburg. While these women did not agree ideologically, many were or became convinced communists, who at first refused to allow men to participate in their militias, and even for a time politically after these militias banded together and formed the Luxemburgists.

In the years following the end of the war and after the women militias disbanded, they soon began to moderate their politics, allowing men to align with the Luxemburgists as long as they were “convinced feminists”. As they stand today, Luxemburgists are arguably the most radical in their politics, warning that, if capitalism returns to Germany, then women’s rights might be permanently hindered, and the memory of the Rape of Germany is still fresh in most women’s minds.

### Anarchistens

Anarchistens is a catch-all term for, mostly "moderate" anarcho-syndicalists participating within the TUC. Interestingly, the Anarchistens was formed in the late 1920s after various anarcho-syndicalist unions and communities were torn apart over the issue of electoral politics. They were formed in opposition to the traditional anarchist belief that electoral politics should be opposed, though many criticize the Anarchistens for being at odds with various core anarchists beliefs, which most believed they sacrificed to be in the government, but they still advocate for expanded decentralization and pro-federalist policies. Despite this rift it is believed they still cooperate with radical Anarchists, Anarchist unions and communities, and there are even some rumors floating around that in the chance the Anarchistens win the November elections in 1937, they may allow radical anarchists to take over Berlin as well in a peaceful revolution.