Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1981-046A-14, Ernst Meyer

Ernst Meyer (10 July, 1887, Prostken – 2 February, 1930,

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream o ...

) was a German Communist political activist and politician and a general secretary of the KPD. He is best remembered as a founding member and top leader of the Communist Party of Germany and as the leader of that party's fraction in the

Prussian Landtag The Landtag of Prussia (german: Preußischer Landtag) was the representative assembly of the Kingdom of Prussia implemented in 1849, a bicameral legislature consisting of the upper House of Lords (''Herrenhaus'') and the lower House of Represent ...

. A political opponent of

Ernst Thälmann Ernst Johannes Fritz Thälmann (; 16 April 1886 – 18 August 1944) was a German communist politician, and leader of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) from 1925 to 1933. A committed Marxist-Leninist and Stalinist, Thälmann played a major r ...

, Meyer was moved out of the top party leadership after 1928, not long before his death of tuberculosis-related pneumonia at the age of 43.

Biography

Early years

Ernst Meyer was born in 1887 in Prostken, East Prussia, to a religiously devout working-class family. Meyer studied economics and philosophy at the

University of Königsberg The University of Königsberg (german: Albertus-Universität Königsberg) was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke Albert of Pruss ...

, from which he received a PhD in 1910.Branko Lazitch and Milorad M. Drachkovitch, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Comintern: New, Revised, and Expanded Edition.'' Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution Press, 1986; pp. 312-313.

Political career

Meyer joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in 1908, while he was still a student in college, beginning to write almost immediately for ''

Vorwärts ''Vorwärts'' (, "Forward") is a newspaper published by the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Founded in 1876, it was the central organ of the SPD for many decades. Following the party's Halle Congress (1891), it was published daily as ...

'' (Forward), the SPD's official daily newspaper. In 1911 Meyer was promoted to the position of the economics editor of 'Vorwärts''.Paul Frölich, "Ernst Meyer," ''Revolutionary Age'' ew York vol. 1, no. 9 (March 1, 1930), pp. 12-13. At the time of

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 ...

, Meyer took his place on the extreme left of the SPD, along with Rosa Luxemburg,

Karl Liebknecht Karl Paul August Friedrich Liebknecht (; 13 August 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a German socialist and anti-militarist. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) beginning in 1900, he was one of its deputies in the Reichstag fro ...

Franz Mehring Franz Erdmann Mehring (27 February 1846 – 28 January 1919) was a German communist historian, literary critic, philosopher, and revolutionary socialist politician who was a senior member of the Spartacus League during the German Revolution of 191 ...

, and

Clara Zetkin Clara Zetkin (; ; ''née'' Eißner ; 5 July 1857 – 20 June 1933) was a German Marxist theorist, communist activist, and advocate for women's rights. Until 1917, she was active in the Social Democratic Party of Germany. She then joined the ...

. He was a close political friend of

Leo Jogiches Leon "Leo" Jogiches (Russian: Лев "Лео" Йогихес; 17 July 1867 – 10 March 1919), also commonly known by the party name Jan Tyszka, was a Polish Marxist revolutionary and politician, active in Poland, Lithuania, and Germany. Jogiche ...

and participated in the issuance of the letters and leaflets of the

Spartakusbund The Spartacus League (German: ''Spartakusbund'') was a Marxist revolutionary movement organized in Germany during World War I. It was founded in August 1914 as the "International Group" by Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht, Clara Zetkin, and other ...

(Spartacus League). Meyer remained the only Spartakan on the editorial board of ''Vorwärts'' and he attempted to resist efforts by the majority of the editorial board to support German efforts in the war. This discordant position made Meyer a target of the SDP's right wing and on April 15, 1915, he was removed from his position on the paper's editorial board. Meyer was the delegate of the Spartacus League to the

Zimmerwald Conference The Zimmerwald Conference was held in Zimmerwald, Switzerland, from September 5 to 8, 1915. It was the first of three international socialist conferences convened by anti-militarist socialist parties from countries that were originally neutral ...

in 1915, one of five Germans from three political groups to participate.Eric Waldman, ''The Spartacist Uprising.'' Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Press, 1958; pg. 51. Meyer and his Spartacist comrade, Bertha Thälheimer, did not lend their support to the resolution of the

