Raphael Friedeberg
Encyclopedia
Raphael Friedeberg was a German
physician, socialist, and later anarchist.
, today's Sovetsk, Russia, to Salomon, a Rabbi
, and Rebekka Friedeberg née Levy. He studied medicine and political economy at the University of Königsberg
but was expelled in 1887 for "abetting social democratic
endeavors". Friedeberg moved to Berlin
where he worked as a private teacher and continued his studies at the University of Berlin after the sunset
of the Anti-Socialist Laws
in 1890, graduating in 1895.
(SPD). Friedeberg was active in the establishment of health insurance
for the working class in Berlin. The German socialist movement was just discovering the health insurance movement and starting to be active within it - both in order to win access to medical treatment for the working class and as a means of disseminating socialist ideas. In 1899, Friedeberg helped establish Berlin's Central Commission of Health Insurance Boards, which then organized the first Congress of German Health Insurance Boards.
Additionally, Friedeberg served as a member of the city council
of Berlin from 1901 (or 1902 according to some sources) to 1904 making him a top SPD leader in Germany's capital.
, the unions allied with that party. He was frustrated by the SPD's focus on parliamentary rather than revolutionary action and by the unions' political neutrality. He blamed the socialist movement's inability to gain influence rather than just votes after the end of the Anti-Socialist-Laws on these two policies. Friedeberg came into contact with the Free Association of German Trade Unions
(FVdG), a federation, more radical than the Free Trade Unions, which had been founded in 1897. It criticized the separation of political and union action and opposed centralist control over the unions. Becoming increasingly influential in the FVdG, Friedeberg held the central lecture at the federation's 1904 congress in Berlin, intervening in the mass strike debate, which was taking place in the SPD at the time, and advocating the general strike
as a means of class struggle
. In 1907, all members of the FVdG were given the choice of either leaving this federation and joining the centralized unions or losing their SPD membership. Friedeberg, of course, opted for the latter.
During this period, Friedeberg conceived what he called anarcho-socialism. Despite the socialist movement's growing number of supporters, he claimed, little had been to done to improve the conditions the German working class lived under. One problem, said Friedeberg, was to be found in the SPD's political theory. The SPD adhered to a dogmatic interpretation of Karl Marx
's writings, particularly the view that the course of history can be deduced from the state of the relations of production
, that "social being determines consciousness". Though correct at the time Marx set historical materialism
down, Friedeberg stated, technological development had made this view obsolete. Friedeberg conceived the term historical psychism, holding that the "spiritual relations [...] have the greatest power over the material relations". The socialist movement's theoretical errors had then led to mistakes in its political strategies, according to Friedeberg. The working class opposition was now focused on gaining influence in the German parliament the Reichstag
. This had led to the "flattening out of the revolutionary movement" from a "great, all-encompassing cultural movement" to a "purely economic, even a pure stomach question". From this he deduced the need to replace political methods of class struggle with economic and psychological means. Above all, he advocated the general strike
as a means of revolutionizing society. It encompasses the proletariat fighting for their own interests rather than having representatives do it for them. However, in order to be capable of doing this proletarians must first liberate themselves from the constraining ideologies of capitalist society: namely, religion
, belief in laws and the state, nationalism and militarism. Friedeberg's synthesis of anarchism
and socialism was criticized by anarchists and socialists alike. Erich Mühsam
, a prominent German anarchist, said historical psychism was no more than a new version of historical materialism, the "replacement of one fabricated regularity by a very similar one". Karl Kautsky
, a leader in the SPD, on the other hand accused him of "theoretical confusion, which does not comprehend the necessity of the connection between politics and economy".
