ingsand the mood ofagiven society,or, if we have to do withasociety divided
into classes, ofagiven social class,”the leading proponents of proletarian cul-
ture emphasized the ability of culture to train new political attitudes and reor-
ganize social experiences–includingthrough theregimesofthe body. In the
words of AlexanderBogdanov,“Art organizes social experience bymeans of liv-
ing images, not onlyinthe sphere of cognition, but also in that of feelingsand
desires.Asaconsequenceitisamost powerful weapon for the organization of
collective forces, and inaclass society,ofclass forces.”¹¹
Whether in the theater or on the street,agitprop sought to reorganize social
experiencesthrough confrontationalperformances that relied heavilyonphysi-
cal and psychological techniques.Inaddition to rhetoricaldevices such asrep-
etition, simplification, and direct address,aggressivebodypostures andgestures
and forceful modes of speakingwereconsidered essentialtothe conditioning of
proletarian strength and communist militancy.Identifying the constitutive ele-
ments, especiallyasregards their emotional energies,requires closer considera-
tion of diverse bodypractices and their compensatory and disciplining effects.
KPD agitprop mayhavelooked and sounded aggressive,but it developed its mil-
itant stance fromadefensive position within the left-and rightwing divides of
the lateWeimaryears. The precarious position of the partyduring the final
years of the republic thus attest alsoto the emotionallychargedfunction of agit-
prop inacountry wherethe revolution had failed and whereasubsequent series
of failedrevolts (discussed in chapters9and 10) had onlyincreased the faction-
alism and dogmatism that would continue to haunt theWeimarleft.The agitator
appeared on the scene as thevery embodiment of these largerstruggles over cor-
rect positions and gave abodyand avoiceto the communistKampfkultur(mil-
itant culture) and its masculinist emotionalregimes.
The description by OttoRühle (18 74 – 1943) of the“rebellious proletarian”il-
lustrates the functioning of athus defined embodied ideologyand can be used to
introduce the discussion of the examples throughafew deceptivelysimple ques-
tions:¹²What did the ideal proletarian look like–aside from the fact that he was
young and male? What made him appear likable, valuable, and,yes, beautiful?
How did his incarnation in the figure of the agitator establisharepertoireoftyp-
icalgestures and postures? And how did the agitator–and, by extension, the
largerproject of communism–come to occupyaplace, controlaspace, and
moveaspart ofagroup or insideacrowd?Tobegin with, the ideal proletarian
Quoted by EdwardJ. Brown,TheProletarian Episode in Russian Literature, 19 28 – 1932 (New
York: Columbia University Press,1953),7.
OttoRühle,Illustrierte Kultur- und Sittengeschichte des Proletariats(Berlin: Neuer Deutscher
Verlag, 1930), 29.
TakingaStand: The Habitus of Agitprop 243