Max Nettlau, born on the 30th of April in 1865, was an anarchist historian whose biographical subjects included Bakunin, Malatesta, and Élisée Reclus. His enormous collection of primary materials is held by the International Institute of Social History.

Max Nettlau was born in Neuwaldegg (Austria) to an affluent family. Nettlau's skepticism of state authority began at a young age; his memoirs state that, even as a child, he 'somehow considered the supporter of any government system as a seriously defective person'.

Formally, Nettlau studied linguistics, authoring his doctoral thesis on the Welsh language. While a student in London, he became a member of the Socialist League, the only organization he was ever to join according to the International Institute of Social History (IISG).

As an anarchist activist, Nettlau wrote articles for John Most's Freiheit and befriended famous anarchists such as Peter Kropotkin, Elisée Reclus, and Errico Malatesta.

Nettlau was an avid collector of materials of social movements. Not just manuscripts by anarchist authors (although original texts by Bakunin became a part of his collection), but the actual pamphlets, bulletins, and papers of social movements themselves.

Among Nettlau's works as an author are the first major biography of Michael Bakunin, biographies of anarchists Elisée Reclus and Errico Malatesta, and a seven volume work on the history of anarchism. A significantly shorter, one volume version is available in English as "A Short History of Anarchism".

In 1935, Nettlau sold his archive (described by the IISH as "enormous") to the newly found International Institute of Social History, where it remains to this day.

Nettlau died 1944 from stomach cancer in Amsterdam, having fled his native Austria follow the country's "Anschluss" to Nazi Germany in 1938.

"Do I want to propose my own system? Not at all! I am an advocate of all systems, i.e. of all forms of government that find followers."

  • Max Nettlau in "PANARCHY. A Forgotten Idea of 1860" (1905)

A Short History of Anarchism by Max Nettlau

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  • SexUnderSocialism [she/her]
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    edit-2
    7 months ago

    Bunch of little shits have been ringing my doorbell and running away. I managed to catch them in the act, and told them that because I caught them doing it, they'll now have to target a neighbor. Even though my first instinct was to tell them to stop, they're little kids, and they deserve to have some fun. I don't want them to think of me as a scary witch lady. My initial thought was: "My god, are these kids bored out of their fucking minds." chomsky-yes-honey

    • Frank [he/him, he/him]
      ·
      7 months ago

      Ding dong ditch is a popular bored kids tradition. I didn't know anyone still did it, that's cute. : )

      • SexUnderSocialism [she/her]
        ·
        7 months ago

        I was just as surprised as you! I haven't seen kids do it in ages. I thought they were all into Fortnite and tablets these days. Shows what I know. Looks like the youth are retvrning to tradition.

    • Acute_Engles [he/him, any]
      ·
      7 months ago

      I'm maybe being a little paranoid but if I lived in the US and saw kids randomly ringing doorbells I'd be terrified they're going to get blasted with some 75 year old's blunderbuss

      • SexUnderSocialism [she/her]
        ·
        7 months ago

        That does sound scary. I don't live in the US, so fortunately the kids here ringing doorbells are unlikely to run into an unhinged neighbor with a gun.

    • TRexBear
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      7 months ago

      deleted by creator

      • SexUnderSocialism [she/her]
        ·
        7 months ago

        Before you know it, I'll have them turned into little Red Guards, making this town unsafe for all the local reactionaries. sicko-flipped

        • TRexBear
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          7 months ago

          deleted by creator