Wilhelm Liebknecht Papers

Period (1842-) 1859-1900 (-1938)
Total size   1.12 m.
Consultation Not restricted

Biography

Born in Giessen, Hessen 1826, died in Berlin-Charlottenburg 1900; studied philology, philosophy and theology; political journalist and founder/leader of the German social democracy; took part in the German revolution in 1848/49, was imprisoned during the Baden uprising of 1848, freed and subsequently fought in the 1849 uprising; fled to Geneva after defeat, was active as president of the Deutsche Arbeitervereine in Switzerland and expelled in 1850; went to London and became a follower and family friend of Marx; returned to Germany in 1862, and joined the Allgemeine Deutsche Arbeiterverein (ADAV) in 1863; formed with August Bebel the rival Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei (SDAP) in 1869 and edited its organ Der Volksstaat to 1876 as well as Vorwärts of the united Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands (SAPD) 1876-1878; when the `Sozialistengesetz' expired in 1890, the paper reappeared as a central organ of the Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD) with Liebknecht as chief editor until his death; Liebknecht was a member of the Reichstag 1867-1871, 1874-1887, 1888-1900 and almost continuously one of the chairmen of the socialist delegation.

Content

Personal documents 1842-1893; correspondence with Victor Adler 1890-1900, Ignaz Auer 1875-1900, Edward Aveling 1891-1897, August Bebel 1865-1900, Eduard Bernstein 1874-1899, Charles Bonnier 1888-1900, Wilhelm Bracke 1869-1880, Adolf Braun (photocopies) 1890-1898, Heinrich Braun (photocopies) 1885-1892, Gabriel Deville 1889-1900, Jules Guesde 1890-1900, Carl Hirsch 1871-1900, Boleslaw A. Jedrzejowski 1894-1900, Karl Kautsky 1876-1899, Paul Lafargue 1883-1900, Raymond Lavigne 1888-1900, Franz Mehring (photocopies) 1875-1893, Julius Motteler 1876-1900, Heinrich Oberwinder 1868-1869, Hermann Schlüter 1879-1899, Friedrich A. Sorge (photocopies) 1870-1886, Edouard Vaillant 1871-1900 and others; manuscripts by Wilhelm Liebknecht and by others; printed material consisting of e.g. leaflets, clippings and proceedings; correspondence by family members with August Bebel 1867, 1872-1906, Julie Bebel 1872-1905, Julius Motteler 1898-1904, Paul Singer 1883-1905 and others; some correspondence by others 1861-1900.

Annex: a collection of letters obtained from Charlotte Otto, granddaughter of Wilhelm Liebknecht, including letters from Wilhelm Liebknecht to his first wife Ernestine Landolt 1866-1867; a letter from the court of Berlin to Ernestine Liebknecht 1866; correspondence by his second wife Natalie Reh with Wilhelm Liebknecht 1868-1889, Carl Reh 1869-1876, Theodor Reh 1865 and others; some correspondence by Wilhelm Liebknecht with Sophie Büchner 1868 and others.

Arrangement

A first inventory -made in the 1960s- has been updated and edited by Ursula Balzer in 2008; microfilms and photocopies received from the former IML Berlin were seperated and described in a different finding aid.

Processing information

Inventory by Ursula Balzer in 2008

Alternate Form of Material

Security microfilm. Partly published in: Documents relatifs aux militants Belges de L'Association Internationale des Travailleurs. Correspondance 1865-1872. Textes réunis, établis et annotés par Daisy Eveline Devreese. Louvain/Bruxelles, 1986; Wilhelm Liebknecht, Briefwechsel mit deutschen Sozialdemokraten. Band 1. 1862-1878. Hrsg. und bearbeitet von Georg Eckert. Assen, 1973; Band 2. 1878-1884. Hrsg. von Götz Langkau unter Mitwirkung von Ursula Balzer und Jan Gielkens. Frankfurt/M. [etc.], 1988; Wilhelm Liebknecht, Briefwechsel mit Karl Marx und Friedrich Engels. Hrsg. und bearbeitet von Georg Eckert. The Hague, 1963.