Andreas Scheu (27 January 1844 – 29 August 1927) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

socialist activist. Born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Scheu completed an apprenticeship as a gilder and furniture maker. He worked in Vienna as a

journeyman A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...

, then in 1861 moved to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

for a year. On returning to Vienna, he found work with the leading furniture maker, Benedikt Kölbl. Scheu had become interested in pacifism, and when he was called up for military service in 1864, he planned to become a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

. However, he was rejected for service on the grounds of poor eyesight. In 1867, Scheu represented Kölbl's firm at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, and while there he met Thérèse Arocker, the two marrying in May. Despite Arocker's opposition, on returning to Austria, Scheu became increasingly involved in the workers' movement, joining the Workers' Educational Association, organising a workers' exhibition in the city in 1868, co-founding the ''Volkswille'' newspaper, and speaking publicly on socialism.J. O. Baylen, "Scheu, Andreas", in: Scheu joined the

International Workingmen's Association The International Workingmen's Association (IWA), often called the First International (1864–1876), was an international organisation which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchist groups and trad ...

in 1869, and attended the Eisenach Congress which saw the foundation of the German Social Democratic Workers' Party. In 1870, he was one of seventeen leaders of the Austrian workers' movement convicted of treason and sentenced to five years penal servitude. He was released after just one year, as part of an amnesty, and became increasingly outspoken in his political views, arguing against any co-operation with the middle and upper classes. He fell out with Heinrich Oberwinder, who lost a lengthy court case to Scheu, but Scheu promised that he would not stand in the way of attempts to reunify the Austrian socialist movement. Also facing harassment from the government and financial problems, Scheu moved to London in June 1874, where his brother Heinrich worked for the ''

Daily Graphic ''The Daily Graphic: An Illustrated Evening Newspaper'' was the first American newspaper with daily illustrations. It was founded in New York City in 1873 by Canadian engravers George-Édouard Desbarats and William Leggo, and began publication ...

''. In London, Scheu initially became involved with two groups of socialist immigrants, but became convinced that he could achieve more by focusing on British workers. He moved to Glasgow and then Edinburgh, working for furniture designers, and spoke regularly on socialism, convincing

John Burns John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...

and Robert Banner of his ideas. He returned to London in 1881, where his friend

Johann Most Johann Joseph "Hans" Most (February 5, 1846 – March 17, 1906) was a German-American Social Democratic and then anarchism, anarchist politician, newspaper editor, and orator. He is credited with popularizing the concept of "propaganda of the dee ...

was now living, helping him with editing ''

Freiheit ' is the German word for both liberty and political freedom. Freiheit may also refer to: Political parties * Freie Demokratische Partei, a liberal party in Germany * South Tyrolean Freedom (', STF), a nationalist political party active in South ...

'', and also struck up a friendship with

Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

. He joined the Democratic Federation and served on its executive from at least 1883, working with Joseph Lane and

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

to oppose

H. M. Hyndman Henry Mayers Hyndman (; 7 March 1842 – 20 November 1921) was an English writer, politician and socialist. Originally a conservative, he was converted to socialism by Karl Marx's '' Communist Manifesto'' and launched Britain's first left-wing ...

's nationalism and authoritarianism. They appeared to succeed at the organisations 1884 conference, at which it declared itself to be a socialist organisation, renamed itself as the "Social Democratic Federation" (SDF), and Scheu won election as president. After the 1884 conference, Scheu returned to work in Edinburgh. There,

John Lincoln Mahon John Lincoln Mahon (8 June 1865 – 19 November 1933) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician, best known as a prominent socialist activist. Mahon was born in Edinburgh, to Irish parents, with the surname "McMahon". He followed in his fath ...

persuaded Scheu that the SDF would not succeed unless it linked up with the crofters' movement, and so the pair formed the

Scottish Land and Labour League Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

, intending that it would affiliate to the SDF. Hyndman disagreed with this policy, and urged the local SDF to refuse the league permission to affiliate. On Morris' urging, Scheu visited London in December, to defend his actions, against Hyndman. Scheu had already been urging his supporters to split from the SDF, and this proved the trigger for this, launching ''

Commonweal Commonweal or common weal may refer to: * Common good, what is shared and beneficial for members of a given community * Common Weal, a Scottish think tank and advocacy group * Commonweal (magazine), ''Commonweal'' (magazine), an American lay-Cath ...

'' at the end of the year, then forming the Socialist League, with Scheu sitting on its provisional council and drafting its manifesto. Despite claims to the contrary by Hyndman and his supporters, Scheu was not an anarchist, and when anarchists came to run the Socialist League, he resigned from the party. Scheu was one of the first employees of Jaeger, from 1884, serving until 1891, when he began representing the

Löwenbräu Brewery Löwenbräu () is a brewery in Munich. Its name is German language, German for "lion's brew". Most Löwenbräu beers are marketed as being brewed according to the ''Reinheitsgebot'', the German beer purity regulation of 1516. History Löwenbr ...

. He reduced his activism, but wrote for ''

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

'' under the pseudonym "Andrew Joy", and lectured occasionally for the Hammersmith Socialist Society. He retired in 1911, moving to

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

, but opposed

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and so in 1915 relocated to Switzerland. He enthusiastically supported the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

and ensuing uprisings in Germany and Austria, and wrote an autobiography, ''Umsturzkeime'', published in 1923. His heath declined, and in 1927 he died in Rapperswil.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheu, Andreas 1844 births 1927 deaths Activists from Austria-Hungary Austrian socialists Social Democratic Federation members Socialist League (UK, 1885) members