Julian Gumperz
Encyclopedia
Julian Gumperz was a United States-born German sociologist, communist
activist, publicist
, and translator.
(Institut für Sozialforschung) at Frankfurt am Main in Germany
, one of the lesser known communist proponents of the Frankfurt School
. His work there focused on economics. Gumperz married Hede Eisler (born Hedwig Thune, later Hede Massing
) in 1927, but the marriage did not last.
In the summer of 1922, he attended the Institute's "Erste Marxistische Arbeitswoche" (First Marxist Week) in Ilmenau, Thuringia. Among the participants at the week-long session were Georg Lukács
, Karl Korsch
, Richard Sorge
, Friedrich Pollock
, Karl August Wittfogel
, Bela Fogarasi, Karl Schmuckle, and Konstantin Zetkin, the younger of the two sons of socialist leader and feminist Clara Zetkin
.
In 1933, due to political persecution in Germany, the institute sent Gumperz to the U.S. to explore the situation. Gumperz had been a student of Pollock’s since 1929 and a Communist Party member, but he gave it all up and became a stockbroker. He worked as a publicist
and translator and later wrote an anti-communist book. Gumperz returned to Germany with a favorable report, assuring Max Horkheimer
and the others that the Institute’s endowment, which still brought in about $30,000 a year, would be enough to guarantee survival in depression era America.
. In 1919 Gumperz and Karl Otten founded the Berlin monthly publication Der Gegner ("The Opponent"). It was published between April 1919 and 1922 by Gumperz with Wieland Herzfelde
. One of a series of small German periodicals published in Berlin following WWI (Jedermann sein eigner Fussball
, Die Pleite
and Der Blutige Ernst), which followed on the heels of the German review Der Dada. Frequent banning orders compelled a constant change of title. With art by George Grosz
, Der Gegner decried an art with no relevance to the working class and which ignored revolutionary action. The communist uprising in Berlin in 1918, crushed by the government, had given rise to these satirical, radical, and political reviews.
In 1947, he and Karl Volk
co-authored a book, Pattern for World Revolution, writing under the pseudonym "Ypsilon".
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
activist, publicist
Publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...
, and translator.
Institute for Social Research
Julian Gumperz was an assistant at the Institute for Social ResearchInstitute for Social Research
The Institute for Social Research is a research organization for sociology and continental philosophy, best known as the institutional home of the Frankfurt School and critical theory....
(Institut für Sozialforschung) at Frankfurt am Main in Germany
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...
, one of the lesser known communist proponents of the Frankfurt School
Frankfurt School
The Frankfurt School refers to a school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory, particularly associated with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt am Main...
. His work there focused on economics. Gumperz married Hede Eisler (born Hedwig Thune, later Hede Massing
Hede Massing
Hede Massing, née "Hedwig Tune" was an Austrian actress in Vienna and Berlin, communist, and Soviet intelligence operative in Europe and the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. After the World War II, she defected from the Soviet underground...
) in 1927, but the marriage did not last.
In the summer of 1922, he attended the Institute's "Erste Marxistische Arbeitswoche" (First Marxist Week) in Ilmenau, Thuringia. Among the participants at the week-long session were Georg Lukács
Georg Lukács
György Lukács was a Hungarian Marxist philosopher and literary critic. He is a founder of the tradition of Western Marxism. He contributed the concept of reification to Marxist philosophy and theory and expanded Karl Marx's theory of class consciousness. Lukács' was also an influential literary...
, Karl Korsch
Karl Korsch
-Biography:Korsch was born in Tostedt, near Hamburg, to Carl August Korsch, a secretary at the cantonal court and his wife Therese. In 1898 the family moved to Meiningen, Thuringia and Korsch senior attained the position of a managing clerk in a bank...
, Richard Sorge
Richard Sorge
Richard Sorge was a German communist and spy who worked for the Soviet Union. He has gained great fame among espionage enthusiasts for his intelligence gathering during World War II. He worked as a journalist in both Germany and Japan, where he was imprisoned for spying and eventually hanged....
