Karl Paul August Friedrich Liebknecht, born on this day in 1871, was a German socialist politician and theorist. Originally associated with the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Liebknecht later became a co-founder with Rosa Luxemburg of both the Spartacus League and the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). Liebknecht is also known for his outspoken opposition to World War I.

The son of Wilhelm Liebknecht, one of the founders of the SPD, Karl Liebknecht trained to be a lawyer and defended many Social Democrats in political trials. He was also a leading figure in the socialist youth movement and thus became a leading figure in the struggle against militarism.

As a deputy in the Reichstag he was one of the first SPD representatives to break party discipline and vote against war credits in December 1914. He became a figurehead for the struggle against the war. His opposition was so successful that his parliamentary immunity was removed and he was improsoned.

Freed by the November revolution he immediately threw himself into the struggle and became with Rosa Luxemburg one of the founders of the new Communist Party (KPD)

In January 1919, the Spartacus League played a leading role in the Spartacist Uprising, a general strike and armed rebellion in Berlin. The uprising was crushed by the SPD government and the Freikorps (paramilitary units composed of World War I veterans). For their role in the uprising, Liebknecht and Luxemburg were both kidnapped, tortured, and murdered on January 15th, 1919.

Their contributions to European socialism are commemorated annually in Germany during the second weekend of January, an event known as the Liebknecht-Luxemburg Demonstration, or "LL-Demo" for short.

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  • LanyrdSkynrd [comrade/them, any]
    ·
    5 months ago

    I came out of the supermarket the other day and there was a lifted pickup truck blasting the South Park song, "Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo". I can't see anyone sitting in the driver's seat of the truck, so I assumed it was someone IRL trolling or something.

    I get around the other side and a 50ish man is helping a woman climb into the stupid monster truck. I guess this couple earnestly likes listening to South Park music?

    • someone [comrade/them, they/them]
      ·
      5 months ago

      South Park's main demographic in 2024 is 50-year-old men who think that being a public asshole is the peak of hilarity. He would have been in his early 20s when South Park first aired.

      • LanyrdSkynrd [comrade/them, any]
        ·
        5 months ago

        I realized they were in the right age group when I looked the song up, but listening to that to be funny seemed at odds with the way they looked. They're probably not that much older than me, but they looked like frail old people to me. It was a whole ordeal to get her in the truck.

        • bigboopballs [he/him]
          ·
          edit-2
          5 months ago

          Listening to South Park music and driving a truck is not a healthy lifestyle.