Martin Monath
A Jewish Resistance Fighter Among Nazi Soldiers
Published on 20. October 2019
Book
Paperback/Softback
208 pages
978-0-7453-3995-5 (ISBN)
Description
A dramatisation of Martin Monath's short life (1913-1944) would need little artistic embellishment; his identity shrouded in mystery, and executed by the Gestapo - twice - the historical record reads like a detective novel.
Pieced together for the first time by Wladek Flakin, this biography tells the story of the Jewish socialist and editor of Arbeiter und Soldat ('Worker and Soldier'), and his efforts to turn German rank-and-file soldiers against their Nazi officers in occupied France. Born in Berlin in 1913, Martin Monath was a child of war and revolution. In the 1930s he became a leader of the socialist Zionist youth organisation Hashomer Hatzair in Germany. Fleeing from Berlin to Brussels in 1939, he joined the underground Trotskyist party led by Abraham Leon, and soon became a leading member of the Fourth International in Europe. His relocation to Paris in 1943 saw the birth of Arbeiter und Soldat and his work organising illegal cells of German soldiers for a revolutionary struggle against the Nazis.
Drawing on extensive archival research, Flakin uses letters, testimonies and unpublished documents to bring Monath's story to life - weaving a tale rich with conviction and betrayal, ideology and espionage.
Pieced together for the first time by Wladek Flakin, this biography tells the story of the Jewish socialist and editor of Arbeiter und Soldat ('Worker and Soldier'), and his efforts to turn German rank-and-file soldiers against their Nazi officers in occupied France. Born in Berlin in 1913, Martin Monath was a child of war and revolution. In the 1930s he became a leader of the socialist Zionist youth organisation Hashomer Hatzair in Germany. Fleeing from Berlin to Brussels in 1939, he joined the underground Trotskyist party led by Abraham Leon, and soon became a leading member of the Fourth International in Europe. His relocation to Paris in 1943 saw the birth of Arbeiter und Soldat and his work organising illegal cells of German soldiers for a revolutionary struggle against the Nazis.
Drawing on extensive archival research, Flakin uses letters, testimonies and unpublished documents to bring Monath's story to life - weaving a tale rich with conviction and betrayal, ideology and espionage.
Reviews / Votes
'Highly readable and admirably informed, this is a beautiful portrait of Martin Monath, the Marxist revolutionary who remains little known, even among the left' -- Enzo Traverso, author of 'The End of Jewish Modernity' (Pluto, 2016) 'Meticulously researched and written with an evident love and admiration' -- Marcus Barnett, Tribune 'Highly absorbing ... an indispensable life is restored to the landscape of anti-fascist history' -- Alan Wald, author of 'Exiles from a Future Time: The Forging of the Mid-Twentieth-Century Literary Left' 'This incredibly brave, remarkably vibrant young militant has much to teach through his resistance to racism and fascist violence, and his struggle for a socialist future worthy of human beings' -- Paul Le Blanc, author of 'Revolutionary Studies: Theory, History, People' 'A lively, readable and often moving narrative. Monath was a genuine internationalist and his life has many lessons for activists in our own day' -- Ian BirchallMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Illustrations
13 b&w photographs
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 127 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
232 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7453-3995-5 (9780745339955)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
10/2019
1st Edition
Pluto Press
€9.49
Available for download
Person
Nathaniel Flakin is a freelance journalist and historian based in Berlin. He is the author of Martin Monath: A Jewish Resistance Fighter Among Nazi Soldiers.
Nathaniel Flakin is a journalist and historian based in Berlin. He writes a monthly history column for The Berliner magazine, and a weekly Berlin politics column that appears in The Left Berlin. He regularly leads walking tours through Berlin showing off sites from Berlin's radical history. He is the author of Martin Monath: A Jewish Resistance Fighter Among Nazi Soldiers and Revolutionary Berlin: A Walkng Guide. He is currently working on a children's book about Rosa Luxemburg and editing a collection of Trotsky's writings on antisemitism.
Nathaniel Flakin is a journalist and historian based in Berlin. He writes a monthly history column for The Berliner magazine, and a weekly Berlin politics column that appears in The Left Berlin. He regularly leads walking tours through Berlin showing off sites from Berlin's radical history. He is the author of Martin Monath: A Jewish Resistance Fighter Among Nazi Soldiers and Revolutionary Berlin: A Walkng Guide. He is currently working on a children's book about Rosa Luxemburg and editing a collection of Trotsky's writings on antisemitism.
Content
List of Abbreviations
Preface
PART I - MARTIN MONATH
1. Introduction
2. A Jewish Boy from Berlin
3. Letters from Berlin and Brussels
4. Underground
5. The End
6. Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
PART II - WORKER AND SOLDIER
Worker and Soldier: Notes on Translation
No. 1, July 1943
No. 2, August 1943
No. 3, September 1943
[No. 4, April-May 1944]
[No. 5] Special Issue - June 1944
[No. 6] July 1944
Newspaper for Soldier and Worker in the West
No. 2 [Summer 1943]
Index
Preface
PART I - MARTIN MONATH
1. Introduction
2. A Jewish Boy from Berlin
3. Letters from Berlin and Brussels
4. Underground
5. The End
6. Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
PART II - WORKER AND SOLDIER
Worker and Soldier: Notes on Translation
No. 1, July 1943
No. 2, August 1943
No. 3, September 1943
[No. 4, April-May 1944]
[No. 5] Special Issue - June 1944
[No. 6] July 1944
Newspaper for Soldier and Worker in the West
No. 2 [Summer 1943]
Index