Josef Dietzgen

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Josef Dietzgen
Signature of Josef Dietzgen

Peter Josef Dietzgen , known as Josef Dietzgen (born December 9, 1828 in the city ​​of Blankenberg , today a district of Hennef in the Rhein-Sieg district; † April 15, 1888 in Chicago ) was a materialistic philosopher , socialist theorist and journalist of the German labor movement and . of the German-speaking labor movement in New York and Chicago.

Life & Creation

Family and education

Peter Josef Dietzgen came from a long-established family of tanners and farmers in the Siegtal valley. He was the first of five children of the tanner Johann Gottfried Anno Dietzgen (1794–1887) and his wife Anna Margaretha Lückerath (1808–1881). Practically nothing is known about the siblings. Two brothers are mentioned in letters on family questions. There you can find out their names, Philipp and Cornell, and that they emigrated to the USA at some point.

Josef's father, Johann Dietzgen, had learned the tanning trade from his father and set up his own business in the town of Blankenberg, which he moved to Uckerath , a village with around 400 inhabitants, in 1835 . Father Johann is portrayed by Eugen Dietzgen , Josef Dietzgen's eldest son, as a sedate, "real petty bourgeois" who had achieved a modest level of prosperity. It is stated about the mother that she was “spiritually gifted”.

After attending primary school in Uckerath, his parents made it possible for Josef to attend the Cologne Citizens' School for two years and then to attend the pastor's Latin school in the nearby Oberpleis for six months . As a result, Josef began his four-year apprenticeship as a tanner with his father - extremely unusual for the time - only at the age of 17. During his apprenticeship he found the opportunity to teach himself French and in the memoirs from the pen of Eugen D. it is said that an open book was always lying next to him while he was working. The books he read were of a philosophical, economic and aesthetic nature. A playmate from childhood and childhood friend, Josef Schmitz, who studied law in Bonn and was a member of a fraternity there, offered the opportunity to discuss and debate political issues and possibly gave the suggestion to read the literature of " Jeune France " and the " Young Germany ”. A few surviving poems from the pen of Josef Dietzgen from around 1848 completely reflect the enthusiasm for the “social question”, as can also be found in the products of the literary Vormärz . There is no evidence that J. Dietzgen was familiar with the literature of early French socialists such as Henri de Saint-Simon , Louis Blanc and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon at this time . It is known, however, that he was an admirer of Pierre-Jean de Béranger and the Scottish poet Robert Burns, who was translated into German by Ferdinand Freiligrath . Béranger's portrait still adorned Dietzgen's study in 1882.

Political engagement and global citizenship

Even Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels interested him. He made inflammatory speeches in Uckerath. He left Germany in the course of the revolutionary events in 1848 and went into exile in the USA . There he lived as a teacher, tanner, painter or tramp. He returned to Germany in 1851 and worked for his father. In 1852 he became a member of the " League of Communists ". 1853 after marrying Cordula Finke from Drolshagen , he founded in Winter Scheid a grocery store with a bakery and tannery. Soon he also opened a branch in Ruppichteroth . In Winterscheid the couple had four daughters (Adelgunde 1854-1859, Margarethe * 1855, Pauline * 1857 and Adelgunde 1859-1869 / 70). Two sons were born in 1862 (Eugen, † 1929) and 1870 (Peter Josef).

In 1859 Dietzgen emigrated again to the USA for economic reasons and founded a tannery in Montgomery , Alabama , where he campaigned for the abolition of slavery . In 1861 he returned to his father after the outbreak of the Civil War . He was president of the Siegburg Society for Scientific Entertainment, founded in 1862 . He was a member of the International Workers' Association and tried, among other things, to help the workers of the Siegburg calico factory and the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Hütte .

In 1863 he applied for an advertisement in the Kölnische Zeitung, received a visit from the Russian chamberlain Gouraux and left with him. From 1864 to 1868 he was head of a government tannery in Saint Petersburg , Russia , where he quintupled production. On October 24th / November 7th, 1867 he began his correspondence with Karl Marx. He wrote his book The essence of human brainwork in 1868. After his return it was printed in Hamburg in 1869.

