Rosa Luxemburg :: essays research papers

Rosa Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg was one of the finest political theorists of the 20th century. Rosa Luxemburg was a German socialist leader and revolutionary. She was prominent in the international socialist movements in the early years of the 20th century. She believed that only socialism could bring true freedom and social justice. At the age of five she became seriously ill. After recovering she walked with a limp and later sciatic pain caused her much trouble. Rosa Luxemburg founded the German Communist party. Rosa was born into prosperous Jewish family in Russian Poland. Until recently, little was known of Rosa Luxemburg's personal history. She guarded her private life assiduously. Newly discovered information has revealed her unique family environment that can be directly attributed to her accomplishments as an adult. Her family relationship was close and always supportive. She was born on March 5, 1871 in Zamosc, Poland which was part of Russia then. She was educated in Warsaw, where she became active in political societies. In 1889 she went to Poland to avoid being arrested for her activities and settled in Switzerland. She studied natural science and political economy at the University of Zurich. While there she wrote a doctoral dissertation entitled The Industrial Development of Poland in 1898. In 1898 she migrated to Germany, acquiring citizenship by marriage to a German worker and became part of the German Social Democratic party (SPD). It was leading organization of international socialism. During the Russian Revolution of 1905 Rosa went to Warsaw to participate in the struggle and was imprisoned. After her release she taught in the SPD school in Berlin during 1907-1914 and wrote The Accumulation of Capital in 1913. At the outbreak of World War I, she and the German socialist Karl Liebknecht formed a revolutionary faction within the SPD that became known as the Spartacists.