Today - January 15th, 2021 - marks the passing of exactly 102 years since the Ebert-Noske butchers brutally murdered two of the most prominent Proletarian leaders in Europe: Rosa Luxemburg & Karl Liebknecht.

To commemorate their deaths, here’s a thread about the two martyrs:

Rosa Luxemburg was born (1871) to a Jewish family in Zamość (Russian-occupied Poland), actively participating in the Socialist movement from the age of 15. Fleeing persecution, she arrived in Zurich & received a PhD in Political Econ, being one of the few women with a doctorate.

She founded the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (SDKPiL) with her lover, Leo Jogiches, the two remaining lifetime friends & comrades-in-arm (Leo was also murdered a few months after Luxemburg). She moved to Germany in 1898 & became a member of the SPD.

During the 1905 Revolution, she physically participated in Poland & was jailed. After release, she formulated her famous theory of the Mass Strike, emphasizing the self-activity of the masses. During this time began her famous polemics with Lenin on Organizational & Party Tactics

Luxemburg remained a part of the radical left-wing of the SPD (Linksradikale) with Liebknecht, Zetkin, Mehring, etc. This group later formed an inter-Party opposition known as the Spartacus League to protest the militaristic & opportunistic turn of the SPD from the Summer of 1914

She is best remembered for her staunch revolutionism, annihilating Bernstein in the famous “Reform Or Revolution” polemic. Luxemburg remained a committed Socialist & Internationalist throughout her life, paying for her intellectual honesty & political dedication with her own life

Luxemburg had many original theories: the Theory of Accumulation (Imperialism), the Mass Strike, the stagnation of Marxism, disfavor of self-determination, etc. Some of her notable works are: Reform or Revolution, the Mass Strike, the Junius Pamphlet & the Russian Revolution.

Karl Liebknecht was born in 1871 to a famous Marxist & SPD leader Wilhelm Liebknecht, actively engaging in politics from an early age. Jurist by training, he emerged as the only SPD member to vote against war credits during the 2nd session in 1914 & allied with the Linksradikale.

He is best known for his radical anti-militarism, writing an entire book on the topic. During WWI, he gave numerous speeches against war in various countries until shamelessly being deprived of Reichstag immunity & forced to do hard labor while incarcerated.

Both Luxemburg & Liebknecht jailed, Jogiches organized the Spartacus Letters, an illegal newspaper publishing works smuggled from prison preaching international proletarian unity & anti-militarism. This effort culminated in “Gruppe Internationale” later known as the Spartakusbund

After the breakout of the German Revolution of 1918, both were released, actively jumping into revolutionary activities until their very last breath. Accounts report that they worked intensely until passing out or being physically unable to move. They founded the KPD in December.

During January of 1919, spontaneous & unplanned Spartacus Uprising broke out, Luxemburg being critical of it but understanding that she shouldn’t & couldn’t stop the revolting masses. From here, the timeline gets chaotic, the entire country destabilized by revolutionary bursts.

The Weimar Government, headed by Friedrich Ebert (an ex-student of Luxemburg) of the SPD, allied with the proto-Fascist Freikorps to crush these revolutionary hotspots with brutality. The government fought on all fronts, even co-opting the revolutionary councils set up by workers

The KPD knew that the hectic situation put targets on the heads of its leaders. Luxemburg & Liebknecht were forced to relocate daily. For a detailed timeline of the German Revolution & the involvement of the two, theoretically & practically, view: https://www.rosalux.de/fileadmin/rls_uploads/pdfs/sonst_publikationen/Broschur_RL_in_the_German_Rev_Web.pdf

The Spartacist Uprising was not huge, occuring in a few blocks of Berlin and was characterized by newspaper office occupations, while the rest of the city was largely undisturbed. It was swiftly crushed by the government-employed Freikorps, its participants being brutally slain.

Luxemburg analyzed the defeat one day before their murders. Rosa wrote: “You foolish lackeys! Your ‘order’ is built on sand. Tomorrow the revolution will ‘rise up again, clashing its weapons,’ and to your horror it will proclaim with trumpets blazing: I was, I am, I shall be!”

Liebknecht wrote a similar piece proclaiming: “Even if they throw us in shackles – we are there and shall remain! And victory shall be ours. […] And whether we will still be alive […] our programme will live; it will rule the world of humanity redeemed. In spite of everything!”

At 21:30, January 15, the two revolutionaries with a few of their associates entered Hotel Eden, their arrival creating “a pogrom-like mood among the hotel’s guests & the officers.” Luxemburg & Liebknecht were identified & captured by the government soldiers present at the Hotel.

Liebknecht was beaten & taken to Tiergarten, where he was shot in the head. Luxemburg was tortured, dragged to the car, ‘hauled in’ & thrown onto the back seat as ‘blood streamed from her nose and mouth’. A shot was fired which “entered on the left side,” killing her instantly.

To cover up these brutal murders, Luxemburg was thrown in the Landwehr canal & Liebknecht was left in a morgue as an unidentified man. The bourgeoisie spread false news about how the two had been murdered by an angry mob, but grim reality soon reached the entire Labor Movement.

None of these men were ever brought to justice. Liebknecht was identified & buried but Luxemburg’s body was only retrieved a few months later when the canal thawed. Since then a detailed investigation by Gietinger has revealed every aspect of the murders: https://b-ok.asia/book/3680284/12aa23

The Comintern proclaimed: “The murder of Karl Liebknecht & Rosa Luxemburg is an event of world-historical significance […] because the best people & leaders of the truly proletarian communist international perished tragically.” The whole Communist movement mourned at this loss.

Lenin called: “Death to the butchers!” & we must take his advice seriously. The murders officially revealed the traitorous character of Social-Democracy, its readiness to ally with Fascism as long as the revolution is crushed. We must not forget the actions of the bourgeoisie.

To an introduction of the recently-translated work of Adolf Warski (Luxemburg’s Polish comrade), I wrote a special introduction reviewing the January murders in greater depth. I urge you all to check it out to get a better picture: https://theacheron.medium.com/adolf-warski-rosa-luxemburgs-position-on-the-tactical-problems-of-the-revolution-312620a09dac

There we have it, the brutal massacres of the bourgeoisie pushed back the progress of the Communist movement tremendously.

Glory to the Spartacus League, glory to International Socialism, may the spirits of Luxemburg & Liebknecht live on through the future revolutions!

This may draw a lot of people interested in Luxemburg, so here are some resources:

Clarifying Luxemburg's theoretical stances: https://theacheron.medium.com/the-myth-of-luxemburgism-25f63d0e3efd

The definitive biography of Rosa: https://b-ok.asia/book/5951766/1b88b4

Rosa Luxemburg the movie with English CC: https://archive.org/details/RosaLuxemburg