Zimmerwald Left The Zimmerwald Conference was held in Zimmerwald, Switzerland, from September 5 to 8, 1915. It was the first of three international socialist conferences convened by anti-militarist socialist parties from countries that were originally neutral ...

at that gathering demanding an immediate break of

revolutionary socialists The Revolutionary Socialists ( ar, الاشتراكيون الثوريون; ) (RS) are a Trotskyist organisation in Egypt originating in the tradition of 'Socialism from Below'. Leading RS members include sociologist Sameh Naguib. The organisatio ...

from the

reformist Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can ...

wing of the Social Democratic movement. Meyer also served as a delegate to the Zimmerwald movement's second conference, held at

Kienthal Reichenbach im Kandertal is a village and municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Until 1957 it was known as Reichenbach bei Frutigen. Besides the village of Reichenbach, the muni ...

the following year. Following the trial of Karl Liebknecht for his anti-war activities, Meyer went into hiding together with his comrades Luxemburg and Mehring. At the end of 1918 the Spartacus League became the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). Meyer was elected as one of the twelve members of the ''Zentrale'' (Central Committee) of the new organization. During the German Revolution of 1918–19, Meyer emerged to serve on the editorial board of ''Die Rote Fahne'' (The Red Flag), the official organ of the Communist Party. He was a founding member of the Communist Party of Germany in December 1918 and was elected by the founding congress to the governing Central Committee of the new organization. Brodskiy II Meyer

In 1920 Meyer was re-elected to the ''Zentrale'' and was made a member of the party's Political Bureau. The summer of that same year he attended the 2nd World Congress of the

Communist International The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

as a representative of the KPD. Meyer reported on the agrarian question to the 2nd Congress, which elected him to the Executive Committee of the Communist International (ECCI) and its Presidium. In 1921, Meyer was elected as a Communist to the

. At the August 1921 congress of the KPD, Meyer delivered the keynote speech, the political report of the ''Zentrale,'' emphasizing his place as a top leader of the organization. Meyer returned to Moscow in 1922 as a member of the German delegation to the

4th World Congress of the Comintern The 4th World Congress of the Communist International was an assembly of delegates to the Communist International held in Petrograd and Moscow, Soviet Russia, between November 5 and December 5, 1922. A total of 343 voting delegates from 58 countri ...

. After his return, Mayer became one of the main architects of the "united front" tactics in Germany. The tactics was a reflection on the failed March 1921 uprising, inspired by the "offensive tactics". Instead of minority uprisings, the KPD now sought to build a mass base.Florian Wilde: ''Building a Mass Party: Ernst Meyer and the United Front Policy 1921-1922'', in: Ralf Hoffrogge / Norman LaPorte (eds.): ''Weimar Communism as Mass Movement 1918-1933'', London: Lawrence & Wishart, pp. 66-86. Meyer again delivered the key political report to the KPD's January 1923 party congress, but this time he was not re-elected to the Central Committee. He nevertheless remained an important member of the German Communist Party, returning to the top echelon after a further factional shift in 1925. In the spring of 1926 Meyer attended the 6th Enlarged Plenum of the Comintern, although he faced personal criticism in that body's discussion of the German question. He returned in November to participate in the 7th Enlarged Plenum of the CI. Meyer was re-elected to the Central Committee and its Politburo by the 1927 congress of the KPD. He was one of the leaders of the Versöhnler (Conciliator) faction and a political opponent of

, whose ascendency to top leadership of the KPD in 1928 effectively spelled the end of Meyer's political career. Meyer addressed the KPD's 12th Congress in June 1929, but he was removed of all party functions.

Death and legacy

In the winter of 1929–30 Meyer, who had long suffered from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

, contracted a case of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

. He died on February 2, 1930, at the age of 43 in Potsdam. At the time of his death Meyer's comrade

Paul Frölich Paul Frölich (7 August 1884 – 16 March 1953) was a German journalist and left-wing political activist and author, a founding member of the Communist Party of Germany and founder of the party's paper, ''Die Rote Fahne.'' A Communist Party deputy ...

remembered Meyer as a "very cool, sober, and deliberate thinker" who was valued for these characteristics during debates over party policies and tactics.

Footnotes

External links