Eugen Leviné (; 10 May 1883 – 5 June 1919), also known as Dr. Eugen Leviné, was a German

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

revolutionary and one of the leaders of the short-lived Second

Bavarian Soviet Republic The Bavarian Soviet Republic (or Bavarian Council Republic), also known as the Munich Soviet Republic (), was a short-lived unrecognised socialist state in Bavaria during the German revolution of 1918–1919. A group of communists and anarchist ...

Background

Eugen Leviné was born on 10 May 1883 in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

to affluent

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

merchants, Julius and Rozalia (née Goldberg) Leviné. Julius Leviné died when Eugen was three years old, and Rozalia emigrated to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

with her son, settling in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

and

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

. Eugen went on to study law at the

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

. While a student there, he remained in touch with Russia.

Career

1905 revolution

Leviné returned to Russia to participate in the failed

revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...

against the

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

. For his actions, he was exiled to

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. He eventually escaped to Germany and began studying at

and married in 1915. For a short time, he served in the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

1919 Bavarian Soviet Republic

After the war ended, Leviné joined the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (, ; KPD ) was a major Far-left politics, far-left political party in the Weimar Republic during the interwar period, German resistance to Nazism, underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and minor party ...

(KPD), which, under

Paul Levi Paul Levi (; 11 March 1883 – 9 February 1930) was a German communist and social democratic political leader. He was the head of the Communist Party of Germany following the assassination of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht in 1919. After bein ...

, who sent first Max Levien in December 1918 and then Leviné, first to

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

to quell an uprising and then in March 1919 to Munich to organize the KPD locally and help to create a socialist republic in Bavaria. Neither Levien or Leviné had much revolutionary experience. The republic lasted only several weeks, replaced quickly by a Soviet-style republic after the assassination of

Kurt Eisner Kurt Eisner (; 14 May 1867 21 February 1919)"Kurt Eisner – Encyclopædia Britannica" (biography), ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2006, Britannica.com webpageBritannica-KurtEisner. was a German politician, revolutionary, journalist, and theatre c ...

, then leader of the

Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of anti-war members of t ...

(USPD). The ruling government of the new republic lasted only six days, due to poor leadership under the German-Jewish playwright

Ernst Toller Ernst Toller (1 December 1893 – 22 May 1939) was a German author, playwright, left-wing politician and revolutionary, known for his Expressionist plays. He served in 1919 for six days as President of the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic, ...

Coup

On 13 April 1919, a "Red Army," led by Leviné and without KPD orders or approval, won clashes with the Toller's soldiers, created a second soviet republic with Leviné at its head, who then received approval and support directly from

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

. Leviné attempted to expropriate luxurious flats to the homeless and seize factories and place them under workers control. He introduced censorship and a "military-style" government, while also revamping education and declaring the

Munich Frauenkirche The Frauenkirche (Full name: , ) is a church in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, that serves as the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, Archdiocese of Munich and Freising and seat of its Archbishop. It is a landmark and is ...

a revolutionary temple. These actions followed inquiries from Lenin as to whether Leviné had assumed control of banks and taken bourgeois hostages. On 27 April 1919, Leviné stepped down ("abdicated" ) as leader of the Soviet. As the German president

Friedrich Ebert Friedrich Ebert (; 4 February 187128 February 1925) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as the first President of Germany (1919–1945), president of Germany from 1919 until ...

gave orders to subdue the Bavarian Soviet Republic and reinstate the Bavarian government under Johannes Hoffmann, the Red Guards executed eight hostages on 29 April 1919.

Countercoup, arrest, trial

The

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

, assisted by

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European paramilitary volunteer units that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenaries or private military companies, rega ...

, with a force of roughly 39,000 men invaded and quickly re-conquered Munich on 3 May 1919. Leviné personally took part in the street fighting against them. In retaliation for the execution of the hostages, the Freikorps captured or killed some 700 men and women. Leviné evaded arrest at first, perhaps by hiding in the apartment of Erich Katzenstein. Leviné was captured on 13 May 1919. Public interest in his trial was high. On 19 May 1919,

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

sent a joint telegram asking the courts to delay Leviné's trial. Leviné was tried along with Toller in early June 1919; Max Hirschberg refused to serve as his legal counsel, but Anton Graf von Pestalozza accepted. On 3 June 1919, the courts, calling him a "foreign interloper in Bavaria", sentenced Leviné to death by execution. Soldiers, bureaucrats, and members of the public passed by to see the so-called "blood-thirsty

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre fer ...

