Attempts to Build Postwar Europe from Below in Stuttgart: Failure or Forerunner?

Abstract

On May 2, 1964, a so-called Emigrationsparlament held its constituent meeting in the house of the Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (dgb) in Stuttgart. The meeting was opened by a speech of the parliament’s president, Antonio Maspoli, in which he outlined the aims of the new institution and coined the phrase ‘The emigrant is a worker from and for Europe and Europe is his country’. In the months following the Emigrationsparlament gathered several times and Maspoli—a Swiss national known for his engagement in the trade unions in Switzerland—pleaded for the establishment of a ‘sort of a European parliament of the foreign worker’ in Stuttgart. Maspoli’s repeated claims initiated debates within the municipal government about the stimulation of self-help among foreigners and their growing involvement in issues concerning them. Furthermore, Maspoli obtained premises for the establishment of an international meeting point called ‘Europa-Club’. However, his wish of setting up a European parliament in Stuttgart remained unfulfilled. While the local government eventually established a council, the desired parliament of foreign workers did not come into existence. Hence, Stuttgart missed the opportunity to become the site of an elected European parliament and the activities of the ueg fell into oblivion.