Adolf Hepner (November 24, 1846 – April 26, 1923) was a German-American writer. His association with the

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together wi ...

led to him being a co-defendant in the Leipzig high treason trial. He was a journalist for papers in both

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Early life and education

Adolf Hepner was born on November 24, 1846, in Schmiegel, Posen (modern day

Śmigiel Śmigiel is a town in Kościan County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 5,536 inhabitants (2010). History Śmigiel was granted town rights in 1415 or perhaps earlier. It was a private town of Polish nobility, administratively located ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

). He went to the gymnasium school in Lissa (modern day

Leszno Leszno (, , ) is a historic city in western Poland, seat of Leszno County within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seventh-largest city in the province with an estimated population of 62,200, as of 2021. Leszno is a former residential cit ...

) before his stint in a Breslau Rabbinical seminary. He attended college at the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

(modern day University of Wrocław) before he went to college at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

Career

In 1868, Hepner began to become a socialist and he moved on to

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

where became an editor for a socialistic paper. He was associated with

Wilhelm Liebknecht Wilhelm Martin Philipp Christian Ludwig Liebknecht (; 29 March 1826 – 7 August 1900) was a German socialist activist and politician. He was one of the principal founders of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).August Bebel Ferdinand August Bebel (; 22 February 1840 – 13 August 1913) was a German socialist activist and politician. He was one of the principal founders of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Bebel, a woodworker by trade, co-founded the Sa ...

around his time at the paper. In 1872 he was tried for high treason and soon acquitted with his treason charges stemming from Hepner promoting socialist activities through journalism. His co defendants, Liebknecht and Bebel weren't acquitted like he was. Later that year, Hepner violated Leipzig police director Ruder's prohibition when he visited the International Workers' Congress of the International Workers Association. Hepner took a delegate with him''Die I. Internationale in Deutschland''. Berlin 1964, S. 673. as he met Karl Marx and some similar people whom he knew personally as he got ready for his speech. On September 6, 1872, at

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, Hepner made a speech in support of German workers where he expressed his views on how the lack of authority felled the commune. Hepner was put in jail not too long after in part due to Hepner offending the chief constable but he was soon released. Back at the Der Volksstaat, Hepner's rocky relationship with Theodor Yorck eventually led to Hepner being let go of his role at the paper. Hepner moved to Breslau after he was forced out of Leipsic and subsequently he began a failed job as a publisher for his A. Hepner Breslau publishing house. Hepner moved to

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

in 1886 after emigrating to the

four years earlier due to oppression he faced there as a socialist. He got back into editing as he was an editor for the ''St. Louis Tageblatt'' where he worked for ten years from 1888 to 1898. He also was hired to edit the Westliche Post where he worked for some years.

Later life and death

Hepner went back to Germany in 1908 where he became a writer for the

Die Neue Zeit ''Die Neue Zeit'' ("The New Times") was a German socialist theoretical journal of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) that was published from 1883 to 1923. Its headquarters was in Stuttgart, Germany. History and profile Founded by lead ...

Süddeutsche Monatshefte ' ("South German Monthly", also credited as ') was a German magazine published in Munich between January 1904 and September 1936. After beginnings as an art and literary venue, liberal but highly critical of modernism, it made a turn toward polit ...

and similar publications. Hepner died on April 26, 1923.

Works

Hepner wrote various political essays like ''America's Aid to Germany in 1870-1871'' in 1904 and other works like a one act play titled ''Good Night, Schatz'' in 1894.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hepner, Adolf 1846 births 1923 deaths People from Śmigiel German journalists German social democrats Members of the International Workingmen's Association English–German translators Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians University of Breslau alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni