Wilhelm Weitling
Encyclopedia
Wilhelm Weitling was an important 19th-century Europe
an radical
.
Both praised and critiqued by disciples of the growing Marxist
philosophy during the 19th century, Weitling was characterized as a "utopian socialist
" by Karl Marx
and Friedrich Engels
, although Engels also referred to Weitling as the "founder of German communism".
, Prussia
. A tailor's apprentice, Weitling worked as a journeyman
tailor
in Dresden
and Vienna
between 1832 and 1837. He came to Paris
in 1838, during the July Monarchy
, later fleeing to Zürich
after the abortive rebellion of the Blanquists. Jailed and subsequently extradited back to Prussia by the Swiss
authorities, Weitling emigrated to the United States
, where he participated with the experimental German-American settlement of Communia, Iowa
.
and Hughes Felicité Robert de Lamennais
. After joining the League of the Just
in 1837, Weitling joined Parisian workers in protests and street battles in 1839. Tristram Hunt
called his doctrine "a highly emotional mix of Babouvist
communism, chiliastic Christianity, and millenarian populism":
Weitling's 1847 book Gospel of Poor Sinners he traced communism back to early Christianity.
His book Guarantees of Harmony and Freedom was praised by Bruno Bauer
, Ludwig Feuerbach and Mikhail Bakunin
, the latter of whom Weitling was to meet in Zürich
in 1843. Karl Marx
, in an 1844 review, referred to the "unbounded brilliance of the literary debut of the German worker," but "what won from Marx this high-sounding praise was simply the fact that Weitling's appeals were addressed to the workers as a class."
Fleeing from France, Weitling settled in Zürich. There he was arrested and prosecuted for revolutionary
agitation, including blasphemy
on account of having published a text which depicted Jesus Christ as both a communist and the illegitimate child of Mary. Found guilty, he was given a six-month sentence. Eventually extradited
to his native Prussia, Weitling got the chance to emigrate to the USA during 1849 and came to America as one of the Forty-Eighters
.
Weitling died in New York
.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an radical
Radicalism (historical)
The term Radical was used during the late 18th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general pejorative term for those favoring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order...
.
Both praised and critiqued by disciples of the growing Marxist
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
philosophy during the 19th century, Weitling was characterized as a "utopian socialist
Utopian socialism
Utopian socialism is a term used to define the first currents of modern socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, and Robert Owen which inspired Karl Marx and other early socialists and were looked on favorably...
" by 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...
, although Engels also referred to Weitling as the "founder of German communism".
Life
He was born in MagdeburgMagdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
, Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
. A tailor's apprentice, Weitling worked as a journeyman
Journeyman
A journeyman is someone who completed an apprenticeship and was fully educated in a trade or craft, but not yet a master. To become a master, a journeyman had to submit a master work piece to a guild for evaluation and be admitted to the guild as a master....
tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
between 1832 and 1837. He came to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1838, during the July Monarchy
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy , officially the Kingdom of France , was a period of liberal constitutional monarchy in France under King Louis-Philippe starting with the July Revolution of 1830 and ending with the Revolution of 1848...
, later fleeing to Zürich
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...
after the abortive rebellion of the Blanquists. Jailed and subsequently extradited back to Prussia by the Swiss
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....
authorities, Weitling emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where he participated with the experimental German-American settlement of Communia, Iowa
Communia, Iowa
Communia is an unicorporated community located in Clayton County, Iowa in the south half of section 8, Volga Township. The area was established as a German Colony in 1847.-History:...
.
Revolutionary activity and thought
Working twelve-hour days as a tailor, he still found time to read works by David StraussDavid Strauss
David Friedrich Strauss was a German theologian and writer. He scandalized Christian Europe with his portrayal of the "historical Jesus," whose divine nature he denied...
and Hughes Felicité Robert de Lamennais
Hughes Felicité Robert de Lamennais
Hugues-Félicité Robert de Lamennais , was a French priest, and philosophical and political writer.-Youth:Félicité de Lamennais was born at Saint-Malo on June 19, 1782, the son of a wealthy merchant...
. After joining the League of the Just
Communist League
The Communist League was the first Marxist international organization. It was founded originally as the League of the Just by German workers in Paris in 1834. This was initially a utopian socialist and Christian communist group devoted to the ideas of Gracchus Babeuf...
in 1837, Weitling joined Parisian workers in protests and street battles in 1839. Tristram Hunt
Tristram Hunt
Tristram Julian William Hunt, FRHistS MP is a British politician, historian, broadcaster and newspaper columnist, who is currently the Member of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent Central. He also teaches and lectures on Modern British History at Queen Mary, University of London in Mile End, East London...
called his doctrine "a highly emotional mix of Babouvist
François-Noël Babeuf
François-Noël Babeuf , known as Gracchus Babeuf , was a French political agitator and journalist of the Revolutionary period...
communism, chiliastic Christianity, and millenarian populism":
In conformity with the work of the Christian radical Felicité de Lamennais, Weitling urged installing communism by physical force with the help of a 40,000-strong army of ex-convicts. A prelapsarian community of goods, fellowship, and societal harmony would then ensue, directed by Weitling himself. While Marx and Engels struggled with the intricacies of industrial capitalism and modern modes of production, Weitling revived the apocalyptic politics of the sixteenth-century Münster AnabaptistsMünster RebellionThe Münster Rebellion was an attempt by radical Anabaptists to establish a communal sectarian government in the German city of Münster. The city became an Anabaptist center from 1534 to 1535, and fell under Anabaptist rule for 18 months — from February 1534, when the city hall was seized and...
and their gory attempts to usher in the Second Coming. Much to Marx and Engels's annoyance, Weitling's giddy blend of evangelism and protocommunism attracted thousands of dedicated disciples across the Continent.
Weitling's 1847 book Gospel of Poor Sinners he traced communism back to early Christianity.
His book Guarantees of Harmony and Freedom was praised by Bruno Bauer
Bruno Bauer
Bruno Bauer was a German philosopher and historian. As a student of GWF Hegel, Bauer was a radical Rationalist in philosophy, politics and Biblical criticism...
, Ludwig Feuerbach and 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,...
, the latter of whom Weitling was to meet in Zürich
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 1843. 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...
, in an 1844 review, referred to the "unbounded brilliance of the literary debut of the German worker," but "what won from Marx this high-sounding praise was simply the fact that Weitling's appeals were addressed to the workers as a class."
Fleeing from France, Weitling settled in Zürich. There he was arrested and prosecuted for revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
agitation, including blasphemy
Blasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
on account of having published a text which depicted Jesus Christ as both a communist and the illegitimate child of Mary. Found guilty, he was given a six-month sentence. Eventually extradited
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
to his native Prussia, Weitling got the chance to emigrate to the USA during 1849 and came to America as one of the Forty-Eighters
Forty-Eighters
The Forty-Eighters were Europeans who participated in or supported the revolutions of 1848 that swept Europe. In Germany, the Forty-Eighters favored unification of the German people, a more democratic government, and guarantees of human rights...
.
Weitling died in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Works
He published several revolutionary works:- Die Menschheit. Wie Sie ist und wie sie sein sollte, (1838/39) German text online
- The Poor Sinner's Gospel, (Das Evangelium eines armen Sünders. 1845)
- Ein Nothruf an die Männer der Arbeit und der Sorge, Brief an die Landsleute, (1847)
- Guarantees of Harmony and Freedom, (Garantien der Harmonie und Freiheit), (1849) German text online