 The FVdG , on the other hand , was the only labor organization in the country which refused to participate in the Burgfrieden . The union held that war @-@ time patriotism was incompatible with proletarian internationalism and that war could only bring greater exploitation of labor . ( Indeed , the average real wage fell by 55 percent during the war . ) While the mainstream labor movement was quick to agree with the state that Russia and the United Kingdom were to blame for igniting the war , the FVdG held that the cause for the war was imperialism and that no blame could be assigned until after the conflict ended . The federation strongly criticized hostility towards foreigners working in Germany , especially Poles and Italians . It also rejected the concepts of the " nation " and national identity invoked in support of the war , claiming that common language , origin and culture ( the foundations of a nation ) did not exist in Germany . The FVdG 's newspapers also declared that the war refuted historical materialism , since the masses had gone to war against their own material interests . 
