Erling Falk
Encyclopedia
Erling Falk was a Norwegian politician, ideologist and writer. He was active in the Norwegian Students' Society, the Norwegian Labour Party
and the Communist Party
, but is best known as a leading figure in the group Mot Dag
, who issued a periodical of the same name. He also translated Das Kapital
.
as a son of Jonas Cornelius Falk
(1844–1915) and Anna Margrethe Middelthon (1857–1924). Falk attended school in Trondheim
(1901), Mosjøen
(1903) and high school in Stavanger
(1905) before he moved to Duluth, Minnesota
in 1907. In the United States he undertook varying forms of work and short-lived studies, including working as a land surveyor in Montana and as an accountant for Industrial Workers of the World
in Chicago.
. From 1921 he edited a new periodical called Mot Dag
, which he published together with people he met in a study circle led by Edvard Bull
. In addition to Falk, prominent figures in the early Mot Dag were Viggo Hansteen
, Trond Hegna
, Aake Anker Ording
and Arne Ording
. Sigurd Hoel
soon joined the group as editor of Mot Dag. In 1922 a parallel association, also named Mot Dag, was established.
Falk had joined Kristiania Arbeidersamfund and the Norwegian Students' Society after moving to Norway, and was also a member of the Norwegian Labour Party
. Together with Martin Tranmæl
Falk was instrumental in writing the Kristiania Proposal in early 1923, which stated that the Labour Party should strive for independency from the Comintern. The Comintern did not take lightly to this, and Falk was present to discuss the issue at the 3rd Enlarged Plenum of Executive Committee of the Communist International
in June 1923. The Labour Party resigned from Comintern at its extraordinary national convention in November 1923. At that convention, Falk tried to challenge Tranmæl as editor-in-chief of the party newspaper Arbeiderbladet
, but received few votes in his favor. Falk remained with the Labour Party for some time, but was excluded from the party in 1925. At the same time, the Labour Party disassociated itself with the entire Mot Dag group. Falk then formed the group Arbeideropposisjonen, but it too was excluded, and became short-lived.
In 1926 Mot Dag and Falk joined the Communist Party
. Falk was a member of the party's central board, and had influence in the newspaper Norges Kommunistblad
. He also influenced the founding of the short-lived party Arbeiderklassens Samlingsparti
. In 1928 he was a part of the 6th World Congress of the Comintern in Moscow, but Falk and Mot Dag left the Communist Party in 1928.
Around the same time Falk also lost influence in the Norwegian Students' Society, due to having embezzled money from a construction fund reserve. Money was among others needed to run the publishing house Fram Forlag
. After the Great Depression
in 1929, Falk translated Karl Marx
's Das Kapital
to Norwegian, and wrote the book Hvad er marxisme? (What is Marxism?) in 1937. From 1933 he participated in creating the workers' encyclopedia Arbeidernes Leksikon
. However, by the mid-1930s he needed a lighter workload due to declining health. His activity in Mot Dag declined from the autumn of 1935, which in part led to the dissolution of Mot Dag in June 1936. In contrast to most of the other members he did not rejoin the Labour Party, as the party chose to uphold his exclusion. One day before the German invasion of Norway
in April 1940, Falk left the country for Stockholm
to undergo brain surgery. He had two surgeries, but died on 31 July 1940. He was buried at Vestre gravlund
in Norway.
Norwegian Labour Party
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....
and the Communist Party
Communist Party of Norway
The Communist Party of Norway is a political party in Norway without parliamentary representation. It was formed in 1923, following a split in the Norwegian Labour Party. The party played an important role in the resistance to German occupation during the Second World War, and experienced a brief...
, but is best known as a leading figure in the group Mot Dag
Mot Dag
Mot Dag was a Norwegian periodical and a communist organization with the same name.It was established in 1921 under the initiative of Erling Falk, partly with origins in the debate forum in the Social Democratic student government in Oslo ; partly from a Falk-led study circle which from 1919...