, Switzerland in 1904 to recover from a blood infection, which led to a heart dilatation, following a carbuncle
operation. Ascona had probably been recommended to him by Erich Mühsam. Not long after leaving the SPD Friedeberg started to become disillusioned even by the FVdG. He told Fritz Kater
, a leader in the FVdG, that he had drifted "further to the left". He no longer believed that radical views and tactics could be introduced to the labor movement. He started collaborating with the non-syndicalist anarchist movement, especially with the Anarchist Federation of Germany, which had been founded in 1903. He also came into contact with Swiss radicals, lecturing about the First Russian Revolution in Zurich
in 1906. He started visiting Ascona frequently and also moved out of Berlin to the suburb Friedrichshagen
. In August 1907 he attended the International Anarchist Congress of Amsterdam
. In 1908, he visited Peter Kropotkin
in London. In 1909, he held his last large public lecture titled Anarchism, its Ideas and Tactics at the Anarchist Federation of Germany's conference in Leipzig
. He started turning his back on organized anarchism, moving to a more individualist understanding of anarchism. Moreover, he was by now both in poor health and deeply resigned as to the possibility of a socialist revolution. He still followed German and European politics, but felt no need to participate.
He remained the attending physician of August Bebel
and Karl Kautsky
.
In 1911 to 1931 Friedeberg worked as a physician in the Spa-town of Bad Kudowa (Silesia
) throughout the summer and the sanatorium of Monte Verità
in Ascona
(Switzerland
) in the winter. Friedeberg turned Ascona into "a center for itinerant anarchists" like Erich Mühsam
(who called Monte Verità a "Saladorium") and Johannes Nohl. He introduced a "fresh air and nature therapy" and built "air huts" for his patients' recreation. The mixture of vegetarianism
and anarchism attracted such visitors as Mikhail Bakunin
, Peter Kropotkin
, Lenin and Leo Trotsky.
In 1931 he permanently settled in Ascona. Otto Braun
, former Prime Minister of Prussia, lived in his house after he escaped from Nazi Germany
.
Friedeberg died in Ascona in 1940.
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...
physician, socialist, and later anarchist.
Early life
Friedeberg was born in Tilsit, East PrussiaEast Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
, today's Sovetsk, Russia, to Salomon, a Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, and Rebekka Friedeberg née Levy. He studied medicine and political economy at the University of Königsberg
University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as second Protestant academy by Duke Albert of Prussia, and was commonly known as the Albertina....
but was expelled in 1887 for "abetting social democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
endeavors". Friedeberg moved to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
where he worked as a private teacher and continued his studies at the University of Berlin after the sunset
Sunset provision
In public policy, a sunset provision or clause is a measure within a statute, regulation or other law that provides that the law shall cease to have effect after a specific date, unless further legislative action is taken to extend the law...
of the Anti-Socialist Laws
Anti-Socialist Laws
The Anti-Socialist Laws or Socialist Laws were a series of acts, the first of which was passed on October 19, 1878 by the German Reichstag lasting till March 31, 1881, and extended 4 times...
in 1890, graduating in 1895.
Social democracy
He worked as a general practitioner and specialist for pulmonary disease in Berlin from 1895 to 1911. Friedeberg contributed to Sozialistischer Akademiker from early 1895 to the end of 1896 and from 1897 on he was a member of the press commission of Sozialistische Monatshefte, both periodicals, which attempted to draw intellectuals to socialism and the Social Democratic Party of GermanySocial Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
(SPD). Friedeberg was active in the establishment of health insurance
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
for the working class in Berlin. The German socialist movement was just discovering the health insurance movement and starting to be active within it - both in order to win access to medical treatment for the working class and as a means of disseminating socialist ideas. In 1899, Friedeberg helped establish Berlin's Central Commission of Health Insurance Boards, which then organized the first Congress of German Health Insurance Boards.
Additionally, Friedeberg served as a member of the city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
of Berlin from 1901 (or 1902 according to some sources) to 1904 making him a top SPD leader in Germany's capital.
Anarcho-socialism
Soon after, however, he started becoming increasingly disillusioned with the SPD and particularly the Free Trade UnionsFree Trade Unions (Germany)
The Free Trade Unions comprised the socialist trade union movement in Germany from 1890 to 1933. The term distinguished them from the liberal and Christian labor unions in Germany...
, the unions allied with that party. He was frustrated by the SPD's focus on parliamentary rather than revolutionary action and by the unions' political neutrality. He blamed the socialist movement's inability to gain influence rather than just votes after the end of the Anti-Socialist-Laws on these two policies. Friedeberg came into contact with the Free Association of German Trade Unions
Free Association of German Trade Unions
The Free Association of German Trade Unions was a trade union federation in Imperial and early Weimar Germany. It was founded in 1897 in Halle under the name Representatives' Centralization of Germany as the national umbrella organization of the localist current of the German labor movement...