In 1869 Dietzgen inherited his uncle's tannery in Siegburg and, despite the successes, returned home. At that time Dietzgen was becoming a prominent figure within the socialist movement in Germany. He then lived in Siegburg, where he was visited by Karl Marx with his daughter Jenny in September 1869 . Dietzgen was a delegate of the Social Democratic Labor Party at the Eisenach Congress in August 1873. Marx praised him at the The Hague Congress of the International Workers' Association with the words: “This is our philosopher”, and also praised him for his review of the first edition of the capital in the “Afterword for the second edition “of his first volume of the capital 1872. In 1869 Dietzgen became a member of the Social Democratic Workers' Party and wrote for the Social Democratic press during this time. He also had contact with the philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach .

Persecution and emigration

Dietzgen's grave in Waldheim Cemetery, Chicago

In 1880, after being mentioned by the Social Democrat of Berlin in Siegburg, the question was asked “what kind of subject this Dietzgen was and whether there were any more Social Democrats in Siegburg”. The mayor's reply was that there was only one person who lived in seclusion as a tanner and occasionally wrote for the Social Democrats. That was a soothing statement and would have fit Josef's brother, Philipp Dietzgen, who was the only member of the Social Democrats and tanner in Eitorf from 1861 to 1875 .

After the introduction of the Socialist Laws , for which two unsuccessful attacks on Kaiser Wilhelm I served as a pretext, the Social Democrats were watched even more closely. One of the now eight Siegburg Social Democrats, the shoemaker Josef Palm, made politically incorrect comments about the Kaiser during a business visit, was betrayed, imprisoned and committed suicide. On June 8, 1878, Dietzgen was arrested because of the article presented in Cologne and later printed, The Future of Social Democracy . He was acquitted three months later and his writings released. In 1880 he sent his son Eugen to the USA. He later transferred the rights to the publication of his writings to him, but ordered the money to be transferred to the city of Siegburg.

In 1884 he finally emigrated with the other children to the USA, where he first worked as an editor for the Socialist in New York and from 1886 for the workers' voice in Chicago . Dietzgen died on April 15, 1888 in Chicago.

Dialectical materialism

Josef Dietzgen wrote theories on dialectical materialism independently of Marx and Engels . He later became familiar with the theories of Marx and Engels and ardent supporters of their assumptions, as evidenced by a letter from Dietzgen to Marx.

Honors

GDR postage stamp from 1978

A bronze relief with his portrait was placed on the place where he was born: "This is where the work-philosopher Josef Dietzgen was born from 1828–1888". Josef-Dietzgen-Straße was named after him in his hometown .

On January 30, 1933, in Berlin-Neukölln , Buckow district, the "Dietzgenweg" was named after him, and on August 8, 1935, it was renamed "Glimmerweg". On April 12, 1951, the “Dietzgenstrasse” in Berlin's Pankow district was renamed after him.

On July 18, 1978, the stamp shown was issued in his honor.

Entry in the Confession book by Jenny Marx (daughter)

Presumably in September 1869, Dietzgen filled out the questionnaire. Dietzgen answered Jenny's English questions in German:

question answer
Your favorite virtue (Your favorite virtue) truthfulness
- quality in man clear will, decisive action
- - at the woman (- - woman) Love, humility, meekness
- chief characteristic Langmuth
Conception of happiness (Idea of happiness) Carelessness and work
- - misery (- - misery) Toothache, physical pain
The vice that excuse (The vice you excuse) Vanity, addiction to cleaning
- - loathe (- - detest) The affair among the people
Their dislike (Your aversion) Cream puff egg
The person you least favorite (The character you most dislike) Arrogance
Favorite activity (Favorite occupation) Leather making and - rid the world of tyrants
- hero (- hero) Moses slays the Egyptians
- heroine (- heroine) Charlotte Corday
- poet (- poet) Freiligrath , Heine
- writer (- prose writer) Marx, Feuerbach
- flower (-flower) -
- color (- color) -
- maxim (- maxim) We have loved long enough / and finally want to hate
- motto (- motto) Since life can litte more supply / Than just to look about us and to die / Let us free expantiate over all this / scene of man.
Jos. Dietzgen

