Wilhelm Weitling
Wilhelm Weitling was a notable German communist theoretician and writer born in 1808 in Magdeburg, Germany. As the illegitimate son of a seamstress and a French soldier, Weitling faced various societal challenges throughout his life. He worked as a tailor and traveled extensively across Europe, which influenced his political beliefs. In Paris, he became a founding member of the League of Outlaws, a socialist group that later evolved into the Communist League. Weitling authored significant works, including "Die Menschheit, wie sie ist und wie sie sein sollte" and "Das Evangelium des Armen Sünders," the latter of which resulted in his imprisonment for blasphemy. After serving fourteen months in prison, he relocated to Brussels and later immigrated to the United States. Weitling's attempts to promote socialist ideals included editing a journal and establishing a workers' cooperative. However, his later years were marked by struggles, including a legal dispute with the Singer Sewing Company and a return to tailoring. He passed away in 1867 at the age of sixty-two, leaving behind a complex legacy in the history of socialist thought.
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Wilhelm Weitling
Writer
- Born: October 5, 1808
- Birthplace: Magdeburg, Germany
- Died: January 22, 1871
- Place of death: New York, New York
Biography
Wilhelm Weitling, a nineteenth century communist theoretician and writer, was born in Magdeburg, Germany, in 1808. He was the illegitimate son of Christine Weitling, a seamstress, and Guillame Terijou, a French soldier. After completing his education, he apprenticed as a tailor, and as journeyman tailor he traveled to many cities, including Leipzig and Dresden in Germany, Vienna, and Paris. While in Paris, Weitling became a founding member of the League of Outlaws, a German socialist organization. This organization was eventually renamed the Communist League.
In 1838, Weitling published his first work titled Die Menschheit, wie sie ist und wie sie sein sollte. This work presented a blueprint for a utopian society based on a socialistic interpretation of the Bible. In 1839, Weitling relocated to Zurich, Switzerland, where he founded the periodical Der Hulferief der Deutschen Jugend. Weitling used his periodical as a platform for his radical political beliefs.
In 1843, Weitling produced another book, Das Evangelium des Armen Sünders (The Poor Sinner’s Gospel, 1969). This work presented Weitling’s interpretation of Christ as a communist who preached the abolition of private property. The publication of Das Evangelium des Armen Sünders led to Weitling’s arrest for blasphemy. He was imprisoned for fourteen months and banished from Switzerland for five years. While in prison, Weitling wrote a collection of poems, Kerkerpoesien, that generated a great deal of interest in Weitling’s radical beliefs.
After his release from prison, Weitling moved to Brussels, Belgium, where he associated with Karl Marx. In 1847, after a confrontation with Marx, Weitling immigrated to the United States and settled in New York City. He returned to Germany a year later, where once again his radical political positions placed him in jeopardy of being arrested. In 1849, he fled back to New York, and while there he edited and published a utopian socialist journal, Republik der Arbeiter. He also attempted to establish a worker’s cooperative bank and a communist settlement in Communia, Iowa.
In 1854, Weitling married Dorothea Caroline Louise Toedt; they had six children. In his later years, Weitling’s newspaper collapsed and he was unable to find publishers for his work. Consequently, he returned to tailoring and invented a prototype of a buttonhole and embroidery machine. His final years were spent in a legal battle with the Singer Sewing Company over a disputed patent. He died in 1867 at the age of sixty-two.