, who issued a periodical of the same name. He also translated Das Kapital
Das Kapital
Das Kapital, Kritik der politischen Ökonomie , by Karl Marx, is a critical analysis of capitalism as political economy, meant to reveal the economic laws of the capitalist mode of production, and how it was the precursor of the socialist mode of production.- Themes :In Capital: Critique of...
.
Early life and career
He was born in HemnesbergetHemnesberget
Hemnesberget is a small town in the municipality of Hemnes, Norway. Its population is 1,337....
as a son of Jonas Cornelius Falk
Jonas Cornelius Falk
Jonas Cornelius Falk was a Norwegian politician for the Liberal Party.He served as a deputy representative to the Parliament of Norway during the term 1898–1900, representing the constituency of Nordlands Amt. He worked as a telegraph manager...
(1844–1915) and Anna Margrethe Middelthon (1857–1924). Falk attended school in Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
(1901), Mosjøen
Mosjøen
-History:Mosjøen was founded in the 17th century as local farmers met here to trade, and has been growing since then. Sawmills were built here in 1866 by a British company, and Mosjøen got township rights in 1875. It is the oldest town in the Helgeland region and the second oldest town in Nordland...
(1903) and high school in Stavanger
Stavanger
Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...
(1905) before he moved to Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
in 1907. In the United States he undertook varying forms of work and short-lived studies, including working as a land surveyor in Montana and as an accountant for Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
in Chicago.
Mot Dag
In 1918 he moved back to Norway, and enrolled at the Royal Frederick UniversityUniversity of Oslo
The University of Oslo , formerly The Royal Frederick University , is the oldest and largest university in Norway, situated in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The university was founded in 1811 and was modelled after the recently established University of Berlin...
. From 1921 he edited a new periodical called Mot Dag
Mot Dag
Mot Dag was a Norwegian periodical and a communist organization with the same name.It was established in 1921 under the initiative of Erling Falk, partly with origins in the debate forum in the Social Democratic student government in Oslo ; partly from a Falk-led study circle which from 1919...
, which he published together with people he met in a study circle led by Edvard Bull
Edvard Bull, Sr.
Edvard Bull was a Norwegian historian and politician for the Labour Party. He took the doctorate in 1912 and became a professor at the University of Kristiania in 1917, and is known for writings on a broad range of subjects. In addition to his academic work, he is known for his work on Norsk...
. In addition to Falk, prominent figures in the early Mot Dag were Viggo Hansteen
Viggo Hansteen
Harald Viggo Hansteen was a Norwegian lawyer who was executed by the Nazis during the five-year Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. -Biography:...
, Trond Hegna
Trond Hegna
Trond Hegna was a Norwegian journalist and politician for the Norwegian Labour Party and the Communist Party of Norway....
, Aake Anker Ording
Aake Anker Ording
Aake Anker Ording was a Norwegian civil servant and politician for Mot Dag and the Labour Party.He was born in Halden. He was a second cousin of actor Jørn Ording and historian and politician Arne Ording, and a first cousin once removed of educator and theologian Fredrik Ording and theologian Hans...
and Arne Ording
Arne Ording
Arne Ording was a Norwegian historian and politician for Mot Dag and the Labour Party.-Pre-war life and career:...
. Sigurd Hoel
Sigurd Hoel
Sigurd Hoel was a Norwegian author and publishing consultant, born in Nord-Odal. He debuted with the collection of short stories Veien vi gaar in 1922...
soon joined the group as editor of Mot Dag. In 1922 a parallel association, also named Mot Dag, was established.
Falk had joined Kristiania Arbeidersamfund and the Norwegian Students' Society after moving to Norway, and was also a member of the Norwegian Labour Party
Norwegian Labour Party
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....
. Together with Martin Tranmæl
Martin Tranmæl
Martin Olsen Tranmæl was a radical Norwegian socialist leader.-Biography:Martin Tranmæl grew up in a middle-sized farm in Melhus, in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. He started working as a painter and construction worker. In the early 20th century, Tranmæl lived for a while in the USA where he came...
