Franz Marek (1913–1979) was an Austrian communist politician who edited '' Weg und Ziel'', a monthly journal of the

Communist Party of Austria The Communist Party of Austria (german: Kommunistische Partei Österreichs, KPÖ) is a communist party in Austria. Established in 1918 as the Communist Party of Republic of German-Austria, German-Austria (KPDÖ), it is one of the world's oldest ...

. British historian Eric Hobsbawm described Franz Marek as the hero of the 20th century.

Early life

He was born Ephraim Feuerlicht in Przemyśl,

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria,, ; pl, Królestwo Galicji i Lodomerii, ; uk, Королівство Галичини та Володимирії, Korolivstvo Halychyny ta Volodymyrii; la, Rēgnum Galiciae et Lodomeriae also known as ...

, on 18 April 1913 into a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family. They moved to Vienna, and he was raised there in the St. Leopold district. He was one of the founders of a youth organization targeting

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

junior high school students. Next he became a member of the Hashomer Hatzair, a socialist and Zionist youth movement.

Career and views

In 1934 Marek joined the Communist Party. He exiled to France in 1938 when Austria became part of the

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. He was one of the leaders of the French resistance movement and coedited a publication entitled ''Nouvelles d’Autriche–Österreichische Nachrichten''. When France was

occupied ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October ...

by the Nazis Marek was arrested and sentenced to death and was freed only after the liberation of Paris in 1944. He could return to Austria in 1946. He assumed several posts in the Communist Party and was appointed

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''Weg und Ziel'', party's theoretical journal, in 1946. He also edited ''Wiener Tagebuch''. In 1948 Marek was made a member of the political bureau of the Communist Party. Marek first adhered to the Stalinist approach. In 1960s he became a critic of it and proposed to develop a European version of communism termed as

Eurocommunism Eurocommunism, also referred to as democratic communism or neocommunism, was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties which said they had developed a theory and practice of social transformation more rel ...

. Due to these views and his stance against the

invasion of Czechoslovakia The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...

by the Soviet Union he was removed from the Communist Party in 1970.

Personal life and death

Marek was married to

Tilly Spiegel Ottilie "Tilly" Spiegel (10 December 1906 - 1988) was an Austrian political activist, first as a member of the Communist Party and then as part of the wartime resistance. After her actions had earned her a term of imprisonment during the Austrofa ...

who was also a resistance member. They divorced in 1974. Marek died of a heart attack on 28 June 1979.

Legacy

In 2017 Marek's memoirs were edited by Maximilian Graf und Sarah Knoll and published under the title ''Franz Marek. Beruf und Berufung Kommunist'' by the Mandelbaum Verlag.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marek, Franz 20th-century Austrian journalists 20th-century Austrian politicians 1913 births 1979 deaths Austrian expatriates in France Austrian Jews Communist Party of Austria politicians Jewish socialists Jewish journalists Jews in the French resistance Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) People from Przemyśl Politicians from Vienna