August Thalheimer
Encyclopedia
August Thalheimer was a German
Marxist
activist and theoretician
.
, Württemberg
, Germany
.
prior to the First World War. He edited Volksfreund, one of the party newspapers, and from 1916 worked on Spartakusbriefe, the official paper of the Independent Social Democratic Party
(USPD). Thalheimer became a founder member of the Communist Party of Germany
(KPD), where he was recognised as the party’s main theoretician. He edited Rote Fahne and the manuscripts that Franz Mehring
left unpublished at his death.
Thalheimer was part of the local government in Württemberg serving as Minister of Finance during the crisis of 1923. He and Heinrich Brandler
were blamed for the consequences and summoned to Moscow in 1924. There he worked for the Comintern
and the Marx-Engels Institute. In 1927 Thalheimer gave a series of lectures at the Moscow Sun Yat-sen University
which were then published as a textbook in philosophy (the English translation appeared as Introduction to Dialectical Materialism, New York, 1936). He also worked with Bukharin on the draft programme of the Comintern
. Owing to unease with the leadership of Ernst Thälmann
he returned to the KPD in Germany in 1928. However a year later he and Brandler were expelled from the KPD and they went on to form the Communist Party Opposition
(KPO).
The KPO criticised the foreign policy of the Soviet Union, without criticising its domestic policies. Thalheimer stated that: "We do not want to draw the conclusion that as the politics of the Comintern are wrong, it must follow that the politics of Russia are also wrong." (Gegen den Strom, 4/1931) Thalheimer supported both forced collectivisation and Stakhanovism.
Thalheimer went into exile in Paris
from 1932.
Beginning at the start of 1935 Thalheimer began writing a regular column on international news for Workers Age, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the USA (Opposition), headed by Jay Lovestone
.
Thalheimer went to Barcelona
, Spain in 1936. Here he became involved in an argument with Andrés Nin
over the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification's (POUM
) condemnation of the first Moscow Trial. He soon returned to France again to work with the KPO in exile. In July 1937 when six members of the KPO in Barcelona were arrested by the Stalinists he issued a joint statement with Brandler saying that:
. He died in Havana
on 19 September 1948.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
activist and theoretician
Theoretician (Marxism)
A theoretician is a term from the vernacular of Marxism relating to an individual who observes and writes about the condition or dynamics of society, history, or economics, making use of the main principles of Marxian socialism in the analysis....
.
Early years
August Thalheimer was born 18 March 1884 in Affaltrach, now called ObersulmObersulm
Obersulm is a municipality in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, formed in the 1970-s as a merger of the formerly independent municipalities Affaltrach, Eichelberg, Eschenau, Sülzbach, Weiler, and Willsbach. It is situated 12 km east of Heilbronn...
, Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Political career
Thalheimer was a member of the German Social Democratic PartySocial Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
prior to the First World War. He edited Volksfreund, one of the party newspapers, and from 1916 worked on Spartakusbriefe, the official paper of the Independent Social Democratic Party
Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany was a short-lived political party in Germany during the Second Reich and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of left wing members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany...
(USPD). Thalheimer became a founder member of the Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
(KPD), where he was recognised as the party’s main theoretician. He edited Rote Fahne and the manuscripts that Franz Mehring
Franz Mehring
Franz Erdmann Mehring , was a German publicist, politician and historian.-Early years:Franz Mehring was born 27 February 1846 in Schlawe, Pomerania, the son of a bourgeois family.-Political career:...
left unpublished at his death.
Thalheimer was part of the local government in Württemberg serving as Minister of Finance during the crisis of 1923. He and Heinrich Brandler
Heinrich Brandler
Heinrich Brandler was a German communist trade unionist, politician, revolutionary activist, and writer. Brandler is best remember as the head of the Communist Party of Germany during the party's ill-fated "March Action" of 1921 and aborted uprising of 1923, for which he was held responsible by...
were blamed for the consequences and summoned to Moscow in 1924. There he worked for the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
and the Marx-Engels Institute. In 1927 Thalheimer gave a series of lectures at the Moscow Sun Yat-sen University
Moscow Sun Yat-sen University
Moscow Sun Yat-sen University, officially the Sun Yat-sen Communist University of the Toilers of China, was a Comintern school, which operated from 1925-1930. It was a training camp for Chinese revolutionaries from both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China .-Origins:In 1923, Dr...
which were then published as a textbook in philosophy (the English translation appeared as Introduction to Dialectical Materialism, New York, 1936). He also worked with Bukharin on the draft programme of the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
. Owing to unease with the leadership of Ernst Thälmann
Ernst Thälmann
Ernst Thälmann was the leader of the Communist Party of Germany during much of the Weimar Republic. He was arrested by the Gestapo in 1933 and held in solitary confinement for eleven years, before being shot in Buchenwald on Adolf Hitler's orders in 1944...
he returned to the KPD in Germany in 1928. However a year later he and Brandler were expelled from the KPD and they went on to form the Communist Party Opposition
Communist Party Opposition
The Communist Party of Germany was a communist opposition organisation established at the end of 1928 and maintaining its existence until 1939 or 1940...
(KPO).
The KPO criticised the foreign policy of the Soviet Union, without criticising its domestic policies. Thalheimer stated that: "We do not want to draw the conclusion that as the politics of the Comintern are wrong, it must follow that the politics of Russia are also wrong." (Gegen den Strom, 4/1931) Thalheimer supported both forced collectivisation and Stakhanovism.
Thalheimer went into exile in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
from 1932.
Beginning at the start of 1935 Thalheimer began writing a regular column on international news for Workers Age, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the USA (Opposition), headed by Jay Lovestone
Jay Lovestone
Jay Lovestone was at various times a member of the Socialist Party of America, a leader of the Communist Party USA, leader of a small oppositionist party, an anti-Communist and Central Intelligence Agency helper, and foreign policy advisor to the leadership of the AFL-CIO and various unions...
.
Thalheimer went to Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain in 1936. Here he became involved in an argument with Andrés Nin
Andrés Nin
Andreu Nin i Pérez was a Spanish Communist revolutionary.- Early life :...
over the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification's (POUM
Poum
Poum is a commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The town of Poum is located in the far northwest, located on the southern part of Banare Bay, with Mouac Island just offshore....
) condemnation of the first Moscow Trial. He soon returned to France again to work with the KPO in exile. In July 1937 when six members of the KPO in Barcelona were arrested by the Stalinists he issued a joint statement with Brandler saying that:
"We take upon ourselves any political and personal guarantee for our arrested comrades. They are anti-Fascists and revolutionaries, incapable of any action that could be construed as high treason to the Spanish Revolution."
Death and legacy
In 1940, after the German conquest of France, Thalheimer fled to CubaCuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. He died in Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
on 19 September 1948.
Works
- "1923: A Missed Opportunity? The German October Legend and the Real History of 1923." (1931) Mike Jones, trans. London: Marken Press, 1993.
- “On Fascism”. Telos 40 (Summer 1979). New York: Telos Press.