Works (selection)

  • A few words about the nature of money ; The Lassallean Ideas ; The social question (economic crises) ; Labor and capital ; The arts and crafts ; The science and the craft . In: Palmblatt , St. Petersburg 1868
  • Sketches from the field of political economy . In: Gerber newspaper. Newspaper for the leather manufacturing and leather trade . May 31, 1868
  • "The capital". Critique of the political economy by Karl Marx. Hamburg 1867 . In: Democratic weekly paper . No. 31 of August 1, 1868, No. 34 of August 22, 1868, No. 35 of August 29, 1869 and No. 36 of September 6, 1868.
  • The essence of human brainwork. Presented by a manual worker. Another criticism of pure and practical reason , Otto Meißner , Hamburg 1869 online
  • Civil society. Lecture . Publishing house of the cooperative book printing company, Leipzig 1876
  • The religion of social democracy. Five pulpit speeches . 3rd probably edition. Verlag der Genossenschaftsbuchdruckerei, Leipzig 1877.
  • National-economic. Lectures . 2nd impression. Verlag der Genossenschaftsbuchdruckerei, Leipzig 1877 Digitized edition of the University and State Library Düsseldorf
  • anonymous: Theology in disguise . In: The new time . Revue of intellectual and public life 1883, issue 7, pp. 327–331 online
  • Forays of a socialist into the field of epistemology . Verlag der Volksbuchhandlung, Hottingen-Zürich 1887 (= Social Democratic Library XVIII)
  • The human soul . In: The new time. Review of intellectual and public life . 6 (1888), No. 6, pp. 272-278 online
  • All writings , ed. by Eugen Dietzgen, Wiesbaden, 1911. 4th edition, Berlin, 1930.
  • Writings in three volumes , ed. from the working group for philosophy at the German Academy of Sciences of the GDR in Berlin, Berlin, 1961, 1962, 1965.
  • The Nature of the Human Mind and Other Scriptures. Edited and with an afterword by Hellmut G. Haasis , Darmstadt, Neuwied, Luchterhand, Luchterhand Collection , No. 50, 1973.
    • The essence of human brainwork. Presented by a manual worker. Another critique of pure and practical reason. With an appendix by Anton Pannekoek, August Thalheimer and a letter from Dietzgen to Karl Marx. Edited by Marvin Chlada, Tayfun Demir and Bernd Kalus. Trikont-Duisburg publisher, Dialog-Edition publisher, Duisburg-Istanbul 2018, ISBN 978-3-945634-36-3

