Julius Gerber
Encyclopedia
Julius Gerber was a leading Socialist Party of America
party official and politician
during the first two decades of the 20th century. Gerber headed the important Socialist Party unit for New York City
and its environs from 1911 through 1922. He played a key role in the party split of 1919, out of which the Communist Party
emerged.
, Latvia
, then part of the Russian empire
. His father was a tradesman. The Gerbers were Jewish, and as members of a persecuted minority, the family fled Tsarist Russia in 1886, landing in New York. Young Julius took a job as a sheet metal
worker at the age of 14, a task at which he remained until 1911. He was a member of the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union. There is no record substantiating Julius Gerber arrived in the United States with any family member. According to his USA passport applications of 1928 and 1931, he arrived in the United States in either September of 1887 or August of 1888 at the age of 16 or 17. He applied for and was granted USA citenship on October 27, 1893 in Kings County, Brooklyn, New York. He married Lena Sacht on February 13, 1892 in New York according to their marriage license.
Gerber was a committed socialist from an early age, joining the Socialist Labor Party of America
(SLP) in 1890.
In the bitter 1899 split of the SLP, Gerber allied himself with the pro-American Federation of Labor
insurgents headed by Henry Slobodin and Morris Hillquit
against the regular faction of Daniel DeLeon and Henry Kuhn. Julius was made the organizer of Local New York of the new organization, a group calling themselves the Social Democratic Party
after the DeLeon-Kuhn faction won control of the party name and logo as the result of a lawsuit
. In 1901 this Eastern SDP group united with a Midwestern group of the same name to establish the Socialist Party of America. Gerber remained on as organizer of Local Greater New York for this enlarged organization through 1902.
Gerber was active in the publishing group which issued the socialist New Yorker Volkszeitung
and served as Financial Secretary of that organization. He was also Secretary of the Press Committee which established the English-language New York Daily Call a few years later.
Gerber was a frequent participant at the national conventions of the Socialist Party which determined party policy, attending the 1900, 1904, 1908, and 1912 gatherings.
Julius was a delegate to the 1917 Socialist Party Convention, a gathering which passed the aggressively anti-militarist
St. Louis Manifesto.
In addition to his regular party tasks, Gerber was the Secretary of the Workingmen's Cooperative Publishing Association, the group responsible for publication of the New York Call, one of just two Socialist Party English language daily newspapers during the decade of the 1910s.
Gerber sat on the State Executive Committee of the Socialist Party of New York in 1919, a group which conducted a factional war on behalf of the party regulars against the Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party
. He was a delegate to the seminal 1919 Socialist Party Convention
, which lead to the split of the party's Left Wing to form the Communist Labor Party
.
Gerber was elected to the governing National Executive Committee of the Socialist Party in 1921, serving a one year term. He ran for New York State Assembly
in that same year, standing in the 18th Assembly District.
Following the demise of the New York Call in 1923, Julius became actively involved with its successor publication, The New Leader
. He was the Secretary of the New Leader Publishing Association, the group which published the paper, from its establishment in 1924.
Gerber was strictly a party functionary rather than an agitator
or a theoretician
and did not publish any books or pamphlets in his lifetime.
Gerber was portrayed in Warren Beatty
's 1981 historical drama Reds by William Daniels
.
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
party official and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
during the first two decades of the 20th century. Gerber headed the important Socialist Party unit for New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and its environs from 1911 through 1922. He played a key role in the party split of 1919, out of which the Communist Party
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
emerged.
Early years
Julius Gerber was born December 24, 1871 or 1872 (according to two passport applications in the United States), in RigaRiga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, then part of the Russian empire
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. His father was a tradesman. The Gerbers were Jewish, and as members of a persecuted minority, the family fled Tsarist Russia in 1886, landing in New York. Young Julius took a job as a sheet metal
Sheet metal
Sheet metal is simply metal formed into thin and flat pieces. It is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and can be cut and bent into a variety of different shapes. Countless everyday objects are constructed of the material...
worker at the age of 14, a task at which he remained until 1911. He was a member of the Amalgamated Metal Workers Union. There is no record substantiating Julius Gerber arrived in the United States with any family member. According to his USA passport applications of 1928 and 1931, he arrived in the United States in either September of 1887 or August of 1888 at the age of 16 or 17. He applied for and was granted USA citenship on October 27, 1893 in Kings County, Brooklyn, New York. He married Lena Sacht on February 13, 1892 in New York according to their marriage license.
Gerber was a committed socialist from an early age, joining the Socialist Labor Party of America
Socialist Labor Party of America
The Socialist Labor Party of America , established in 1876 as the Workingmen's Party, is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. Originally known as the Workingmen's Party of America, the party changed its name in 1877 and has...
(SLP) in 1890.