Falk was instrumental in writing the Kristiania Proposal in early 1923, which stated that the Labour Party should strive for independency from the Comintern. The Comintern did not take lightly to this, and Falk was present to discuss the issue at the 3rd Enlarged Plenum of Executive Committee of the Communist International
Executive Committee of the Communist International
The Executive Committee of the Communist International, commonly known by its acronym, ECCI, was the governing authority of the Comintern between the World Congresses of that body...
in June 1923. The Labour Party resigned from Comintern at its extraordinary national convention in November 1923. At that convention, Falk tried to challenge Tranmæl as editor-in-chief of the party newspaper Arbeiderbladet
Dagsavisen
Dagsavisen is a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. The former party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party, the ties loosened over time from 1975 to 1999, and it is now fully independent...
, but received few votes in his favor. Falk remained with the Labour Party for some time, but was excluded from the party in 1925. At the same time, the Labour Party disassociated itself with the entire Mot Dag group. Falk then formed the group Arbeideropposisjonen, but it too was excluded, and became short-lived.
In 1926 Mot Dag and Falk joined the Communist Party
Communist Party of Norway
The Communist Party of Norway is a political party in Norway without parliamentary representation. It was formed in 1923, following a split in the Norwegian Labour Party. The party played an important role in the resistance to German occupation during the Second World War, and experienced a brief...
. Falk was a member of the party's central board, and had influence in the newspaper Norges Kommunistblad
Norges Kommunistblad
Norges Kommunistblad was a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway.It was started on 5 November 1923 as the official party newspaper from the Communist Party, which was established that year after a split from the Labour Party. The first editor was Olav Scheflo...
. He also influenced the founding of the short-lived party Arbeiderklassens Samlingsparti
Arbeiderklassens Samlingsparti
Arbeiderklassens Samlingsparti was a short-lived political party in Norway.-Establishment:It was a part of the tendency of unification among the workers' parties in Norway. From the Norwegian Labour Party, two splits had occurred: the Social Democratic Labour Party in 1921 and the Communist Party...
. In 1928 he was a part of the 6th World Congress of the Comintern in Moscow, but Falk and Mot Dag left the Communist Party in 1928.
Around the same time Falk also lost influence in the Norwegian Students' Society, due to having embezzled money from a construction fund reserve. Money was among others needed to run the publishing house Fram Forlag
Fram Forlag
Fram Forlag was a Norwegian publishing company. It was established as a publishing house for the organization Mot Dag in 1929, with Erling Falk as the founder and Torolf Elster as an early associate. The company was taken over by Tiden Norsk Forlag in 1936....
. After the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
in 1929, Falk translated Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
's Das Kapital
Das Kapital
Das Kapital, Kritik der politischen Ökonomie , by Karl Marx, is a critical analysis of capitalism as political economy, meant to reveal the economic laws of the capitalist mode of production, and how it was the precursor of the socialist mode of production.- Themes :In Capital: Critique of...
to Norwegian, and wrote the book Hvad er marxisme? (What is Marxism?) in 1937. From 1933 he participated in creating the workers' encyclopedia Arbeidernes Leksikon
Arbeidernes Leksikon
Arbeidernes Leksikon is a Norwegian encyclopedia published in six volumes in the 1930s.It was the first reference book in Norwegian to have a pronounced class bias, and the first encyclopedia outside of the Soviet Union to be directed specifically at the working class...
. However, by the mid-1930s he needed a lighter workload due to declining health. His activity in Mot Dag declined from the autumn of 1935, which in part led to the dissolution of Mot Dag in June 1936. In contrast to most of the other members he did not rejoin the Labour Party, as the party chose to uphold his exclusion. One day before the German invasion of Norway
Operation Weserübung
Operation Weserübung was the code name for Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway during the Second World War and the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign...
in April 1940, Falk left the country for Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
to undergo brain surgery. He had two surgeries, but died on 31 July 1940. He was buried at Vestre gravlund
Vestre gravlund
Vestre gravlund is a cemetery in the Frogner borough of Oslo, Norway, located next to the Borgen metro station. At , it is the largest cemetery in Norway...
in Norway.