''Der Funke'' (, "The Spark") was a daily newspaper published from

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

, Germany, from 1932 to 1933. It was the national organ of the International Socialist Struggle League (ISK). The ISK leader Willi Eichler was the editor-in-chief of ''Der Funke''. It carried the slogan "''Der Funke'', Daily Paper for Rights, Freedom and Culture". ''Der Funke'' argued for a united front against Nazism spanning from bourgeois liberals to communists. ''Der Funke'' was founded in early January 1932. The newspaper was sold by ISK members at streets, coffee shops, bars and cultural events. Its office was located at Insel Strasse. Helmuth von Rauschenplat was the economics editor of the newspaper. Other people working with ''Der Funke'' included

Grete Henry Grete Hermann (2 March 1901 – 15 April 1984) was a German mathematician and philosopher noted for her work in mathematics, physics, philosophy and education. She is noted for her early philosophical work on the foundations of quantum mecha ...

, Werner Hansen and

Gustav Heckmann Gustav Heckmann (22 April 1898 – 8 June 1996) was a German philosopher and teacher. He is particularly associated with philosophical extrapolations from the Socratic Dialogue format, pioneered by his mentor and friend Leonard Nelson, with ...

. In its 24 June 1932 issue ''Der Funke'' published the "

Urgent Call for Unity The "Urgent Call for Unity" (german: Dringender Appell für die Einheit) was an appeal by the Internationaler Sozialistischer Kampfbund (ISK) to defeat the National Socialist German Workers Party. It was signed by nearly three dozen well-known Germ ...

" ahead of the July 1932 Reichstag election. The appeal called for a defence of personal and political freedoms in Germany. The appeal argued for electoral unity between the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West German ...

(KPD) against

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

. Signatories of the appeal included

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...

Käthe Kollwitz Käthe Kollwitz ( born as Schmidt; 8 July 1867 – 22 April 1945) was a German artist who worked with painting, printmaking (including etching, lithography and woodcuts) and sculpture. Her most famous art cycles, including ''The Weavers'' and '' ...

Franz Oppenheimer Franz Oppenheimer (March 30, 1864 – September 30, 1943) was a German Jewish sociologist and political economist, who published also in the area of the fundamental sociology of the state. Life and career After studying medicine in Freiburg and ...

Arnold Zweig Arnold Zweig (10 November 1887 – 26 November 1968) was a German writer, pacifist and socialist. He is best known for his six-part cycle on World War I. Life and work Zweig was born in Glogau, Prussian Silesia (now Głogów, Poland), the son ...

Heinrich Mann Luiz Heinrich Mann (; 27 March 1871 – 11 March 1950), best known as simply Heinrich Mann, was a German author known for his socio-political novels. From 1930 until 1933, he was president of the fine poetry division of the Prussian Academy ...

and

Erich Kästner Emil Erich Kästner (; 23 February 1899 – 29 July 1974) was a German writer, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known primarily for his humorous, socially astute poems and for children's books including ''Emil and the Detectives''. He received ...

. However, neither SPD nor KPD agreed to the proposal. The newspaper was banned for four weeks in November and December 1932, following the publication of an editorial labelling president

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fr ...

as the "Protector of Fascism". The newspaper was finally banned in February 1933.

References

External links

''Der Funke'' archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Funke 1932 establishments in Germany 1933 disestablishments in Germany Defunct newspapers published in Germany German-language newspapers Newspapers published in Berlin Daily newspapers published in Germany Publications established in 1932 Publications disestablished in 1933 Socialist newspapers