In the bitter 1899 split of the SLP, Gerber allied himself with the pro-American Federation of Labor
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...
insurgents headed by Henry Slobodin and Morris Hillquit
Morris Hillquit
Morris Hillquit was a founder and leader of the Socialist Party of America and prominent labor lawyer in New York City's Lower East Side during the early 20th century.-Early years:...
against the regular faction of Daniel DeLeon and Henry Kuhn. Julius was made the organizer of Local New York of the new organization, a group calling themselves the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party (United States)
The Social Democratic Party of America was a short-lived political party in the United States, established in 1898. The group was formed out of elements of the Social Democracy of America , and was a predecessor to the Socialist Party of America, established in 1901.-Forerunners:Following the...
after the DeLeon-Kuhn faction won control of the party name and logo as the result of a lawsuit
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
. In 1901 this Eastern SDP group united with a Midwestern group of the same name to establish the Socialist Party of America. Gerber remained on as organizer of Local Greater New York for this enlarged organization through 1902.
Gerber was active in the publishing group which issued the socialist New Yorker Volkszeitung
New Yorker Volkszeitung
New Yorker Volkzeitung was a German language labor daily newspaper which suspended publishing during the Great Depression, in October 1932. At the time it was the only German language daily in the United States and one of the oldest radical left newspapers in the nation...
and served as Financial Secretary of that organization. He was also Secretary of the Press Committee which established the English-language New York Daily Call a few years later.
Gerber was a frequent participant at the national conventions of the Socialist Party which determined party policy, attending the 1900, 1904, 1908, and 1912 gatherings.
Party functionary
Gerber worked as the organizer of Local Kings County from 1908 to 1909, before being elected Executive Secretary of Local Greater New York in February 1911. Gerber remained in this full-time, paid position for over a decade, standing down only in 1922, probably due to the Socialist Party's declining financial fortunes. Thereafter, Gerber paid the rent through his work as a printing salesman.Julius was a delegate to the 1917 Socialist Party Convention, a gathering which passed the aggressively anti-militarist
Militarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
St. Louis Manifesto.
In addition to his regular party tasks, Gerber was the Secretary of the Workingmen's Cooperative Publishing Association, the group responsible for publication of the New York Call, one of just two Socialist Party English language daily newspapers during the decade of the 1910s.
Gerber sat on the State Executive Committee of the Socialist Party of New York in 1919, a group which conducted a factional war on behalf of the party regulars against the Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party
Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party
The Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party was an organized faction within the Socialist Party of America in 1919 which served as the core of the dual communist parties which emerged in the fall of that year — the Communist Party of America and the Communist Labor Party of America.-Precusors:A...
. He was a delegate to the seminal 1919 Socialist Party Convention
1919 Emergency National Convention
The 1919 Emergency National Convention of the Socialist Party of America was held in Chicago from August 30 to September 5, 1919. It was a seminal gathering in the history of American radicalism, marked by the bolting of the party's organized left wing to establish the Communist Labor Party of...
, which lead to the split of the party's Left Wing to form the Communist Labor Party
Communist Labor Party
The Communist Labor Party of America was one of the organizational predecessors of the Communist Party USA. The group was established at the end of August 1919 following a three-way split of the Socialist Party of America...
.
Gerber was elected to the governing National Executive Committee of the Socialist Party in 1921, serving a one year term. He ran for New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
in that same year, standing in the 18th Assembly District.
Following the demise of the New York Call in 1923, Julius became actively involved with its successor publication, The New Leader
The New Leader
The New Leader was a political and cultural magazine begun in 1924 by a group of figures associated with the Socialist Party of America, including Eugene V. Debs and Norman Thomas, and published in New York by the American Labor Conference on International Affairs. Its orientation is liberal and...
. He was the Secretary of the New Leader Publishing Association, the group which published the paper, from its establishment in 1924.
Gerber was strictly a party functionary rather than an agitator
Agitator
An agitator is a person who actively supports some ideology or movement with speeches and especially actions. The Agitators were a political movement as well as elected representatives of soldiers, including the New Model Army of Oliver Cromwell, during the English Civil War. They were also known...
or a 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....
and did not publish any books or pamphlets in his lifetime.
Death and legacy
Julius Gerber died in 1956 at the age of 83.Gerber was portrayed in Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty
Warren Beatty born March 30, 1937) is an American actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He has received a total of fourteen Academy Award nominations, winning one for Best Director in 1982. He has also won four Golden Globe Awards including the Cecil B. DeMille Award.-Early life and...
's 1981 historical drama Reds by William Daniels
William Daniels
William David Daniels is an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild . He is known for his performance as Dustin Hoffman's father in The Graduate , as John Adams in 1776, as Carter Nash in Captain Nice, as Mr. George Feeny in ABC's Boy Meets World, as the voice of KITT in...
.