A few years before the outbreak of World War I, he tried to unite the proletariat to combat the imminent impending threat. He was the only deputy who, at a meeting of the Reichstag, voted against allocating funds to the German government to continue military operations against France, Russia and England. It was he who was the founder of the German Communist Party. For his anti-government speeches and anti-war calls, he was killed by his same party members. This brave and honest revolutionary who fought for peace and justice was called Karl Liebknecht.
Biography: who is Karl Liebknecht
He was born on August 13, 1871 in the city of Leipzig (Germany). His father was the famous revolutionary Wilhelm Liebknecht, who created the German Social Democratic Party along with the equally famous August Bebel. Karl's father was friends with K. Marx and F. Engels. He named his son in honor of the first of the above comrades.
It must be said that Karl Liebknecht attended working meetings from a young age. He grew up a convinced Marxist. Karl studied at the universities of Berlin and Leipzig, and as a result became an excellent lawyer. His dream came true - he began to defend the interests and rights of workers in the courts.
The beginning of revolutionary activity
In 1900, Karl Liebknecht was admitted to the Social Democratic Party. After 4 years in a German court, he acted as a lawyer, defending German and Russian members of the same party, who were accused of illegal delivery of prohibited literature across the border. Then, in his speech, he criticized the policy of persecuting the unwanted, which the Prussian-German state and Russian tsarism pursued so eagerly.
Karl Liebknecht spoke out rather sharply against reformist tactics conducted in the circles of right-wing Social Democratic leaders. At the same time, he concentrated all his energy on anti-militaristic agitation and political work in the youth environment.
In 1904, a congress of the Social Democratic Party was held in German Bremen. By that time, everyone already knew who Karl Liebknecht was. He delivered a fiery speech in which he clearly characterized militarism as one of the most important strongholds of world capitalism. He proposed the development of a special anti-war propaganda program. In addition, he initiated the creation of a youth social-democratic organization in order to involve fresh personnel in the fight against ever-growing militarism.
Attitude to events in Russia
The revolution of 1905-1907, carried out on the territory of the Russian Empire, stirred up the whole of Europe. Despite the fact that Karl Liebknecht is German by birth, he took this long-awaited event with great enthusiasm and openly expressed his approval on this subject. In 1905, at the Jena Congress of Social Democrats, he entered into a political battle with the revisionists, officially proclaiming a general political strike as one of the most effective ways of the proletariat fighting for their rights.
Liebknecht's next sensational speech was his accusatory speech at the Mannheim Party Congress. Here he once again criticized the policy of the German government regarding assistance to Russian tsarism in pacifying the revolutionary movement. In the end, he called on compatriots to follow the example of the Russian proletarians and begin the same struggle, but in their own country.
The formation of the left current
It was during the revolution in Russia that German social democracy gradually began to divide into two camps. The left organized in the party. One of its main leaders, such as Rosa Luxemburg and others, was Karl Liebknecht. In 1907, he became one of those who were involved in the creation of the Socialist International of Youth, and in the next 3 years he chaired this organization.
Needless to say, the revolutionary biography of Liebknecht Karl, whose main dates and events were changing with great speed, could not do without an episode of arrest? In 1907, he was sentenced to imprisonment in a fortress after he made his report at the first conference, which brought together representatives of youth socialist organizations from several countries at once.
Way up
The political biography of Liebknecht Karl continued in 1908, when he was elected to the Prussian Chamber of Deputies. About four years have passed. During this time, his authority grew so much that he was already a member of the deputy corps of the German Reichstag. In 1912, at the next party congress in the city of Chemnitz, he openly called on the proletarians to strengthen international solidarity, since he considered it the main means of struggle against ever-increasing militarism. The following year, from the parliamentary rostrum, Karl Liebknecht accused Krupp and other leaders at the head of the military monopolies of fomenting war.
It is worth noting that already after the First World War (1914 - 1918), Liebknecht, despite his deep convictions, obeyed the universal decision adopted by the majority of the members of the Social Democratic faction of the Reichstag. He even voted to take military loans, but soon realized his mistake. He passionately wanted to correct this mistake, and after 4 months he had the opportunity.
