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Karl Liebknecht

German socialist, editor, and co-founder of the Spartacus League (1871-1919) · Politicians · Died at 47

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He voted against his own party's war, called for revolution from a palace balcony, and died in a paramilitary bullet-storm eleven weeks later. The son of a socialist founder who pushed Germany's left past the point of return.

PoliticiansPoliticianPoliticsLaw19th Century

A life in dates

1919Died15 January 1919“Those who are defeated today shall be the victors of tomorrow. Because defeat serves as a lesson. The German proletariat still lacks revolutionary experience.”In their wordsIn Spite of Everything! (1919)

“The defeated of today, they will have learned.”In their wordsIn Spite of Everything! (1919)

“The tide of events mount into the heavens - we are accustomed to being catapulted down from the peak into the depths.”In their wordsIn Spite of Everything! (1919)

1918“Lay down your weapons, you soldiers at the front. Lay down your tools, you workers at home.”In their wordsCall for Revolution (1918)

1915“The main enemy of the German people is in Germany: German imperialism, the German war party, German secret diplomacy.”In their wordsThe Main Enemy is at Home (1915)

1871Born13 August 1871

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Karl Liebknecht portrait (cropped)Karl Liebknecht portrait (cropped)09 Nov 1918 Liebknecht09 Nov 1918 Liebknecht200806 Berlin 156200806 Berlin 156Approaches to the great settlement (1918) (14596008838)Approaches to the great settlement (1918) (14596008838)Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H25212, Berlin, Revolution, BeisetzungBundesarchiv Bild 183-H25212, Berlin, Revolution, BeisetzungState Council building 017State Council building 017Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-P046271, Berlin, Kundgebung im Tiergarten, LiebknechtBundesarchiv B 145 Bild-P046271, Berlin, Kundgebung im Tiergarten, LiebknechtBundesarchiv Bild 183-08931-0002, Berlin-Friedrichsfelde, Beerdigung der RevolutionsopferBundesarchiv Bild 183-08931-0002, Berlin-Friedrichsfelde, Beerdigung der Revolutionsopfer

In their own words 5

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Karl Liebknecht
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5 statements, newest first

  1. Those who are defeated today shall be the victors of tomorrow. Because defeat serves as a lesson. The German proletariat still lacks revolutionary experience.

    1919, In Spite of Everything! (1919), Own words

  2. The defeated of today, they will have learned.

    1919, In Spite of Everything! (1919), Own words

  3. The tide of events mount into the heavens - we are accustomed to being catapulted down from the peak into the depths.

    1919, In Spite of Everything! (1919), Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

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About this person

Karl Liebknecht was born in Leipzig on 13 August 1871, son of SPD co-founder Wilhelm Liebknecht, and studied law and political economy. In 1907 he was imprisoned for a year after writing an anti-militarism pamphlet; by 1912 he sat in the Reichstag. When World War I began, he broke with the SPD over its support for the German war effort, co-founding the Spartacus League and demanding revolution - moves that got him expelled from the party in 1916 and jailed again for leading an anti-war demonstration. Released just before the November Revolution, he proclaimed Germany a "Free Socialist Republic" from the Berlin Palace on 9 November 1918, then co-founded the Communist Party of Germany when his call for a soviet republic was rejected that December. In January 1919, Liebknecht helped lead the Spartacist uprising against the new Weimar Republic; after it failed, he and Rosa Luxemburg were captured and summarily executed by Freikorps paramilitaries on 15 January 1919. Since then both have been martyrs for the socialist and communist left across Europe, commemorated by the German left to this day.

Category
Politicians
Type
Politician
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1871 to 1919 · aged 47

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