A few weeks ago, I was talking with one of my former grad students about the end of World War I, and he asked me if the Frei Korp was the precursor of Antifa. Nope–just the opposite. The Frei Korp opposed the communists. Antifa doesn’t. We spent about half an hour discussing both groups–I promise that the following is the short version.

Immediately after the November 1918 Armistice, with the Kaiser in exile in the Netherlands and the German government falling apart, the Spartacus League, a communist group headed by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Leibknecht, tried to seize power, similar to the way the Bolsheviks in Russia had done barely a year ago. Communism was a bridge too far for most Germans. Ultimately the way they pushed back and defeated the Spartacus’ was with the Frei Korp. Thousands of the officers and enlisted men who were returning home from the Western front, were reconstructed into what was called the Frei Korp. Ultimately 68 corps, some quite large, were used to stop the rebellions in Berlin, and later in a number of cities including Bremen, Hamburg, Leipzig and several areas in the Ruhr. Eventually, the Weimar Government took control.

Fast-forward 90 years. Antifa seems to have grown out of groups in Europe in the ’80s, the Anti-Racist Action organization that appeared in the US around 1987, and the 1999 protests and riots during the Seattle World Trade Organization (WTO) meetings. The oldest Antifa group is the Rose City Antifa that started in Portland, Oregon, in 2007. Antifa is a horizontal rather than a vertical “organization,” that’s extremely decentralized with numerous small groups. They call themselves anarchists, communists, socialists, and marxists. Others consider themselves anti-capitalist, anti-elitist, anti-government, and revolutionaries.

Members of Antifa have found the digital age extremely useful. We all know how easy it is to send all kinds of information online literally with the push of a button. Member of Antifa can easily share all types of information such as where to get equipment, where, how, and when to find people, who may join them, etc. One thing which they do frequently is “doxxing” people–giving out names, addresses and phone numbers in order to harass individuals and their families to the point that people have moved and/or installed serious security measures. Antifa members have no problem destroying private property and denying freedom of speech.

Sometimes members of Antifa join a crowd and ratchet up the looting and arson. (Looks too much like Kristallnacht) Other times, hundreds, occasionally thousands, of people all in black including sunglasses, helmets and shields–full riot gear–take to the streets, trying to burn down buildings, attacking police, even firefighters, and using high-grade fireworks, Molotov cocktails, bricks, ball bearings, clubs, a range of dangerous liquids, slingshots, and lasers which have caused blindness. Those are running battles with law enforcement, not simple protests.

As diffuse as Antifa is, the individual cells are starting to set up specific activities, often called blocs. The best know is a “black” bloc, where everyone is in head-to-toe black, making it very difficult to see who someone is. They also use snack blocs, which provide food and water, “online” blocs which supply a huge amount of data and propaganda to both local and national groups, and medic blocs to help anyone who needs medical assistance.

Clearly, this is much more than rag-tag groups of ruffians. An interesting questions is–who is paying them? There are crowd funding platforms which frequently provide them with bail (like hundreds of thousands of dollars). Some people feel sorry for rioters–others believe in their cause. There are also pop-up kitchens. One food truck, known as Riot Ribs, parked near the Portland courthouse, and made a great amount of money. Is that enough? I seriously doubt it. It’s clear that significant funds are coming from somewhere, but I’m an historian, not a forensic accountant. Nor do I walk the halls of power. But common sense (which really isn’t that common these days), and almost 50 years of study tell me that power and money are intimately involved in Antifa. Want to stop the riots? You know the old, but accurate line–follow the money!

The word “revolution” keeps rearing its head during these riots. Antifa seems to think it’s a good idea. Just stop and thing a minute. Is revolution really a good idea? The Russian Revolution killed roughly 8 million people, many of them civilians. The Chinese Cultural Revolution killed around 3 million (though the Great Leap Forward took at lease 40 million lives.) And what about the French Revolution? Only around 50,000 lives. But what’s particularly interesting is that Robespierre, one the the best-known members of the French Revolution, ended up dying on the guillotine himself because he demanded that the Reign of Terror continue. So think about Antifa, revolution and the rule of law and remember–be careful what you ask for–you might get it!