This week in Class 10 we talked about the impact of World War 1 on Germany and the chaotic situation afterwards. Between November 1918 and January 1919 various left wing groups tried to establish a socialist or communist state through general strikes and violent revolutions. They opposed SPD leader Friedrich Ebert who tried to organise free elections and establish a democratic republic. 

In January 1919 one of the communist groups, the Spartacus League, organised a general strike which led to violent confrontations with the Freikorps, groups of right wing ex-soldiers who fought for Ebert. One of the Spartacist leaders was Rosa Luxemburg.

Luxemburg was born in the Russian part of Poland to a Jewish family. Against all odds, she managed to enter the prestigious women's gymnasium where she already engaged in illegal revolutionary activities at the age of 16. She passed her exams, but fled to Switzerland aged 18 as the Tsarist police looked for her.

In Zurich she studied various subjects and became the first woman in the world with a doctorate in economy. She also continued her political activity, founded the social democratic party of Poland and Lithuania, and became an important part of international marxism. 

In the decades that followed she moved between Berlin and Poland. She obtained German citizenship by marrying Gustav Lubeck and eventually settled in Germany as Poland was too dangerous.

In Berlin she taught at the SPD school, with Friedrich Ebert as student, and became an important part of the party, but left the party as she opposed the war. She founded 'The International' in 1914 (Spartacus League from 1916) with Karl Liebknecht and continued her anti-war activities. She was imprisoned for this until the end of the war when she was freed in November 1918. 

Luxemburg supported the Spartacus uprising in January and took part in it, but the Spartacists were no match for the experienced Freikorps. She was captured and executed without a proper trial.

Rosa Luxemburg has become a celebrated icon as feminist and martyr for some, while others view her as a communist rebel. 

Originally posted on Instagram on September 25, 2021