(FVdG), a federation, more radical than the Free Trade Unions, which had been founded in 1897. It criticized the separation of political and union action and opposed centralist control over the unions. Becoming increasingly influential in the FVdG, Friedeberg held the central lecture at the federation's 1904 congress in Berlin, intervening in the mass strike debate, which was taking place in the SPD at the time, and advocating the general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
as a means of class struggle
Class struggle
Class struggle is the active expression of a class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote "The [written] history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle"....
. In 1907, all members of the FVdG were given the choice of either leaving this federation and joining the centralized unions or losing their SPD membership. Friedeberg, of course, opted for the latter.
During this period, Friedeberg conceived what he called anarcho-socialism. Despite the socialist movement's growing number of supporters, he claimed, little had been to done to improve the conditions the German working class lived under. One problem, said Friedeberg, was to be found in the SPD's political theory. The SPD adhered to a dogmatic interpretation of 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 writings, particularly the view that the course of history can be deduced from the state of the relations of production
Relations of production
Relations of production is a concept frequently used by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in their theory of historical materialism, and in Das Kapital...
, that "social being determines consciousness". Though correct at the time Marx set historical materialism
Historical materialism
Historical materialism is a methodological approach to the study of society, economics, and history, first articulated by Karl Marx as "the materialist conception of history". Historical materialism looks for the causes of developments and changes in human society in the means by which humans...
down, Friedeberg stated, technological development had made this view obsolete. Friedeberg conceived the term historical psychism, holding that the "spiritual relations [...] have the greatest power over the material relations". The socialist movement's theoretical errors had then led to mistakes in its political strategies, according to Friedeberg. The working class opposition was now focused on gaining influence in the German parliament the Reichstag
Reichstag (German Empire)
The Reichstag was the parliament of the North German Confederation , and of the German Reich ....
. This had led to the "flattening out of the revolutionary movement" from a "great, all-encompassing cultural movement" to a "purely economic, even a pure stomach question". From this he deduced the need to replace political methods of class struggle with economic and psychological means. Above all, he advocated the general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
as a means of revolutionizing society. It encompasses the proletariat fighting for their own interests rather than having representatives do it for them. However, in order to be capable of doing this proletarians must first liberate themselves from the constraining ideologies of capitalist society: namely, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, belief in laws and the state, nationalism and militarism. Friedeberg's synthesis of anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
and socialism was criticized by anarchists and socialists alike. Erich Mühsam
Erich Mühsam
Erich Mühsam was a German-Jewish anarchist essayist, poet and playwright. He emerged at the end of World War I as one of the leading agitators for a federated Bavarian Soviet Republic....
, a prominent German anarchist, said historical psychism was no more than a new version of historical materialism, the "replacement of one fabricated regularity by a very similar one". Karl Kautsky
Karl Kautsky
Karl Johann Kautsky was a Czech-German philosopher, journalist, and Marxist theoretician. Kautsky was recognized as among the most authoritative promulgators of Orthodox Marxism after the death of Friedrich Engels in 1895 until the coming of World War I in 1914 and was called by some the "Pope of...
, a leader in the SPD, on the other hand accused him of "theoretical confusion, which does not comprehend the necessity of the connection between politics and economy".
Anarchism
He first set foot in AsconaAscona
Ascona is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.It is located on the shore of Lake Maggiore.The town is a popular tourist destination, and holds a yearly jazz festival, the Ascona Jazz Festival....
, Switzerland in 1904 to recover from a blood infection, which led to a heart dilatation, following a carbuncle
Carbuncle
A carbuncle is an abscess larger than a boil, usually with one or more openings draining pus onto the skin. It is usually caused by bacterial infection, most commonly Staphylococcus aureus. The infection is contagious and may spread to other areas of the body or other people...
operation. Ascona had probably been recommended to him by Erich Mühsam. Not long after leaving the SPD Friedeberg started to become disillusioned even by the FVdG. He told Fritz Kater
Fritz Kater
Fritz Kater was a German trade unionist active in the Free Association of German Trade Unions and its successor organization, the Free Workers' Union of Germany...
