Franz Mehring

Franz Erdmann Mehring (27 February 1846 – 28 January 1919) was a German communist historian, literary and art critic, philosopher, and revolutionary socialist politician who was a senior member of the Spartacus League during the German Revolution of 1918–1919. He authored Karl Marx: The Story of His Life, which was long considered the classical biography of Marx.

Biography Early years Mehring was born 27 February 1846 in Schlawe, Pomerania, the son of a retired military officer and senior tax official. He studied classical philology at the University of Leipzig and received his doctorate in 1882 with the dissertation: "The German social democracy, their history and their teaching".

Political career Mehring worked for various daily and weekly newspapers and over many years wrote lead articles for the weekly magazine .

He was initially a supporter of liberal democratic ideals and allied himself with the national-liberal camp, however after being acquainted with working-class leaders such as August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht Mehring gradually moved towards socialism.

In 1868, Mehring moved to Berlin to study and worked in the editorial office of the newspaper.

From 1871 to 1874, Mehring worked for the Correspondence Office in Oldenburg, writing reports on sessions of the Reichstag and the local parliament. He became a well-known parliamentary reporter, working for the newspaper and , a newspaper published by Leopold Sonnemann.

From time to time Mehring spoke in support of the labor movement, his views were initially close to Ferdinand Lassalle. In 1880, Mehring began to study the works of Karl Marx.

Mehring left after an argument with Sonnemann and in 1884 became chief editor of the newspaper. He spoke out against Otto von Bismarck’s Anti-Socialist Laws, although he still was at the time himself close to liberal parties. In 1891, Mehring joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

Between 1902 and 1907, Mehring was the chief editor of the Social Democratic newspaper. it was dedicated to fellow Spartacist Clara Zetkin. The book was later translated into many languages, including Russian (1920), Swedish (1921–1922), Danish (1922), Hungarian (1925), Japanese (1930), Spanish (1932), and English (1935).

Death and legacy Already in ill health, Mehring was deeply affected by the death of his comrades Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht in January 1919. This material is also available for use by scholars on three reels of microfilm, with permission required by the center before extensive extracts may be published. Mehringdamm, Mehringplatz, and the NVA Air Force Officer's Academy that was located in Kamenz were all named after him.

The International Committee of the Fourth International, a Trotskyist organization which holds the Spartacists in high esteem and claims an ideological connection to them, honors Mehring by calling their publishing branch Mehring Books.