Maurice Levitas (February 1, 1917-February 14, 2001) was an Ireland-born academic and communist. Levitas was involved with the Communist Party of Great Britain and was a Marxist-Lenininist throughout his political life. He was involved in military activity; first becoming involved with Comintern's International Brigades against the Nationalist insurgency during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

and then during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, as a British citizen, he joined the British Army's Royal Army Medical Corps. After the War, he remained involved in Communist politics and also became a sociology lecturer at Durham University. In the 1980s, he relocated to the Eastern Bloc, teaching in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, where he edited and translated a book on German politician

Erich Honecker Erich Ernst Paul Honecker (; 25 August 1912 – 29 May 1994) was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts ...

titled ''Erich Honecker Cross Examined''.

Biography

Levitas was born at Warren Street, in

Portobello, Dublin Portobello (, meaning 'beautiful harbour') is an area of Dublin in Ireland, within the southern city centre and bounded to the south by the Grand Canal. It came into existence as a small suburb south of the city in the 18th century, centred on ...

. He was known to his family and friends as "Morry". His parents, Harry Levitas and Leah Rick, having emigrated to Ireland from Lithuania and Latvia in 1912, were married in the Camden Street Synagogue in Dublin. Harry Levitas was a member of the Tailors and Pressers Union, known in Dublin as the ''Jewish Union''. Maurice attended St Peter's Church of Ireland National School. In 1927, when Morry was 10 years old, the family emigrated to Britain, first to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

then to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

where Maurice later joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1933. He was also an active trade unionist and he and his brothers Max and Sol, were involved in the 1936 ‘

Battle of Cable Street The Battle of Cable Street was a series of clashes that took place at several locations in the inner East End, most notably Cable Street, on Sunday 4 October 1936. It was a clash between the Metropolitan Police, sent to protect a march by mem ...

’ against the British Union of Fascists. In 1937, he joined the

Connolly Column The Connolly Column (, ) was the name given to a group of Irish republican socialist volunteers who fought for the Second Spanish Republic in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. They were named after James Connolly, the ex ...

of the

International Brigade The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existe ...

and fought in the

.Irish Times Obituary, by Padraig Yeates Saturday, 24 February 2001 He was captured in 1938 and released in February 1939. In 1942, Levitas enlisted in the Royal Army Medical Corps and served in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. In 1948, having resumed employment as a plumber, he was offered a place in an emergency Teachers' Training College. In 1964, Levitas graduated with an honours degree in sociology from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

and became a senior lecturer in the sociology of education at Durham University. He remained an ardent Marxist–Leninist and a supporter of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, remaining a Communist Party member. This was tested by 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 ...

to put down the Prague Spring of 1968. He emigrated to

in 1985 to work as an English teacher. Later he edited a book on German politician

titled ''Erich Honecker Cross Examined''. He attended the commemoration of the

in 1991 in

Liberty Hall Liberty Hall ( ga, Halla na Saoirse), in Dublin, Ireland, is the headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU). Designed by Desmond Rea O'Kelly, it was completed in 1965. It was for a time the tallest b ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, where he was chosen to read out the list of members. He also attended, in 1997, a ceremony in the

Mansion House, Dublin The Mansion House ( ga, Teach an Ard-Mhéara) is a house on Dawson Street, Dublin, which has been the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Dublin since 1715, and was also the meeting place of the Dáil Éireann from 1919 until 1922. Histor ...

by the

Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. Th ...

of the surviving Irish members of the

. He returned to England in 1990 following the fall of the Berlin Wall. He died in London on 14 February 2001. His brother Max Levitas (1 June 1915 – 2 November 2018) was Communist councillor for 15 years in

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appli ...

in London. His daughter is the sociologist

Ruth Levitas Ruth Levitas (born 15 May 1949 in London) is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Bristol. She is well known internationally for her research on utopia and utopian studies. Her book, ''The Concept of Utopia'' (19 ...

and his son is the theatre historian Ben Levitas.

Publications

* ''Marxist Perspectives in the Sociology of Education'' by Maurice Levitas (1974) * ''Erich Honecker Cross Examined'' edited and translated by Maurice Levitas(1992)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levitas, Maurice 1917 births 2001 deaths Academics of Durham University Alumni of the University of London International Brigades personnel Irish Jews Irish anti-fascists Irish communists Irish people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Irish people of the Spanish Civil War Irish sociologists People from Portobello, Dublin Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers Irish emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century Irish Jews

Biography

See also

Publications

References