Its origins lie in the Socialist Workers Group (SAG) which was founded in Germany by supporters of the International Socialists (Britain) in the early 1970s. Members of SAG including long time leader Volkhard Mosler had been close to the IS (Britain) since 1966.
The SAG gradually developed a national structure during the 1970s. However it was still a relatively small organisation when Germany was reunited following the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In 1993 some members of the SAG entered the Jusos,the youth organisation of the SPD, and after a short time began publishing the paper Linksruck. This was done with the approval of Tony Cliff a senior leader of the SWP in Britain but had not been sanctioned by the SAG leadership.