LLL Weekend 2025: Militant Commemoration Defies Police Violence
This year’s LLL weekend was marked by the commemoration of Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht and Lenin. At the Rosa Luxemburg Conference, questions of war and imperialism were discussed, while protests against the AfD1 and SPD2 drew attention to militarization and austerity measures. The demo on Sunday connected the historical legacy of Luxemburg, Liebknecht and Lenin with current political struggles—despite massive police violence.
Since the assassination of the co-founders of the German Communist Party (KPD), Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht in January 1919, communists have organized annual commemorative events. After the death of Russian revolutionary Vladimir Ilyich Lenin in 1924, the KPD started paying tribute to him as well during the event. Since then, the demonstration has also been known as the LLL demo, for Lenin, Liebknecht, and Luxemburg.
The commemorative demonstrations were banned by the Nazis in 1933, but after the Second World War they were reinstated in East Germany and have been held annually ever since. Even after the fall of the GDR in 1990, the LLL demonstration has remained an important point of reference for communists in Germany. Numerous events organized by various communist organizations were also held this year.
Rosa Luxemburg Conference
On Saturday, several events took place in Berlin. At the Rosa Luxemburg Conference (RLK), which takes place every year during the LLL weekend, the main topics of discussion were war and peace. The conference was held under the title “The Last Stand—How Dangerous Is Declining Imperialism?”
Lectures and discussions took place in three conference rooms. Numerous organizations and publishers also had booths on site. The conference was opened with a welcoming speech by Daniela Klette.3 In it, she described how under capitalism those in power are constantly preparing for military conflicts and expanding attacks against all those who oppose capitalism.
At noon, DIDF4 and the International Youth Association (IJV)5 held a lecture criticizing the call of the RLK and its general political orientation. They argued that too much hope was placed in the “multipolar world order,” in which the Russian-Chinese bloc is seen as a progressive and peace-loving force rather than an imperialist one. The speaker from DIDF stated that the international working class should assume a position independent of the various imperialist fronts.
At the youth podium against war and austerity measures, representatives of the DIDF youth, the SDAJ,6 and the DGB trade unions discussed the participation of young people in social struggles. The representative of the DIDF youth emphasized the important role young people have played in the recent collective wage struggles.
Other Events on Saturday
In the evening, after a visit to the Memorial of the Socialists,7 the Kommunistische Partei (“Communist Party,” KP)8 organized a panel discussion entitled “Crisis, War, and Shift to the Right: Consequences for the Working Class and How We Must Defend Ourselves.” Participants included Jacqueline Andres of the Information Center for Militarization (IMI), a trade unionist, the YouTuber and blogger Fabian Lehr, and a representative of the KP.
Kommunistischer Aufbau (“Communist Construction,” KA)9 and the Marxist-Leninist Komünist Parti (“Marxist-Leninist Communist Party,” MLKP—a Turkish communist party with organizing structures in Germany) jointly hosted a number of workshops on Saturday. KA presented a paper on the state and problems of the communist movement in Germany. The primary focus was the movement’s fragmentation into small circles and how the resulting patterns of thought and behavior can also be found within each of the currently existing revolutionary communist organizations.
The MLKP reported on the experiences of its 30-year party history and the achievements of the Rojava revolution as well as its own strategy in Rojava, with their main focus being the defense of Rojava and the strengthening of the revolutionary tendencies there. In addition, discussions were held around the development of the communist movement since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was noted that crises in the movement also offer opportunities to break out of old ways of doing things.
The evening was rounded out by various concerts. The SDAJ organized a “Liebknecht-Luxemburg Party” at the Recede Club. Various artists performed there, including the rappers S. Castro, Nia 2161, Thawra, and Masur. At the IJV and DIDF-Youth concert, which took place at the same time, young artists Motuz and Aya al Samra took the stage, as did the band Kontrast.
Protests Against AfD and SPD Party Conventions
Also on Saturday, around 10,000 protesters from the anti-fascist movement gathered in Riesa to block the AfD party convention. As a result, the gathering was delayed by two hours. In the process, many cases of police violence occurred. One video shows a police officer unleashing a dog onto a demonstrator. Nam Duy Nguyen, a member of the Die Linke (“The Left”)10 fraction in the Saxony state parliament, who was present as a political observer, was beaten unconscious by a police officer.
But the AfD was not the only target of the protests. The SPD also held its party conference at the Berlin exhibition center on Saturday. The organizations Young Struggle11 and Kommunistischer Aufbau called for a counter-demonstration, which was attended by around 200 demonstrators.
The speeches emphasized how the SPD is heavily promoting military build-up in Germany and directly supporting wars and genocide in Gaza through increased arms deliveries to Israel. They also addressed the severe austerity measures and restrictions on the right of asylum that were implemented by the SPD-Green-FDP coalition government.12
Another substantive focus was that Germany continues to honor its arms sales agreement with Turkey, which effectively supports the Turkish attacks on the Kurdish Rojava areas. To highlight this, the demonstration moved from the SPD party conference to the Turkish consulate. There, demonstrators chanted slogans such as “Erdoğan is a murderer and fascist.”