, Friedrich Pollock
Friedrich Pollock
Friedrich Pollock was a German social scientist and philosopher. He was one of the founders of the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt am Main, and a member of the Frankfurt School of neo-Marxist theory.- Life :...
, Karl August Wittfogel
Karl August Wittfogel
Karl August Wittfogel was a German-American playwright, historian, and sinologist. Originally a Marxist and an active member of the Communist Party of Germany, after the Second World War Wittfogel was an equally fierce anticommunist.-Biography:...
, Bela Fogarasi, Karl Schmuckle, and Konstantin Zetkin, the younger of the two sons of socialist leader and feminist Clara Zetkin
Clara Zetkin
Clara Zetkin was a German Marxist theorist, activist, and fighter for women's rights. In 1910, she organized the first International Women's Day....
.
In 1933, due to political persecution in Germany, the institute sent Gumperz to the U.S. to explore the situation. Gumperz had been a student of Pollock’s since 1929 and a Communist Party member, but he gave it all up and became a stockbroker. He worked as a publicist
Publicist
A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...
and translator and later wrote an anti-communist book. Gumperz returned to Germany with a favorable report, assuring Max Horkheimer
Max Horkheimer
Max Horkheimer was a German-Jewish philosopher-sociologist, famous for his work in critical theory as a member of the 'Frankfurt School' of social research. His most important works include The Eclipse of Reason and, in collaboration with Theodor Adorno, The Dialectic of Enlightenment...
and the others that the Institute’s endowment, which still brought in about $30,000 a year, would be enough to guarantee survival in depression era America.
Publicist
For a time, Gumperz was the editor of the Communist newspaper Die Rote FahneDie Rote Fahne
The German newspaper Die Rote Fahne was created on 9 November 1918 by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg in Berlin, first as organ of the left wing revolutionary Spartakusbund. After the founding of the Communist Party of Germany on 1 January 1919 it became the central publication of the party,...
. In 1919 Gumperz and Karl Otten founded the Berlin monthly publication Der Gegner ("The Opponent"). It was published between April 1919 and 1922 by Gumperz with Wieland Herzfelde
Wieland Herzfelde
Wieland Herzfelde was a German publisher and writer. He is particularly known for his links with German avant-garde art and Marxist thought, and was the brother of the photo montage artist John Heartfield, with whom he often worked.-Life:His parents were Franz Held, a writer, and Alice Stolzenberg...
. One of a series of small German periodicals published in Berlin following WWI (Jedermann sein eigner Fussball
Jedermann sein eigner Fussball
"Jedermann sein eigner Fussball" was an illustrated bimonthly published by Malik Verlag . The satirical periodical in tabloid format was published on February 15, 1919, and confiscated immediately on publication by the police...
, Die Pleite
Die Pleite
Die Pleite was a German periodical founded and edited by George Grosz, Wieland Herzfelde, and John Heartfield, which ran from 1919 to 1924. The magazine was part of the Berlin Dada scene and was known for its ruthless critiques of the Weimar Republic, in addition to its prescient awareness of the...
and Der Blutige Ernst), which followed on the heels of the German review Der Dada. Frequent banning orders compelled a constant change of title. With art by George Grosz
George Grosz
Georg Ehrenfried Groß was a German artist known especially for his savagely caricatural drawings of Berlin life in the 1920s...
, Der Gegner decried an art with no relevance to the working class and which ignored revolutionary action. The communist uprising in Berlin in 1918, crushed by the government, had given rise to these satirical, radical, and political reviews.
In 1947, he and Karl Volk
Karl Volk
Karl Volk was a Communist politician, journalist and German Resistance fighter against Nazism.- Biography :Volk was born in Schowkwa, Galizien to a middle-class Jewish family and grew up in Moravian Prostějov, where he attended gymnasium. He studied economics and philosophy at Charles University...
co-authored a book, Pattern for World Revolution, writing under the pseudonym "Ypsilon".