Georg Weerth
Encyclopedia
Georg Weerth was a German
writer
. Weerth's poems celebrated the solidarity of the working class in its fight for liberation from exploitation and oppression. He was a friend and companion of Karl Marx
and Friedrich Engels
, who described Georg Weerth as the first and most significant poet of the German proletariat.
n town of Detmold
, the son of the clergyman Ferdinand Weerth
. He died in Havana
, Cuba
.
Georg Weerth wrote and edited the sketch page in the Neue Rheinische Zeitung
, a German newspaper of which Karl Marx
was editor-in-chief. His provocative writing and pungent satire led to his imprisonment, after which he fled to England.
From 1843 to 1846 Weerth made his home in Bradford, England. Six months of this time he spent in close contact with Engels, whose business was in Manchester
. Like Engels, he devoted what time was left from his functions as a representative of a textile firm to studying the effects of the Industrial Revolution
on the relationship between property owner and working class.
Weerth attended Chartist
meetings and made friends with the leaders of the movement, such as George Julian Harney
and Ernest Jones
. He reported on the conditions in England for German papers.
In 1846 Weerth left England and went to live in Brussels
, where Karl Marx
had his home.
Weerth succumbed to tropical fever on a business trip to Cuba
. Shortly before his death, he wrote to Heinrich Heine
that Cuba "would be the field where the great conflicts of the new world would be fought out first."
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...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. Weerth's poems celebrated the solidarity of the working class in its fight for liberation from exploitation and oppression. He was a friend and companion 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...
and Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
, who described Georg Weerth as the first and most significant poet of the German proletariat.
Biography
Weerth was born in the WestphaliaWestphalia
Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...
n town of Detmold
Detmold
Detmold is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of about 74,000. It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947...
, the son of the clergyman Ferdinand Weerth
Ferdinand Weerth
Ferdinand Weerth was a German theologian and school-reformer in Lippe. One of his sons was the writer Georg Weerth....
. 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...
, Cuba
Cuba
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...
.
Georg Weerth wrote and edited the sketch page in the Neue Rheinische Zeitung
Neue Rheinische Zeitung
The Neue Rheinische Zeitung - Organ der Demokratie was a German daily newspaper, published by Karl Marx in Cologne between June 1, 1848 and May 19, 1849. Its name refers to a paper earlier edited by Marx, the Rheinische Zeitung...
, a German newspaper of which 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...
was editor-in-chief. His provocative writing and pungent satire led to his imprisonment, after which he fled to England.
From 1843 to 1846 Weerth made his home in Bradford, England. Six months of this time he spent in close contact with Engels, whose business was in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. Like Engels, he devoted what time was left from his functions as a representative of a textile firm to studying the effects of the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
on the relationship between property owner and working class.
Weerth attended Chartist
Chartism
Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1859. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838. Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world...
meetings and made friends with the leaders of the movement, such as George Julian Harney
George Julian Harney
George Julian Harney was a British political activist, journalist, and Chartist leader. He was also associated with Marxism, socialism, and universal suffrage.-Early life:...
and Ernest Jones
Ernest Jones
Alfred Ernest Jones was a British neurologist and psychoanalyst, and Sigmund Freud’s official biographer. Jones was the first English-speaking practitioner of psychoanalysis and became its leading exponent in the English-speaking world where, as President of both the British Psycho-Analytical...
. He reported on the conditions in England for German papers.
In 1846 Weerth left England and went to live in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, where 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...
had his home.
Weerth succumbed to tropical fever on a business trip to Cuba
Cuba
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...
. Shortly before his death, he wrote to Heinrich Heine
Heinrich Heine
Christian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann...
that Cuba "would be the field where the great conflicts of the new world would be fought out first."