Fritz Platten (8 July 1883 – 22 April 1942) was a Swiss
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
politician and one of the founders 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 a ...
.
Early life
Platten was born in the village of Tablat, now part of
St. Gallen
, neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach
, twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic)
, website ...
, on 8 July 1883, to and
Old Catholic
The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches or Old Catholic movement designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undivide ...
family.
He was the son of Maria Strässle and Peter Platten, a German carpenter and innkeeper.
[ Having moved to ]Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
in 1892, he worked as an apprentice locksmith from 1898 to 1902.[ After working various jobs, Platten took part in the ]First Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...
in Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
, in 1906, for which he was jailed until escaping to Switzerland in 1908.[
]
Career
Platten began his political career as a member of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz; SP; rm, Partida Socialdemocrata da la Svizra) or Swiss Socialist Party (french: Parti socialiste suisse, it, Partito Socialista Svizzero; PS), is a polit ...
, of which he was secretary between 1915 and 1919.[ In the 1917 federal election he was elected member the National Council for the ]canton of Zürich
The canton of Zürich (german: Kanton Zürich ; rm, Chantun Turitg; french: Canton de Zurich; it, Canton Zurigo) is a Swiss canton in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton in the ...
, where he served until 1923.[ In 1921, along with other dissidents from the left-wing of the Social Democrats, Platten was one of the founding members of the ]Communist Party of Switzerland
The Communist Party of Switzerland (german: Kommunistische Partei der Schweiz; KPS) or Swiss Communist Party (french: Parti communiste suisse; it, Partito Comunista Svizzero; PCS) was a communist party in Switzerland between 1921 and 1944. It was ...
.[
After the collapse of the ]Second International
The Second International (1889–1916) was an organisation of socialist and labour parties, formed on 14 July 1889 at two simultaneous Paris meetings in which delegations from twenty countries participated. The Second International continued th ...
, Platten joined the Zimmerwald Movement.
Fritz Platten is mostly known for having been the main organizer of Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
’s return trip from the exile in Switzerland back home to Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
after the February Revolution
The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...
. Due to the First World War
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 ...
, the trip was not easily arranged, but Lenin and his company traveled through 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 ...
in a sealed train
A sealed train is one that travels internationally under customs and/or immigration seal, without its contents legally recognized as entering or leaving the nations traversed between the beginning and end of the journey or subject to any otherwis ...
car. They then took the ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
to Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and were greeted in Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
by the Swedish communist leaders Otto Grimlund, Ture Nerman
Ture Nerman (18 May 1886, in Norrköping – 7 October 1969) was a Swedish socialist. As a journalist and author, he was a well-known political activist in his time. He also wrote poems and songs.
Nerman was a vegetarian and a strict teetotale ...
, Carl Lindhagen
Carl Albert Lindhagen (17 December 1860 – 11 March 1946) was a Swedish lawyer, politician, and pacifist.
Carl Lindhagen was the chief magistrate (''borgmästare'') of Stockholm 1903–1930 (i.e. a legal position, not mayor).
Life
Lindhagen ...
and Fredrik Ström
Otto Fredrik Ström (10 July 1880 – 23 November 1948) was a Swedish politician, editor and a prolific writer. He held a seat in the Riksdag from 1916 to 1921 and from 1930 to 1948.Lars BjörlinOtto Fredrik Ström Riksarkivet.se. Retrieved 22 A ...
, who together with Platten had helped plan the trip. The train journey then continued through northern Sweden and Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
back to Russia and St Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
.
Platten participated in the foundation 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 a ...
, and, as a representative of the Swiss Communist Party, spent much time in the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
.
Platten was present when Lenin’s car was attacked in Petrograd
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
on 14 January 1918 (1 January O.S.). The two were riding in the back of the car after having given a public speech at Mikhailovsky Manege
Michael Manege (''Mikhailovsky manezh''; russian: Михайловский манеж) is the Neoclassical building of an early 19th-century riding academy in the historic center of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was converted into an indoor sport ...
. When the shooting started "Platten grabbed Lenin by the head and pushed him down. ... Platten’s hand was covered in blood, having been grazed by a bullet as he was shielding Lenin."
Death
Platten became a victim of the Stalinist purges
The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Yezhov'), was Soviet General Secreta ...
of the 1930s. He was arrested in 1938 and moved to a prison camp near Nyandoma
Nyandoma (russian: Ня́ндома) is a town and the administrative center of Nyandomsky District in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located south of Arkhangelsk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population:
History
Nyandoma was founded in ...
in 1939, where he was shot on 22 April 1942.[Kevin McDermott ''The Comintern: A History of International Communism from Lenin to Stalin'', 1996. Page 146.] He was rehabilitated in 1956.[
]
Personal life
Platten was married to Berthe Zimmermann (1902-1937), also from Switzerland. In 1935, she was a top functionary for the OMS in Moscow as head of the courier section at the OMS headquarters of the OMS or International Liaison Department, the most secret section of the Comintern.[
][
]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Platten, Fritz
1883 births
1942 deaths
People from St. Gallen (city)
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland politicians
Swiss communists
Members of the National Council (Switzerland)
Comintern people
Swiss people executed abroad
Prisoners who died in Soviet detention
Great Purge victims
Swiss expatriates in the Soviet Union
Swiss revolutionaries
Swiss people of German descent
Executed communists