LLL Demonstration Marred by Police Violence
On Sunday, the LLL demonstration proceeded. As every year, a large number of communist organizations gathered at the Frankfurter Tor and started their march at around 10:30 a.m. down Frankfurter Allee towards the Memorial of the Socialists. Prior to this, the Rote Jugend Bewegung13, Perspektive Kommunismus14 and the Bund der Kommunist:innen (“League of Communists”)15 had called for the formation of a revolutionary bloc. After last year’s attacks, they made clear: “Wherever the state attacks, we will collectively defend ourselves.”
This year, too, there were assaults and harassment attempts by the police after only a few meters into the demo, which were mainly directed against forces in solidarity with Palestine. One person from the revolutionary bloc was arrested for depicting alleged “illegal symbols.” The police referred to a red triangle that is now banned as a “Hamas symbol.” The slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” was explicitly forbidden to be used by the Palestine bloc.
Further attacks on the Palestine and other blocs followed. Police beat demonstrators and pulled at the blocs’ side banners. One police officer struck a protester on the head with his baton. Another person was beaten unconscious by the police. After she had was treated by the medics and taken to the hospital, she was taken into custody by the police on an arrest warrant.
Even during these acts of violence, the demonstration never fell silent and the mood remained combative throughout. In a speech, KA also drew attention to the increasing violence against women and trans people and how the fight against patriarchy must be linked to a women’s revolution. The revolutionary struggle and the building of a communist party were presented as an alternative to so-called “feminist foreign policy.”
End at the Memorial of the Socialists
The march was ultimately able to continue under close police supervision to the Memorial of the Socialists in Lichtenberg. The commemoration of the fallen revolutionaries Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht and their fight against war and militarization was linked with current political struggles. At the Memorial of the Socialists, Luxemburg and Liebknecht’s burial place, thousands of people commemorated the two KPD founders. Earlier that day, leading politicians of the Die Linke had already visited the Memorial to place flowers on the graves. After the demonstrators left the site, one person from the bloc of the Bund der Kommunist:innen was arrested. This led to a protest, in solidarity with him, demanding his release.
Original article in German to be found here: https://perspektive-online.net/2025/01/lll-wochenende-2025-kaempferisches-gedenken-trotzt-polizeigewalt/
1 The Alternative for Germany (AfD) is a far-right party in Germany, promoting rascist, anti-immigrant, and anti-Muslim rhetoric. It represents a reactionary force in German politics, opposing progressive social change and promoting policies that reinforce capitalist exploitation, racial divisions, and authoritarianism.—Ed.
2 The Social-democratic Party of Germany (SPD) is a centrist party practicing class compromise for over a century. The SPD leadership, through its alliance with right-wing Freikorps militias during the 1919 German Revolution, was complicit in the assassination of communist leaders Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, aiming to suppress revolutionary upheaval.—Ed.
3 Daniela Klette is a militant from the Red Army Faction (RAF) who lived for several years underground and was recently captured by the German police. Her comrades Burkhard Garweg and Ernst-Volker Staub are still free and living underground.—Ed.
4 Demokrat İşçi Dernekleri Federasyonu (DIDF – Federation of Democratic Workers Associations from Turkey in Germany) is a Turkish socialist mass organization, connected to the Hoxhaist EMEK Partisi (EMEP), Member of the International Conference of Marxist–Leninist Parties and Organizations (Unity & Struggle).—Ed.
5Internationaler Jugend Verein (IJV) is a socialist youth group, connected to the Hoxhaist “Organization for the Construction of a Communist Workers Party Germany – Work Future”, Member of the International Conference of Marxist–Leninist Parties and Organizations (Unity & Struggle).—Ed.
6 Socialist German Workers Youth (SDAJ) is a communist youth group connected to the revisionist German Communist Party (DKP).—Ed.
7 The Memorial of the Socialists in Berlin is a burial site for revolutionaries like Liebknecht and Luxemburg, among others.—Ed.
8 The Communist Party (KP, formerly Communist Organization – KO) is a split from the SDAJ and DKP which follows the line of the revisionist KKE in Greece.—Ed.
9 Communist Construction (KA) is an anti-revisionist and Marxist-Leninist party building organization.—Ed.
10 Die Linke, rooted in the former East German Socialist Unity Party (SED), is a reformist political party advocating for social justice within the framework of the current capitalist system. Its anti-immigration right wing recently split on the initiative of one of Die Linke’s former leaders, Sarah Wagenknecht, to form its own party, Bündnis Sarah Wagenknecht (“Alliance Sarah Wagenknecht,” BSW).—Ed.
11 Young Struggle is a European-wide socialist youth organization which orients itself around the MLKP.—Ed.
12 Formed after the 2021 federal elections, the current German SPD-Green-FDP government coalition has faced criticism since its inception, among others for their catastrophic pro-genocidal NATO foreign policy. In December 2024, after the liberal party (“Freie Demokratische Partei,” “Free Democratic Party,” FDP) withdrew its participation, the current chancellor (German equivalent of a prime minister) Olaf Scholz lost a vote of no confidence in parliament, leading his coalition to collapse and new elections to be called.—Ed.
13 The Red Youth Movement is an Organisation of several revolutionary youth groups and circles not connected to any other organisations.—Ed.
14 Plattform of several revolutionary Organisations and Circles.—Ed.
15 Berlin based communist circle.—Ed.