Feat of the revolutionary
In early December 1914, a regular meeting of the German Reichstag took place. It should be noted that on that day the hall was crowded. All government benches were occupied. They were seated generals, ministers, dignitaries. The presiding officer announced the start of voting for military loans. This was to mean that the Reichstag favors a government-unleashed war against France, Russia, and England.
No one had the slightest doubt that the parliamentarians of all parties would vote for this decision as unanimously as on August 4, that is, without exception, all deputies, including 110 Social Democrats. But something happened that no one expected. All deputies stood up, demonstrating their unity, and only one remained sitting in its place. His name was Karl Liebknecht.
He was the only one who spoke out against loans for military needs. In his written statement, which was transmitted to the chairman of the Reichstag, he described the unleashed war, which he directly called aggressive. Soon, this document was distributed illegally in the form of leaflets.
It is hard to imagine how hard it was for Liebknecht to vote alone against all the bourgeois parties, including his own, whose members unscrupulously cheated on the working class. In truth, it was a real feat of Karl Liebknecht, since after his vote the leaders of the German Social Democrats attacked him with fury, who from the very beginning of the war were allies of the German government. His speech in parliament stirred up the whole of Europe. A huge number of letters with greetings and words of support began to come to his address.
Disappointment
Just before the start of World War I, Liebknecht visited France. There he delivered a speech in which he called on the workers to unite and make every effort to prevent the impending war. But, as you know, nothing came of this. As it turned out, almost all socialist parties turned out to be cowardly traitors, except for one - the Bolsheviks. When the war began, only its principled position remained unchanged to the end.
Liebknecht was terribly disappointed that his party members shamefully betrayed the ideas of socialism. But despite this, he did not oppose them in parliament on August 4, since he considered it his duty to adhere to party discipline. It was an unforgivable mistake, which he corrected by his vote after 4 months.
Front adversity
By the way, the government was not going to forgive Liebknecht for his vote at a meeting of the Reichstag. He was punished by drafting into the army, although at that time he was already 44 years old. In addition, not only his age, but also his state of health was such that he was not subject to mobilization. What is it, even the deputy rank did not help him.
At the front, Liebknecht served as a simple soldier in the labor battalion. Here he did all the dirtiest and most difficult work, but, as eyewitnesses testified, he was always cheerful and never lost heart.
The death of a revolutionary
After returning from the front, Liebknecht, together with his associate Rosa Luxemburg, took part in the organization of the Spartak group, which had already formed by January 1916. She was engaged in active anti-war activities. For this, he is expelled from the Social Democratic parliamentary faction. In the same year, from the rostrum of the Reichstag, Liebknecht called on the German proletarians to come out on May 1 for a demonstration under the slogan “Down with the war!” and “Workers of all countries, unite!”
During this demonstration, Liebknecht called on all gathered to overthrow the government, which, he said, was waging a bloody and senseless imperialist war. For such seditious remarks, Liebknecht was arrested and sentenced to four years in prison. During the imprisonment, he learned about the victory of the October Revolution in Russia and received this news with enthusiasm, after which he urged the German soldiers not to participate in its suppression.
In October 1918, Liebnecht was released, after which he continued his revolutionary activities. The politician actively opposed the treacherous policies of the leaders of the Social Democratic Party. It was he, together with Rosa Luxemburg , who founded the German Communist Party at the Berlin Constituent Congress, held from the end of December 1918.
In January 1919, an anti-government uprising took place, led by Karl Liebknecht. The main dates and events in his life, starting from his youth, were inextricably linked with revolutionary activity, so the Social Democrats were not without reason feared that such actions and calls could lead to the outbreak of civil war in Germany. The persecution of communist leaders has begun. For the heads of Luxembourg and Liebknecht was awarded an award of 100 thousand marks. On January 15, by order of a former member of the same party, the Social Democrat G. Noske, they were captured and shot.