"We Are Neither Visionaries Nor Utopian Dreamers" : Willi Münzenberg, the League against Imperialism, and the Comintern, 1925-1933

On 10 February 1927, the "First International Congress against Imperialism and Colonialism" in Brussels marked the establishment of the anti-imperialist organisation, the League against Imperialism and for National Independence (LAI, 1927-37). The complex preparations for the congress were though initiated already in 1925 by Willi Münzenberg, a German communist and General Secretary of the communist mass organisation, Internationale Arbeiterhilfe (IAH, 1921-35), together with the Communist International (Comintern, 1919-43). Berlin was the centre for the LAI and its International Secretariat (1927-33), a city serving the intentions of the communists to find colonial émigré activists in the Weimar capital, acting as representatives for the anti-colonial movement in Europe after the Great War. With the ascendancy to power of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) on 30 January 1933, the LAI reached an abrupt, but nonetheless, expected end in Berlin. This doctoral thesis examines the role, pu rpose and functions of a sympathising communist organization (LAI): to act as an intermediary for the Comintern to the colonies. The analysis evaluates the structure and activities of the LAI, and by doing so, establish a complex understanding on one of the most influential communist organisations during the interwar period, which, despite its short existence, assumed a nostalgic reference and historical bond for anti-colonial movements during the transition from colonialism to post-colonialism after the Second World War, e.g. the Afro-Asian Conference in Bandung, Indonesia in 1955. Fredrik Petersson’s study, based on archives in Moscow, Berlin, Amsterdam, London, and Stockholm, uncovers why the Comintern established and supported the LAI and its anti-imperialist agenda, disclosing a complicated undertaking, characterised by conflict and the internal struggle for power, involving structural constraints and individual ambitions defined by communist ideology and strategy.

The revival of international solidarity : the Internationale Arbeiterhilfe, Willi Münzenberg and the Comintern in Weimar Germany, 1921-1933

The aim of the study is to write the first comprehensive history of the Internationale Arbeiterhilfe (International Workers’ Relief) and its message of international solidarity during the Weimar Republic, 1921–1933. The Arbeiterhilfe was the Communist International’s (Comintern) primary international solidarity organisation of the time. The work is identified as a contribution to the transnational history of the interwar period as its main focus is not on governmental politics or intra-state relations, but is focused on the transnational world of an international organisation. The history of the Arbeiterhilfe provides the main springboard from which to write a contextually-based analysis of international solidarity during the Weimar Republic. The study highlights for the first time the importance of the German communist Willi Münzenberg (1889–1940), as the leader of the Arbeiterhilfe, in the history of international solidarity. The main question of this study is how an explicit use of language coupled with the visualisation and practices of solidarity were created through the Arbeiterhilfe. How was solidarity actually envisaged, organised and brought to life by the Arbeiterhilfe in Weimar Germany? How did its expressions of solidarity change over time? Throughout the thesis, the changing and complex character of solidarity is analysed. How was the Arbeiterhilfe’s message of solidarity created and changed in relation to the Comintern and the Soviet Union’s policies? How did the Arbeiterhilfe create a new culture of international solidarity thought film, cinema, illustrated newspapers and the organising of mass spectacles of international solidarity? The Arbeiterhilfe had its international headquarters in Berlin which functioned as the base, one could argue, for some of the inter-war period’s most spectacular solidarity campaigns. The Arbeiterhilfe constitutes a significant case study of an early international organisation as it was one of the first international organisations for global (albeit not universal) international solidarity which had unparalleled prospects to develop new transnational identifications and social ties. It could consequently be suggested that the Arbeiterhilfe in several ways could be perceived as a predecessor to several post-1945 transnational solidarity organisations and International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs).

Quality of 'Delta Valencia' orange grown in semiarid climate and stored under refrigeration after coating with wax

The effects of carnauba-based wax on the quality of 'Delta Valencia' orange produced in Ceará state, Brazil, were studied. The fruits were coated with carnauba-based wax and refrigerated (7 ± 2 ºC and 85 ± 2% R.H.) for 28 days. The quality attribute parameters assessed were weight loss, peel color (brightness, hue angle, and chromaticity), peel moisture, pH, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA), SS/TA ratio, ascorbic acid, total soluble sugars, reducing sugars, yellow flavonoids, and polyphenols. The results showed that 'Delta Valencia' oranges grown in the dry climate of Ceará state has excellent quality. The coated fruits lost mass at a lower rate than the the control fruits. No significant loss of soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH, and SS/TA ratio was observed, while ascorbic acid, soluble sugars, reducing sugars, yellow flavonoids, and polyphenols increased during storage in both the coated and control fruits. Carnauba-based wax coated fruits showed no signal of dehydration keeping their shiny green peel up to the end of the storage. The use of coating was crucial for the maintenance of visual quality by reducing mass loss, as well as keeping peel moisture.

Karta över Närpes socken Närpiö / tehty maanmittaushallituksessa vuosina 1933-38

0-meridiaani : Greenwich.

Uma interpretação do Primeiro Milagre Econômico Alemão (1933-1944)

The German Third Reich was successful in reaching its economical objectives. It is intended to explain the causes of the First German Economic Miracle, fitting its economic system into the category of command economy, which does not confuse itself with the centrally planned economy. Thus, in the first section, we describe the so adopted politics in this period and explain how they had led to the recovery of the German economy. The second section evaluates global indicators of economic performance and population welfare. We are looking for to demonstrate the hypothesis that the Nazi economy was efficient. Such efficiency is explained by the characteristics of the German model.