" while he awaited execution, his wife later reported.

Speech

Leviné gave the following speech during his trial:

We Communists are all dead men on leave. Of this I am fully aware. I do not know if you will extend my leave or whether I shall have to join
Karl Liebknecht Karl Paul August Friedrich Liebknecht (; ; 13 August 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a German politician and revolutionary socialist. A leader of the far-left wing of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Liebknecht was a co-founder of both ...
and
Rosa Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg ( ; ; ; born Rozalia Luksenburg; 5 March 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a Polish and naturalised-German revolutionary and Marxist theorist. She was a key figure of the socialist movements in Poland and Germany in the early 20t ...
. In any case I await your verdict with composure and inner serenity. For I know that, whatever your verdict, events cannot be stopped.

Aftermath

In reaction to the two Bavarian socialist republics, whose leaders included many Jews, Bavaria, which was already conservative and anti-Semitic, became even more so. One of the people affected was Reiner Maria Rilke, who left Munich after soldiers ransacked his apartment.

Personal life and death

In 1915, Leviné married Rosa Broido (from the Polish town of Gródek), who married Ernst Meyer (1887–1930) and so became known as Meyer-Leviné, and then fled Germany when Hitler came to power and lived the rest of her life in London (1890–1979). The Levinés had at least one child, a son, whom they named Eugen. Stephen Eric Bronner considers Leviné a follower of

Rosa Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg ( ; ; ; born Rozalia Luksenburg; 5 March 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a Polish and naturalised-German revolutionary and Marxist theorist. She was a key figure of the socialist movements in Poland and Germany in the early 20t ...

(for seeking "to provide a legacy for the next generation," knowing "the soviet was doomed") and characterized him as follows:

He incarnated the best of the Bolshevik spirit. He was unyielding and dogmatic, but an honest intellectual and totally committed to the most radical utopian ideals of international revolution... ndalso exhibited exceptional bravery."

Leviné was executed, age 36, on 5 June (or 6), 1919, by firing squad in

Stadelheim Prison Stadelheim Prison (), in Munich's Giesing district, is one of the largest Prisons in Germany, prisons in Germany. Founded in 1894, it was the site of many executions, particularly by guillotine during the Nazi period. Notable inmates *Ludwig Thom ...

. Lawyer von Pestalozza arranged a Jewish funeral for the Marxist revolutionary.

Works

;Books by Eugen Leviné * ''Ahasver, Rede vor Gericht, u. anderes'' (''Wandering Jew, Speech in Court, and Others'') (1919) ** ''Skizzen, Rede vor Gericht und Anderes'' (''Sketches, Speech in Court, and Others'') (1925) * ''Stimmen der Völker zum Krieg'' (''Voices of the Nations on War'') (1925) ;Books by wife Rosa Meyer-Leviné * ''Aus der Münchener Rätezeit'' (1925) ** ''Sovetskaia respublika v Miunkhene'' (1926) * ''Leviné: Leben und Tod eines Revolutionärs'' (1972) ** ''Leviné: The Life of a Revolutionary'' (1973) * ''Leviné, the Spartacist'' (1978) * ''Im Inneren Kreis: Erinnerungen Einer Kommunistin in Deutschland, 1920–1933'' (1979) ;Near-contemporary books on Leviné * ''Eugen Leviné'' (1922) * ''Evgeny Levine'' (1927) * ''Broeder, ik kan de brief niet aannemen'' (undated)

Influence

Max Hirshberg remembered Leviné as "far superior" to Levien "in learning and spiritual purpose" but believed both had committed blindly to the "correctness of Russian methods." In 1948, American ex-Soviet agent and later

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer and intelligence agent. After early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), he defected from the Soviet u ...

cited Leviné as one of three men who inspired him to join the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...

during testimony before the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 19 ...

, quoted in his 1952 memoir:

Then I said: "When I was a Communist, I had three heroes. One was a Russian. One was a Pole. One was a German Jew. "The German Jew was Eugen Levine. He was a Communist. During the Bavarian Soviet Republic in 1919, Levine was the organizer of the Workers and Soldiers Soviets. When the Bavarian Soviet Republic was crushed, Levine was captured and courtmartialed. The court-martial told him: 'You are under sentence of death.' Levine answered: 'We Communists are always under sentence of death.'"

In 2017, Michael Löwy placed Leviné in a group of Jewish libertarians including Hans Köhn, Rudolph Kayser, and Erich Unger, as well as Toller and Manes Sperber.