Probably, many have heard or read that in 2009 in Europe a special flower was bred - the “Princess of Luxembourg” rose. This event was timed to the 18th anniversary of Alexandra, the royal person of the Grand Duchy. But today it will not be about him. People of the older generation remember that at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries there was such a German revolutionary and a rather influential person who played an important role in the formation of the communist movement in Europe. Her name was consonant with the name of a beautiful flower - Rosa Luxemburg. The years of this woman's life were entirely devoted to the struggle for the rights and freedoms of ordinary people. It is about her that will be discussed in this article.
Jewish family
Rose was born (real name Rosalia) on March 5, 1871 in the town of Zamosc, Kingdom of Poland, on the outskirts of the then Russian Empire. She was the fifth child in the family of a Jewish timber merchant, Elias Luxemburg. The girl was a diligent student and brilliantly graduated from one of the Warsaw gymnasiums.
This friendly Jewish family was very fond of children, and even more so the younger Rosochka, who was disabled (dislocation of the hip joint). Until 10 years old, an irreversible and extremely painful process took place in her body, which sometimes confined her to bed for several months. When she grew up, the disease receded, but lameness remained. In order to at least slightly hide this defect, she wore special shoes. The girl, of course, was very worried about lameness, therefore it is not surprising that on this basis she could develop a number of complexes.
The beginning of the way
I must say that Rosa Luxemburg, whose biography, as you know, was mainly associated with revolutionary activity, began to show interest in politics very early, even during her studies. After graduating from high school, her parents tried in every way to dissuade her from such a rather dangerous hobby and even hired her the best music teacher. They still hoped that the talented girl would seriously engage in art and forget about politics, but Rosa had already embarked on the revolutionary path, where she hoped to realize all her ambitious plans. Among her new friends, she was on an equal footing, since none of them paid the slightest attention to her physical flaw.
At the end of 1880 most of the illegal revolutionary groups began to overcome differences of opinion that were associated with the choice of path. By the way, even then it was clear that terror does not justify itself, and only fanatics support it. The bulk of young people leaned toward legal methods of struggle.
Rosa Luxemburg entered the revolutionary circle at a time when the antiterrorist conflict between its members was growing, and she sided with those who were categorically against the killings and advocated for propaganda and agitation. But the terrorists continued to commit their unlawful actions, thereby placing their dissenters of the same party in the hands of the police.
It is precisely because of this that at the age of 18, Rosa was forced to hide from persecution by the authorities for her participation in the underground organization “Proletariat”. She had to emigrate to Switzerland, where she continued her education at the University of Zurich. There, she studied law, philosophy and political economy.
First love
The years spent in quiet Switzerland, Rosa Luxemburg (see photo in the review) was remembered as the happiest in her life. Here she felt calm and confident. In Zurich, the girl met a certain Leo Johoghes, who immediately liked her very much. The young man also showed interest in Rosa, but did not take any decisive action - their relationship came down only to talking about politics and sharing libraries. Therefore, the girl herself had to take the initiative and declare his love to him.
It is worth noting that before that Leo was a convinced bachelor, and he surrendered only after the fiery recognition of Rosa. She was a very energetic person, but gradually the girl began to annoy the indefatigable activity of the girl, given that the activity of Yogyhes himself was difficult. Therefore, naturally, lovers began to have frequent conflicts. Finally, Rosa Luxemburg at the University of Zurich brilliantly defends her thesis on the pace of industrial development in Poland. It was this event that became the climax of their quarrels.
The girl was very proud of her success, since her work was highly appreciated by famous professors, and the articles she wrote were published in reputable socialist publications. Thus, the whole of Europe recognized her name. But Leo himself was not delighted with the achievements of Rosa, realizing that he fell under the influence of an extremely strong woman, and this state of affairs did not suit him at all.
First conclusion
Soon, Rosa Luxemburg, at the invitation of the Socialist Party of Germany, agrees to participate in local elections as an agitator. The woman was engaged in propaganda in the regions of Upper Silesia, where many Poles lived. Thus, she very quickly managed to gain the trust of the German socialists. In this environment, revolutionary Klara Zetkin becomes her best friend. She introduces Luxembourg to her son, as well as to the famous theorist Karl Kautsky. In addition, here, in Germany, in 1901, Rosa will meet with Vladimir Lenin.
After the start of revolutionary events in Russia in 1905, she came to Warsaw and actively participated in the protest actions of Polish workers. After some time, the Tsarist secret police manage to catch and put her in jail. Luxembourg spent several months there, threatened with hard labor or even execution. However, thanks to the efforts of German friends in 1907, she was released from prison, after which she permanently leaves for Germany.
Personal life
In order to move to the country for permanent residence, Rosa needed to obtain German citizenship. The quickest way to do this was to conclude a fictitious marriage with a citizen of this state. Gustav Lubeck became the formal husband of Luxembourg. In the same year, the woman began a long-term affair with the son of her friend Klara Zetkin, Konstantin. About 600 letters, preserved to this day, testify to this fact.
Constantine was admired by the fiery speeches of his mistress, so she literally became his mentors in the study of Marxism. Five years later, the couple broke up. Since that time, Rosa Luxemburg did not make any love affairs. The children were not very interested in her, since she never stopped organizing the revolutionary movement, and, frankly, she was not up to them.
Activities during the First World War
On the eve of the war, in 1913, Luxembourg was arrested for a period of one year for a speech delivered against the rapidly growing militarism in Germany. After leaving prison, she did not stop her anti-war agitation. On August 1, 1914, when the German Kaiser declared war on the Russian Empire, a socialist faction in the then German parliament voted to take military loans. Luxembourg was simply beside herself from such shortsightedness of its colleagues and, together with its new like-minded people, immediately created the political journal International. Before Rose had time to write her first article for this publication, she was again arrested and sent to a Berlin prison.
In February 1915, she again ended up in prison for speaking at a rally in Frankfurt. She was released a year later, but was arrested again three months later. This time they gave her a longer term - two and a half years. At that time she was already young, besides, she was sick and lonely, but, considering that the best doctor was work, Rosa wrote a lot while in prison.
The creation of the Communist Party of Germany
When the fighting was going on, she finds herself the same ardent like-minded person like herself, in the person of the revolutionary Karl Liebknecht. Together, they create a new organization - Spartak Union. In December 1918, they again together became the founders of the German Communist Party.
At the first congress of the new organization, Rosa Luxemburg delivered a report that rather harshly criticized the Russian Bolsheviks for establishing a one-party dictatorship in the country, which, in her opinion, severely violated democratic freedoms and also contributed to the suppression of all opposition parties.
Merciless rink of revolution
When the woman once again left prison in 1918, at that time the November Revolution was already in full swing in Germany. Control over the public situation was completely lost, and bloody terror literally spilled onto the streets, carrying with it all the malice that has accumulated over the years of the First World War.
As you know, any revolution is terrible in that it does not divide people into the right and the guilty, but crushes everyone in a row who falls under its bloody rink. And the story of Rosa Luxemburg is proof of this. She became one of the victims of her former party comrades, who were in a hurry to quickly, so to speak, out of the blue, get rid of the restless and disagreeable colleague.
