The Murder Of Rosa Luxemburg

On the tracks of the killers of Rosa Luxemburg The cold-blooded murder of revolutionary icons Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht in the pitched political battles of post-WWI Germany marks one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century. No other political assassination inflamed popular passions and transformed Germany's political climate as that killing in the night of 15-16 January 1919 in front of the luxurious Hotel Eden. It not only cut short the lives of two of the country's most brilliant political leaders, but also inaugurated a series of further political assassinations designed to snuff out the revolutionary flame and, ultimately, pave the way for the ultra-reactionary forces that would take power in 1933. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of their untimely deaths, Klaus Gietinger has carefully reconstructed the events on that fateful night, digging deep into the archives to identify who exactly was responsible for the murder, and what forces in high-placed positions had a hand in facilitating it and protecting the culprits.

The cold-blooded murder of revolutionary icons Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht in the pitched political battles of post-WWI Germany marks one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century. No other political assassination inflamed popular passions and transformed Germany's political climate as that killing in the night of 15-16 January 1919 in front of the luxurious Hotel Eden. It not only cut short the lives of two of the country's most brilliant political leaders, but also inaugurated a series of further political assassinations designed to snuff out the revolutionary flame and, ultimately, pave the way for the ultra-reactionary forces that would take power in 1933. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of their untimely deaths, Klaus Gietinger has carefully reconstructed the events on that fateful night, digging deep into the archives to identify who exactly was responsible for the murder, and what forces in high-placed positions had a hand in facilitating it and protecting the culprits.

This first English compilation of political texts by Paul Levi, who successfully led the KPD until forced out by the pressure for Bolshevisation, offers a new perspective on the early history of German Communism.

A graphic novel of the dramatic life and death of German revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg A giant of the political left, Rosa Luxemburg is one of the foremost minds in the canon of revolutionary socialist thought. But she was much more than just a thinker. She made herself heard in a world inimical to the voices of strong-willed women. She overcame physical infirmity and the prejudice she faced as a Jew to become an active revolutionary whose philosophy enriched every corner of an incredibly productive and creative life—her many friendships, her sexual intimacies, and her love of science, nature and art. Always opposed to the First World War, when others on the German left were swept up on a tide of nationalism, she was imprisoned and murdered in 1919 fighting for a revolution she knew to be doomed. In this beautifully drawn work of graphic biography, writer and artist Kate Evans has opened up her subject’s intellectual world to a new audience, grounding Luxemburg’s ideas in the realities of an inspirational and deeply affecting life.

The most comprehensive collection of letters by Rosa Luxemburg ever published in English, this book includes 190 letters written to leading figures in the European and international labor and socialist movements––Leo Jogiches, Karl Kautsky, Clara Zetkin and Karl Liebknecht––who were among her closest friends, lovers and colleagues. Much of this correspondence appears for the first time in English translation; all of it helps to illuminate the inner life of this iconic revolutionary, who was at once an economic and social theorist, a political activist and a lyrical stylist. Her political concerns are revealed alongside her personal struggles within a socialist movement that was often hostile to independently minded women. This collection will provide readers with a newer and deeper appreciation of Luxemburg as a writer and historical figure.

“You will meet the real Rosa here, and it’s a pleasure.”—Norman Lebrecht, Wall Street Journal As an economist and political theorist, Rosa Luxemburg created a body of work that still resonates powerfully today. Born in Poland in 1871, she became a revolutionary leader in Berlin, publishing works including Reform or Revolution and The Accumulation of Capital. In this account of Luxemburg’s short yet extraordinary life, Dana Mills examines Luxemburg’s writings, including her own correspondence, to reveal a woman who was fierce in professional battles and loving in personal relationships. What is her legacy today, a hundred years after her assassination in Berlin in 1919 at the age of forty-seven? Luxemburg’s emphasis on humanity and equality and her insistence on revolution give coherence, as this compelling biography illustrates, to a fraught life story and to her colossal economic and political legacy.

The masterfully told story of what happened in Germany following its defeat in the first world war: the Kaiser’s exit from the stage, the sailors’ mutiny, the spreading of the revolution and its betrayal by its own chosen socialist leaders. Haffner recounts the murder of Karl Liebknecht and of Rosa Luxemburg — and the deliberate creation of those relentless counter-revolutionary forces that became the nightmare of the Third Reich. More than a brilliant historical study: it has vital lessons for our own day. “Haffner’s history of the revolution is unrivalled — tight, precise, passionately rational, brilliantly formulated.” — Profil/Wien “No-one else has described and analysed the events of 1918/19 that were decisive for the century as well and as convincingly as Sebastian Haffner.” — Tagespiegel “For Haffner, the revolution was a social-democratic revolution. That it was nevertheless ultimately suppressed bloodily by social-democratic politicians confirms Haffner’s suspicion that this was a case of betrayal.” — Norddeutscher Rundfunk(North German Radio) “Haffner’s book is one of the few that breaks open previously locked doors and shines a light on dark corners of our past.” — Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger “Sebastian Haffner’s brilliant intellect clarifies contrasts and similarities in situations, motivations and deeds and describes lucidly and dramatically the main lines of the complex developments from September 1918 to January 1919.” — Dieter Wunderlich “Those who know Haffner’s method of making the writing of history an inspection of the past motivated by the present, will appreciate this book.” — zitty/Berlin

Rosa Luxemburg holds an enduring fascination as a radical socialist committed to democratic values, and a woman whose charismatic personality and impassioned speeches inspired her followerswithout resort to bureaucratic organisation. Her assistant and friend Mathilde Jacob was Rosa Luxemburg's mainstay during her years of imprisonment in the First World War. 'My dearest Mathilde' provided material and emotional support, organised Rosa Luxemburg's clandestine communication with the outside world, and herself played a key role in the illegal work of the Spartacus group. When revolution broke out in Germany in 1918, she sought unsuccessfully to protect Rosa Luxemburg in the tragic events that led to her death. Mathilde Jacob's memoir, written as testimony of 'love for a person and for a cause', and sent abroad for safe-keeping when she fell victim to the Nazis, was unknown to Rosa Luxemburg's early biographers and has only recently been published in Germany. It paints a vivid portrait both of Rosa Luxemburg herself, and of the group of friends - Karl Liebknecht, Leo Jogiches, Clara Zetkin and Paul Levi - that with her made up the Spartacus leadership. This translation is by Hans Fernbach, who knew Mathilde Jacob as a family friend in Berlin; it is introduced by David Fernbach, whose publications include, as editor, the Pelican edition of Karl Marx's Political Writings.