Adolf Hepner (November 24, 1846 – April 26, 1923) was a German-American writer. His association with the

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

led to him being a co-defendant in the Leipzig high treason trial. He was a journalist for papers in both

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Early life and education

Adolf Hepner was born on November 24, 1846 in Schmiegel, Posen (modern day

Śmigiel Śmigiel (german: Schmiegel) is a town in Kościan County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 5,420 inhabitants (2004). History Śmigiel was granted town rights in 1415 or perhaps earlier. It was a private town of Polish nobility, adm ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

). He went to the gymnasium school in Lissa (modern day

Leszno Leszno (german: Lissa, 1800–1918 ''Lissa in Posen'') is a historic city in western Poland, within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seventh-largest city in the province with an estimated population of 62,200, as of 2021. Previously, it ...

) before his stint in a Breslau Rabbinical seminary. He attended college at the

University of Breslau A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

(modern day University of Wrocław) before he went to college at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

Career

In 1868, Hepner began to become a socialist and he moved on to

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

where became an editor for a socialistic paper. He was associated with

Wilhelm Liebknecht Wilhelm Martin Philipp Christian Ludwig Liebknecht (; 29 March 1826 – 7 August 1900) was a German socialist and one of the principal founders of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).August Bebel Ferdinand August Bebel (22 February 1840 – 13 August 1913) was a German socialist politician, writer, and orator. He is best remembered as one of the founders of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Germany (SDAP) in 1869, which in 1875 mer ...

around his time at the paper. In 1872 he was tried for high treason and soon acquitted with his treason charges stemming from Hepner promoting socialist activities through journalism. His co defendants, Liebknecht and Bebel weren't acquitted like he was. Later that year, Hepner violated Leipzig police director Ruder's prohibition when he visited the International Workers' Congress of the International Workers Association. Hepner took a delegate with him''Die I. Internationale in Deutschland''. Berlin 1964, S. 673. as he met Karl Marx and some similar people whom he knew personally as he got ready for his speech. On September 6, 1872 at

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, Hepner made a speech in support of German workers where he expressed his views on how the lack of authority felled the commune. Hepner was put in jail not too long after in part due to Hepner offending the chief constable but he was soon released. Back at the

Der Volksstaat ''Der Volksstaat'' was the central organ of the German Social Democratic Workers Party (Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands). It was published in Leipzig from October 2, 1869 to September 23, 1876. It was edited by Wilhelm Liebknecht ...

, Hepner's rocky relationship with Theodor Yorck eventually led to Hepner being let go of his role at the paper. Hepner moved to Breslau after he was forced out of Leipsic and subsequently he began a failed job as a publisher for his A. Hepner Breslau publishing house. Hepner moved to

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

in 1886 after emigrating to the

four years earlier due to oppression he faced there as a socialist. He got back into editing as he was an editor for the ''St. Louis Tageblatt'' where he worked for ten years from 1888 to 1898. He also was hired to edit the Westliche Post where he worked for some years.

Later life and death

Hepner went back to Germany in 1908 where he became a writer for the

Die Neue Zeit ''Die Neue Zeit'' (German: "The New Times") was a German socialist theoretical journal of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) that was published from 1883 to 1923. Its headquarters was in Stuttgart, Germany. History and profile Founded ...

, Süddeutsche Monatshefte and similar publications. Hepner died on April 26, 1923.

Works

Hepner wrote various political essays like ''America's Aid to Germany in 1870-1871'' in 1904 and other works like a one act play titled ''Good Night, Schatz'' in 1894.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hepner, Adolf 1846 births 1923 deaths People from Śmigiel German journalists German social democrats Members of the International Workingmen's Association English–German translators Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians University of Breslau alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni