Christian Eli Christensen (12 January 1882 10 June 1960) was a Danish author and

revolutionary syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that views revolutionary industrial unionism or syndicalism as a method for workers in capitalist society to gain control of an economy and thus control influence in b ...

Biography

He was born on

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of Region Sjælland (Region Zealand). As of 1 January 2022, it has 57,618 inhabitant ...

, but at 5-years old he moved with his parents to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, where he grew up. Christensen joined the Social Democratic Youth League at the age of 18, but resigned in 1906. Two years later he joined the newly formed Syndicalist League, and in 1910 he became a member of the revolutionary trade union movement, the Trade Union Opposition Association. He became editor of the movement's member magazine ''Solidaritet'' (1911–1921), however, his tenure was interrupted by a prison stay after

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 ...

(1918–1920). The reason for his imprisonment was that he had called for the overthrow of the state, in connection with the fact that he was one of the main men behind Stormen på Børsen. In 1921 Christensen joined the

Communist Party of Denmark The Communist Party of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Kommunistiske Parti, DKP) is a communist party in Denmark. The DKP was founded on 9 November 1919 as the Left-Socialist Party of Denmark (, VSP), through a merger of the Socialist Youth League and ...

and was editor of the party organ ''Arbejderbladet'' (1921–1922). However, he did not like the leadership of the party. He moved to

Silkeborg Silkeborg () is a Danish town with a population of 49,747 (1 January 2022).Asger Jorn Asger Oluf Jorn (3 March 1914 – 1 May 1973) was a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramic artist, and author. He was a founding member of the avant-garde movement COBRA and the Situationist International. He was born in Vejrum, in the northwest c ...

, on whom he made a lifelong impression. His break with the Communist Party came in 1936, when he left in protest against the first of the

Moscow Trials The Moscow trials were a series of show trials held by the Soviet Union between 1936 and 1938 at the instigation of Joseph Stalin. They were nominally directed against "Trotskyists" and members of "Right Opposition" of the Communist Party of th ...

. Later he tried to revive the syndicalist movement, but he never succeeded. His authorship began in 1910 with the book ''Arbejderne og børneflokken'', which was a battle script for

sexual liberation The sexual revolution, also known as the sexual liberation, was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the United States and the developed world from the 1 ...

and pregnancy prevention, which was one of the first publications about the subject in Denmark. Christian Christensen's memoirs were written shortly before his death, they were published and edited by his colleague from the syndicalist movement

Halfdan Rasmussen Halfdan Wedel Rasmussen (29 January 1915 in Copenhagen – 2 March 2002) was a Danish poet. He was known for his literary nonsense verse for children and his serious adult writings about social issues and human rights. He was awarded with the ...

. The books describe growing up in the Rhubarb Quarter near the current Rantzausgade in

Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station ...

. In 1960,

Asger Jorn Asger Oluf Jorn (3 March 1914 – 1 May 1973) was a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramic artist, and author. He was a founding member of the avant-garde movement COBRA and the Situationist International. He was born in Vejrum, in the northwest c ...

dedicated "Critique de la politique économique" from the series of "Reports presented to the

Situationist International The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...

" to Christian Christensen. A memorial stone for Christian Christensen, erected by Asger Jorn at "De små fisk" at Sejs, was laid in 1963. He is buried in Blovstrød Cemetery.Christian Christensen
på blovstroedkirke.dk via web.archive.org

References

External links

Museum Jorn, Silkeborg Museum Jorn, Silkeborg, (formerly Silkeborg Kunstmuseum) is an art museum located by Gudenåen in Silkeborg, Denmark. The museum holds the collections that were developed by Asger Jorn (1914–1973) from the early 1950s until his death in 1973, s ...

Asger Jorn potrait of Christian Christensen
; 1933
Situationistisk Danmarkskort

med bl.a.

Guy Debord Guy-Ernest Debord (; ; 28 December 1931 – 30 November 1994) was a French Marxist theorist, philosopher, filmmaker, critic of work, member of the Letterist International, founder of a Letterist faction, and founding member of the Situationis ...

Michèle Bernstein Michèle Bernstein (born 28 April 1932) is a French novelist and critic, most often remembered as a member of the Situationist International from its foundation in 1957 until 1967, and as the first wife of its most prominent member, Guy Debord. ...

, besøger Christian Christensen (p. 21) {{DEFAULTSORT:Christensen, Christian 1882 births 1960 deaths Danish anarchists Danish communists Danish memoirists 20th-century Danish non-fiction writers Danish trade unionists