Franz Marek (1913–1979) was an Austrian communist politician who edited '' Weg und Ziel'', a monthly journal of the

Communist Party of Austria The Communist Party of Austria (, KPÖ) is a communist party in Austria. Established in 1918 as the Communist Party of Republic of German-Austria, German-Austria (KPDÖ), it is one of the world's oldest Communist party, communist parties. The KP� ...

. British historian

Eric Hobsbawm Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm (; 9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) was a British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism. His best-known works include his tetralogy about what he called the "long 19th century" (''Th ...

described Franz Marek as his hero of the 20th century.

Early life

He was born Ephraim Feuerlicht in

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or colloquially Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia (Eastern Europe), Galicia in Eastern Europe. The Cr ...

, on 18 April 1913 into a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family. They moved to Vienna, and he was raised there in the St. Leopold district. He was one of the founders of a youth organization targeting

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

junior high school students. Next he became a member of the

Hashomer Hatzair Hashomer Hatzair (, , 'The Young Guard') is a Labor Zionism, Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary. It was also the name of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party, the ...

, a socialist and Zionist youth movement.

Career and views

In 1934 Marek joined the Communist Party. He exiled to France in 1938 when Austria became part of the

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. He was one of the leaders of the French resistance movement and coedited a publication entitled ''Nouvelles d’Autriche–Österreichische Nachrichten''. When France was occupied by the Nazis Marek was arrested and sentenced to death and was freed only after the

liberation of Paris The liberation of Paris () was a battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Armisti ...

in 1944. He could return to Austria in 1946. He assumed several posts in the Communist Party and was appointed

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of ''Weg und Ziel'', party's theoretical journal, in 1946. He also edited ''Wiener Tagebuch''. In 1948 Marek was made a member of the political bureau of the Communist Party. Marek first adhered to the

Stalinist Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...

approach. In 1960s he became a critic of it and proposed to develop a European version of communism termed as

Eurocommunism Eurocommunism was a trend in the 1970s and 1980s within various Western European communist parties, which said they had developed a theory and practice of social transformation more relevant for Western Europe. During the Cold War, they sough ...

. He and another party member Ernst Fischer produced many writings on

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

and

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

in 1968 and 1969 to show that the genuine

Marxism–Leninism Marxism–Leninism () is a communist ideology that became the largest faction of the History of communism, communist movement in the world in the years following the October Revolution. It was the predominant ideology of most communist gov ...

was very different from the

Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...

-based Communism. Marek also published German version of the book ''Testament of Vargas'' in 1969 which contained criticisms of the Hungarian economist

Eugen Varga Eugen Samuilovich "Jenő" Varga (born as Eugen Weisz, November 6, 1879 – October 7, 1964) was a Soviet economist of Hungarian origin. Biography Early years He was born as Jenő Weiß (Hungarian orthography: Weisz) in a poor Jewish family, as ...

. Due to these views and his stance against the

invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The in ...

by the Soviet Union he was removed from the Communist Party led by

Franz Muhri Franz Muhri (1924–2001) was a politician who headed the Communist Party of Austria between 1965 and 1990. Early life and education Muhri was born in Steyregg, Upper Austria, on 21 October 1924. He completed his primary school education worked ...

in 1970.

Personal life and death

Marek was married to

Tilly Spiegel Ottilie "Tilly" Spiegel (10 December 1906 - 1988) was an Austrian political activist, first as a member of the Communist Party and then as part of the wartime resistance. After her actions had earned her a term of imprisonment during the Austrof ...

who was also a resistance member. They divorced in 1974. He later married journalist Barbara Coudenhove. Marek died of a heart attack on 28 June 1979.

Legacy

In 2017 Marek's memoirs were edited by Maximilian Graf und Sarah Knoll and published under the title ''Franz Marek. Beruf und Berufung Kommunist'' by the Mandelbaum Verlag.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marek, Franz 20th-century Austrian journalists 20th-century Austrian politicians 1913 births 1979 deaths Austrian expatriates in France Austrian Jews Communist Party of Austria politicians Jewish socialists Jewish journalists Jews in the French resistance Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) People from Przemyśl Politicians from Vienna