"Meint Ihr's auch ehrlich?"

Abstract

Taking Leipzig and Lyon as case studies, the article asks why the German working-class movement 'surrendered without putting up a fight' (M. Scharrer) to the National Socialists, while in France the working class-movement was able to successfully mobilize itself against a perceived fascist threat between 1934 and 1936. The article argues that the leftist milieu in Leipzig was characterized by a tremendous distrust that is examined in detail in the article. In Lyon, in contrast, trust could be established much more easily, which was one key precondition, the article argues, for the successful mobilization of the Popular Front on a local level.