when it was founded, the kapd included some tens of thousands of revolutionaries. however, it had broken up and practically dissolved within a few years. this was because it was founded on the basis of revolutionary optimism and a purism that rejected what became known as frontism. frontism entailed working in the same organisations as reformist workers. such work was seen by the kapd as unhelpful at a time when the revolution was thought to be an imminent event and not merely a goal to be aimed at. this led the members of the kapd to reject working in the traditional trade unions in favour of forming their own revolutionary unions. these "unionen", so called to distinguish them from the official trade unions, had 80,000 members in 1920 and peaked in 1921 with 200,000 members, after which they declined rapidly. they were also organisationally divided from the beginning, with those unionen linked to the kapd forming the aau-d and those in saxony around otto rühle who opposed the conception of a party in favour of a unitary class organisation being organised as the aau-e.