literature

  • Eugen Dietzgen: Josef Dietzgen. An outline of his life . In: The new time. Review of intellectual and public life . 13.1894-95, Volume 2 (1895), Issue 49, pp. 721-726 Online
  • Anton Pannekoek , "The position and meaning of Josef Dietzgen's philosophical work" in: Josef Dietzgen, The essence of human brain work; Another critique of pure and practical reason . JHW Dietz Nachf., Stuttgart 1903
  • Friedrich Adolph Sorge (ed.): Letters and excerpts from letters from Joh. Phil. Becker , Jos. Dietzgen, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx and others to FA Sorge and others . JHW Dietz Nachf., Stuttgart 1906 archive. org
  • Ernst Untermann: The logical shortcomings of narrower Marxism. Georg Plechanow et alii against Josef Dietzgen. Also a contribution to the history of materialism . Edited and foresaw by Eugen Dietzgen. Dietzgen's Philosophy Publishing House, Munich 1910
  • Josef Dietzgen's philosophy explained in its meaning for the proletariat by Henriette Roland Holst . Edited by Eugen Dietzgen. Dietzgen's Philosophy Publishing House, Munich 1910
  • Adolf Hepner : Josef Dietzgens Philosophical Teachings. With a portrait of Josef Dietzgen . JHW Dietz Nachf., Stuttgart 1916 (International Library Vol. 58)
  • H. Gepe: On the philosophy of socialism. A picture of Josef Dietzgen. JHW Dietz Nachf., Stuttgart 1923.
  • Max Apel: Introduction to Josef Dietzgen's world of thought. A critique of the materialistic worldview . JHW Dietz, Berlin 1931.
  • Iring Fetscher :  Dietzgen, Joseph. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 3, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1957, ISBN 3-428-00184-2 , p. 709 ( digitized version ).
  • Joseph Dietzgen . In: Franz Osterroth : Biographical Lexicon of Socialism . Volume I. Deceased personalities. JHW Dietz Nachf., Hannover 1960, p. 64.
  • J. Walterscheid: Peter Josef Dietzgen - The Siegburg work philosopher . In: Heimatblätter des Siegkreis 32, Issue 86, 1964
  • Otto Finger: Dietzgen, Joseph . In: History of the German labor movement. Biographical Lexicon . Dietz Verlag, Berlin 1970, pp. 93-94
  • Otto Finger: Joseph Dietzgen - contribution to the achievements of the German worker philosopher . Dietz Verlag, Berlin 1977.
  • Gabriel Busch OSB: Victory in the mirror. Publishing house Michaelsberg Abbey, Siegburg 1979.
  • Gerhard Huck: Joseph Dietzgen (1828–1888) - A contribution to the history of ideas of socialism in the 19th century (= history and society, Bochumer Historische Schriften, Volume 22). Stuttgart 1979, ISBN 3-12-913170-1 .
  • Horst-D. Strüning: Philosophy is a workers' business. Josef Dietzgen's contribution to Marxism . In: Deutsche Volkszeitung. No. 1 of January 4, 1979, p. 8
  • Horst Dieter Strüning (Ed.): "Our Philosopher" Josef Dietzgen. With contributions by Wolfgang Abendroth , Hans-Josef Steinberg , Manfred Hahn , Hans Jörg Sandkühler , Martin Blankenburg, Joachim Kahl , Jasper Schaaf, Vera Wrona . Verlag Marxistische Blätter, Frankfurt am Main 1980, ISBN 3-88012-620-8 .
  • Otto Finger: Dietzgen, Joseph . In: Philosophers' Lexicon . Verlag das Europäische Buch, West Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-88436-133-3 , pp. 197-203.
  • Helmut Fischer: The place of birth of the 'worker philosopher' Josef Dietzgen in the city of Blankenberg . In: Yearbook of the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis . 1988: 68-72 (1987)

Web links

Commons : Joseph Dietzgen  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Josef Dietzgen: Letter to Karl Marx (November 7, 1867). (pdf; 2.3 MB) In: Die Neue Zeit. No. 4 (run No. 30) 20th year. 2nd volume. 1901/1902, pp. 126–128 , accessed on May 18, 2020 (reproduced on the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung website). Josef Dietzgen: Letter to Karl Marx. November 7, 1867, Retrieved May 18, 2020 (reproduced from marxists.org).
  2. ^ Marx-Engels works . Volume 32, p. 371.
  3. ^ Dieter Fricke : The German labor movement 1869-1914. A manual about their organization and activity in the class struggle . Dietz Verlag, Berlin 1976, p. 46.
  4. ^ Marx-Engels works . Volume 23, p. 22.
  5. ↑ Dietzgen to Feuerbach June 24, 1855 ( Joseph Dietzgen. Writings in three volumes . Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1965, pp. 397–398.)
  6. ^ Family Marx private . Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-05-004118-8 , pp. 316-317, fig. 42.
  7. ^ Lines from the poem by Georg Herwegh : Das Lied vom Hassen (1841).
  8. ↑ From Alexander Pope : An Essay on Man .
  9. ↑ Printed in: CA Korol'ĉuk, NB Kruškol: On the propagation of the economic doctrine of Karl Marx in Russia in the sixties of the 19th century. Six contributions by Joseph Dietzgen . In: Contributions to the history of the labor movement . 1973, issue 1, p. 65 ff.
personal data
SURNAME Dietzgen, Josef
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dietzgen, Peter Josef (full name); Dietzgen, Joseph; Dietzgen, Peter Joseph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German worker philosopher and journalist
DATE OF BIRTH December 9, 1828
PLACE OF BIRTH City of Blankenberg near Siegburg
DATE OF DEATH April 15, 1888
Place of death Chicago