Theodor Liebknecht Papers

Period (1832, 1866-) 1886-1948 (-1993)
Total size   0.87 m.
Consultation Not restricted

Biography or History

Born in Leipzig 1870, died in Altendorf near Hannover, Germany 1948; son of Wilhelm Liebknecht; studied law; worked as a lawyer in Berlin from 1899; became politically active after the murder of his brother Karl in 1919; member of the Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (USPD); opposed its merger with the Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands (KPD) as well as the reunion with the Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD); became a leader of the remaining part of the USPD with a programme of radical class struggle; supported the International Working Union of Socialist Parties (IWUSP); in 1924 involved in the split of the Sozialistische Bund (Georg Ledebour); from 1931 he belonged to the right wing of the Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands (SAPD), where he opposed introduction of Leninist schemes of organization; emigrated to Basel in 1933 and was employed by the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam 1936-1940.

Content

A few personal documents 1902-1909; correspondence with Angelica Balabanoff 1934-c. 1936, Alexander Bloch 1938, Josef Falta 1933-1935, Hannah and Ludwig Frank 1939-1946, Hans Geiser 1938, Benedikt Kautsky 1945-1946, Claire and Richard Kleineibst 1933-1946, Marie Kunert 1942-1946, Georg Ledebour 1908, 1934, 1940-1945, Boris Nikolaevskij 1934-1940, N.W. Posthumus 1934-1940, Emil Rabold 1933-1938, Anna Siemsen 1942-1945 and n.d., Isaak (Yizhak) N. Steinberg 1933-1935, 1937-1938, members of the family 1934-1947, and others; typescript of `Wahrheit, Freiheit, Frieden, Brot' [1944]; excerpts, notes and correspondence relating to his research on the International Working Men's Association 1936-1940; some documents on the insurrection of the Spartacists and the role of the USPD at the end of the First World War 1920, 1932 and n.d.; some printed material 1832, 1874, 1921-1947, 1950, 1956 and miscellanea. Correspondence by Charlotte Otto-Liebknecht with members of the family 1925, 1933-1948, and others. Correspondence by Wilhelm Liebknecht with Theodor Liebknecht and others 1866-1888, 1895-1900 and n.d.; some other documents concerning Wilhelm Liebknecht 1869-1871 and n.d.; a few documents concerning Karl Liebknecht 1907-1915 and n.d.

Processing information

Inventory by Ursula Balzer in 2011