Founding Heroes of Socialism
Dear readers:
Northstar Compass prides itself for being the standard bearer of a great tradition and we want you, the reader, to share in that glorious past. Our struggle for a better world is a valiant and unselfish undertaking and at times it seems like a tall mountain to climb.
We are therefore introducing a new column "Founding Heroes of Socialism" dedicated to those who have come before us and who have fought tirelessly for Socialism, dedicating their entire lives to that cause. They were the true pioneers of a new and better world, and for us role models. They were the founding fathers of socialism and we want to honour their legacy by introducing this column.
Let us learn from their examples. We endeavour to feature one such biographical sketch in each future issue of NSC.
Editorial Board of NSC
Karl Liebknecht
He was born in 1871, the son of Wilhelm Liebknecht. While studying law he became militant in the German socialist movement; and as an attorney he continued his socialist activity and belonged to the left wing of the SPD. In 1902 he became a municipal councillor in Berlin. In 1907 he was one of the organizers of the first international conference of young socialists, from which emerged the Young Socialist International. At the end of that year he was arrested, but his election as a Socialist Deputy in the Prussian Landtag, led to his release from prison. In 1912 he was elected as a Socialist Deputy in the German Reichstag.
Although he opposed both war militarism in general, he bowed to the discipline of the socialist faction and on August 4, 1914, he voted for the war credits, but on December 2 he became the first socialist deputy to cast a negative vote on the same point. Fully engaged in opposing this imperialist war, he took part in the group Die Internationale, from which emerged the Spartacus Group, then the Spartacus League, and finally, at the close of 1918 the KPD.
He was known for his antiwar propaganda, he was drafted into the army and then arrested in May of 1916. His work and attitude were cited very frequently by Lenin, who noted in the resolution of the Bolshevik Petrograd Conference in April of 1917 that Liebknecht was in the forefront of the revolutionary groups.
During the German revolution in November of 1918 Liebknecht became the best known figure in the Spartacus League. At the founding congress of the KPD, held on December 30, 1918, he delivered a report on the first item on the agenda – the crisis in the USPD. He was elected to the KPD national committee (Zentrale). On January 15, 1919, he and Rosa Luxemburg were assassinated in Germany after a revolutionary attempt in Berlin.
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