The International Anarchist Congress: Amsterdam 1907

In August 1907, Amsterdam hosted an international anarchist congress with delegates from fourteen different countries. Over the space of a week, it dealt with questions such as anti-militarism, anarchism and organization, anarchism and the workers’ movement, syndicalism and the general strike, etc., and also the foundation of a new anarchist international. These were the years immediately following anarchism’s so-called “terrorist phase,” when anarchists realized that they had to go back to their roots among the working people, where anarchism was born in the first days of Bakunin’s First International. Of all the matters discussed in Amsterdam, the most important for the future development of the international workers’ movement were undoubtedly the relationship between anarchism and the new syndicalist movement, and between the specific anarchist organization and the mass labor organizations. How should they interact with each other? Should anarchists participate in the workers’ struggles as members of a political organization? A century later, the various positions of anarchist militants and organizations have lost none of their value or polemic charge, and can serve as an excellent point of reference for all those today who are facing similar situations and asking the same questions.