Liberating Society from the State and Other Writings A Political Reader

by Mühsam, Erich; Kuhn, Gabriel

• ISBN13: 9781604860559
• ISBN10: 1604860553
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-09-01
• Publisher: PM Press

Summary

Featuring a riveting collection of anarcho-communist poetry, essays, articles, and diary entries, this translation of Erich Muhsam's legendary writings introduces the German revolutionary's ideas to English speakers for the first time. Uniting a burning desire for individual liberation with radical, left-wing convictions and bohemian strains with syndicalist tendencies, this diverse body of work not only includes his main political pamphlet and one of the key texts in the history of German anarchism but also some of his best-known poems, unbending defenses of political prisoners, passionate calls for solidarity among the proletariat, recollections of the utopian community of Monte Verita, debates on the rights of homosexuals and women, and the role of intellectuals in the class struggle. Perfect for anarchists, activists, or those interested in German history, this expansive and enlightening compilation provides a deep understanding of this important historical figure.

Author Biography

Erich Mühsam was one of Germany’s most renowned and influential anarchists who authored several political essays, articles, and poems. He spent his last 16 months in detention and died in the Oranienburg Concentration Camp in July 1934. Gabriel Kuhn is an author and translator whose previous works include Life Under the Jolly Roger: Reflections on Golden Age Piracy.

Table of Contents

Editor's Note	p. v
Introduction	p. 1
Childhood and Youth
Autobiography	p. 25
"Father's 72nd Birthdayö	p. 27
1900-1904: Literary and Anarchist Awakening
The "Homosexuality" Pamphlet	p. 33
1904-1909: Traveling Years
"Johannes Nohl"	p. 39
Excerpts from "Ascona"	p. 43
Bohemia	p. 55
1909-1914: Munich I, Socialist Bund and Kain
New Friends	p. 61
The Fifth Estate	p. 65
My Secret Society	p. 69
Riot in Berlin"	p. 74
Women's Rights	p. 76
The Moroccan Wasp80
Anarchy	p. 84
The Suffragette Amazons	p. 86
Culture and the Women's Movement	p. 88
The Blessing of Children	p. 92
Ritual Murder	p. 95
1914-1918: Munich II, The War
The Great Slaughter	p. 99
Kain Letter	p. 104
"The Typical German"	p. 105
"Discharged"	p. 106
"Plans for Anti-War Protests"	p. 108
"Riot in Munich"	p. 109
"BernhardKohler"	p. 113
1918-1919: Munich HI, Revolution and Council Republic
Karl Liebknecht-Rosa Luxemburg	p. 117
Excerpts from "From Eisner to Levine"	p. 120
"Gustav Landauer's Death"	p. 127
"Zenzl"	p. 129
Final Court Statement	p. 131
"Sentenced"	p. 134
1919-1924: Imprisonment
"The Ebrach Prison Communee	p. 137
On the Jewish Question	p. 139
The Intellectuals	p. 145
"Max Hoelz"	p. 150
"Hitler and the Fledgling Nazi Movement"	p. 152
"Free!	p. 157
1924-1933: Berlin
Germany Needs Colonies	p. 161
Bismarxism	p. 162
The Anarchists	p. 167
Sacco and Vanzetti	p. 174
Leaving the Rote Hilfe	p. 182
Liberating Society from the State: What Is Communist Anarchism?
Preface	p. 187
The Worldview of Anarchism	p. 188
The Way of Anarchism	p. 220
Additional Diary Entries	p. 247
Additional Letters	p. 256
The Fate of Zenzl Mühsam	p. 267
Bibliography
German	p. 287
English	p. 293
Index	p. 295
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