 During the years following its formation , the FVdG began to adopt increasingly radical positions . During the German socialist movement 's debate over the use of mass strikes , the FVdG advanced the view that the general strike must be a weapon in the hands of the working class . The federation believed the mass strike was the last step before a socialist revolution and became increasingly critical of parliamentary action . Disputes with the mainstream labor movement finally led to the expulsion of FVdG members from the Social Democratic Party of Germany ( SPD ) in 1908 and the complete severing of relations between the two organizations . Anarchist and especially syndicalist positions became increasingly popular within the FVdG . During World War I , the FVdG rejected the SPD 's and mainstream labor movement 's cooperation with the German state — known as the Burgfrieden — but was unable to organize any significant resistance to or continue its regular activities during the war . Immediately after the November Revolution , the FVdG very quickly became a mass organization . It was particularly attractive to miners from the Ruhr area opposed to the mainstream unions ' reformist policies . In December 1919 , the federation merged with several minor left communist unions to become the Free Workers ' Union of Germany ( FAUD ) . 