, a leader in the FVdG, that he had drifted "further to the left". He no longer believed that radical views and tactics could be introduced to the labor movement. He started collaborating with the non-syndicalist anarchist movement, especially with the Anarchist Federation of Germany, which had been founded in 1903. He also came into contact with Swiss radicals, lecturing about the First Russian Revolution in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
in 1906. He started visiting Ascona frequently and also moved out of Berlin to the suburb Friedrichshagen
Friedrichshagen
Friedrichshagen is a German locality within the Berlin borough of Treptow-Köpenick. Until 2001 it was part of the former borough of Köpenick.-History:...
. In August 1907 he attended the International Anarchist Congress of Amsterdam
International Anarchist Congress of Amsterdam
The International Anarchist Congress of Amsterdam took place from 24 August to 31 August 1907. It gathered delegates from 14 different countries, among which important figures of the anarchist movement, including Errico Malatesta, Luigi Fabbri, Benoît Broutchoux, Pierre Monatte, Amédée Dunois, Emma...
. In 1908, he visited Peter Kropotkin
Peter Kropotkin
Prince Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin was a Russian zoologist, evolutionary theorist, philosopher, economist, geographer, author and one of the world's foremost anarcho-communists. Kropotkin advocated a communist society free from central government and based on voluntary associations between...
in London. In 1909, he held his last large public lecture titled Anarchism, its Ideas and Tactics at the Anarchist Federation of Germany's conference in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. He started turning his back on organized anarchism, moving to a more individualist understanding of anarchism. Moreover, he was by now both in poor health and deeply resigned as to the possibility of a socialist revolution. He still followed German and European politics, but felt no need to participate.
He remained the attending physician of August Bebel
August Bebel
Ferdinand August Bebel was a German Marxist politician, writer, and orator. He is best remembered as one of the founders of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.-Early years:...
and Karl Kautsky
Karl Kautsky
Karl Johann Kautsky was a Czech-German philosopher, journalist, and Marxist theoretician. Kautsky was recognized as among the most authoritative promulgators of Orthodox Marxism after the death of Friedrich Engels in 1895 until the coming of World War I in 1914 and was called by some the "Pope of...
.
In 1911 to 1931 Friedeberg worked as a physician in the Spa-town of Bad Kudowa (Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
) throughout the summer and the sanatorium of Monte Verità
Monte Verita
Monte Verità is a hill in Ascona , which has served as the site of many different Utopian and cultural events and communities since the beginning of the twentieth century.-History:...
in Ascona
Ascona
Ascona is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.It is located on the shore of Lake Maggiore.The town is a popular tourist destination, and holds a yearly jazz festival, the Ascona Jazz Festival....
(Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
) in the winter. Friedeberg turned Ascona into "a center for itinerant anarchists" like Erich Mühsam
Erich Mühsam
Erich Mühsam was a German-Jewish anarchist essayist, poet and playwright. He emerged at the end of World War I as one of the leading agitators for a federated Bavarian Soviet Republic....
(who called Monte Verità a "Saladorium") and Johannes Nohl. He introduced a "fresh air and nature therapy" and built "air huts" for his patients' recreation. The mixture of vegetarianism
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
and anarchism attracted such visitors as Mikhail Bakunin
Mikhail Bakunin
Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin was a well-known Russian revolutionary and theorist of collectivist anarchism. He has also often been called the father of anarchist theory in general. Bakunin grew up near Moscow, where he moved to study philosophy and began to read the French Encyclopedists,...
, Peter Kropotkin
Peter Kropotkin
Prince Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin was a Russian zoologist, evolutionary theorist, philosopher, economist, geographer, author and one of the world's foremost anarcho-communists. Kropotkin advocated a communist society free from central government and based on voluntary associations between...
, Lenin and Leo Trotsky.
In 1931 he permanently settled in Ascona. Otto Braun
Otto Braun
This article is about the Prime Minister of Prussia. For the German Communist and once the Comintern military adviser to the Chinese Communist revolution see Otto Braun ....
, former Prime Minister of Prussia, lived in his house after he escaped from Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
Friedeberg died in Ascona in 1940.