Friedrich Wolfgang "Fritz" Adler (9 July 1879 – 2 January 1960) was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

politician, physicist, philosopher and journalist. He is perhaps best known for his

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

of Minister-President

Karl von Stürgkh Count Karl von Stürgkh (30 October 1859 – 21 October 1916) was an Austrian politician and Minister-President of Cisleithania during the 1914 July Crisis that led to the outbreak of World War I. He was shot and killed by the Social Democratic ...

in 1916.

Early years

Friedrich Wolfgang Adler was born 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 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, the son of politician

Victor Adler __NOTOC__ Victor Adler (24 June 1852 – 11 November 1918) was an Austrian politician, a leader of the labour movement and founder of the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP). Life Adler was born on 24 June 1852, in Prague, the son of a Jewi ...

(1852–1918), founder of the Austrian Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAP), and his wife Emma, née Braun (1858–1935), sister of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

publisher

Heinrich Braun Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Braun (1 January 1862 – 26 April 1934) was a German surgeon remembered for his work in the field of anaesthesiology. He was a native of Rawitsch, Province of Posen (today called Rawicz, Poland). Braun attended the K ...

. Following his father's wishes, he studied chemistry, physics and mathematics at the

ETH Zurich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

, where he became a close friend of

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

Political career

He committed himself to the

Social Democratic Party of Switzerland The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (, SP; ), also called the Swiss Socialist Party (; , PS), is a List of political parties in Switzerland, political party in Switzerland. The SP has had two representatives on the Federal Council (Switzerl ...

and in 1897 joined the association of Austrian Social Democrats, working as a journalist. In 1910, Adler became editor of the newspaper ''Volksrecht'' in Zurich. While still established at the ETH, Adler participated in the philosophical discussion about

Ernst Mach Ernst Waldfried Josef Wenzel Mach ( ; ; 18 February 1838 – 19 February 1916) was an Austrian physicist and philosopher, who contributed to the understanding of the physics of shock waves. The ratio of the speed of a flow or object to that of ...

, publishing ''Die Entdeckung der Weltelemente (zu E. Machs 70. Geburtstag)'' - The Discovery of the World-Elements (On the Occasion of E. Mach's 70th Birthday) published in ''Der Kampf'' in 1908. Mach also shared Adler's socialist views and was on good personal terms with his father Viktor. Adler's Mach book was hostilely cited by

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 ...

Materialism and Empirio-criticism ''Materialism and Empirio-criticism'' (Russian: Материализм и эмпириокритицизм, ''Materializm i empiriokrititsizm'') is a philosophical work by Vladimir Lenin, published in 1909. It was an obligatory subject of study ...

, who called Adler a "naïve university lecturer". This was part of Lenin's attack on the Russian Machists. In 1909/10 he was being considered to chair the physics department, but deferred to Einstein's superior expertise and lobbied for Einstein's appointment instead. Adler was engaged in the international

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

movement and in 1911 he finally gave up his scientific activities to become the secretary-general of the SDAP in Vienna, an office he held until 1914. Together with the

Austromarxist Austromarxism (also stylised as Austro-Marxism; ) was a Marxist theoretical current led by Victor Adler, Otto Bauer, Karl Renner, Max Adler and Rudolf Hilferding, members of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria in Austria-Hungary ...

proponent

Otto Bauer Otto Bauer (; 5 September 1881 – 4 July 1938) was an Austrian politician who was one of the founders and leading thinkers of the Austromarxists who sought a middle ground between social democracy and revolutionary socialism. He was a member of t ...

, he was editor of the magazine ''Der Kampf'' and became a spokesperson of the left wing of the party according to the ideas of the

Second International The Second International, also called the Socialist International, was a political international of Labour movement, socialist and labour parties and Trade union, trade unions which existed from 1889 to 1916. It included representatives from mo ...

. After the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914, he agitated particularly against the SDAP's policy of supporting the war.

Assassination of Stürgkh

In his fight against the war policy of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, Adler resorted to drastic measures. On 21 October 1916, in the dining room of the Viennese hotel ''Meissl & Schadn'', he shot the Austrian minister-president Count

three times with a pistol, killing him. The Social Democratic party organ ''

Arbeiter-Zeitung ''Arbeiter-Zeitung'' (German for 'Workers Newspaper') may refer to several newspapers: * ''Arbeiter-Zeitung'' (Chicago), a German language radical newspaper * ''Arbeiter-Zeitung'' (Vienna), an Austrian socialist newspaper * ''Arbeiter-Zeitung'' ...

'' called the assassination a "strange and incomprehensible" act, whereas left leaning German-language-newspapers outside the

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

of Germany and Austria, in neutral Switzerland, attributed his deed to an understandable matter of last resort against an anti-democratic tyrant, who had successfully blocked the Austrian parliament from convening since 1913. After a period when attempts were made to avoid a trial by declaring Adler insane, he was brought to court in May 1917 where he was able to publicly present the killing as a revolutionary action in the context of the case against the war as well as against '

reformist Reformism is a political tendency advocating the reform of an existing system or institution – often a political or religious establishment – as opposed to its abolition and replacement via revolution. Within the socialist movement, ref ...

' Social Democrats like

Karl Renner Karl Renner (14 December 1870 – 31 December 1950) was an Austrian politician and jurist of the Social Democratic Party of Austria, Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria. He is often referred to as the "Father of the Republics" because he ...

. Adler was sentenced to death, a sentence which was commuted by Emperor

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

to 18 years imprisonment. During the last days of the war, Emperor Charles had him released from custody. In the following dissolution of the Monarchy, Adler played a significant role as the leader of the ''Arbeiterräte'' (

workers' councils A workers' council, also called labour council, is a type of council in a workplace or a locality made up of workers or of temporary and instantly revocable delegates elected by the workers in a locality's workplaces. In such a system of poli ...

) and as a member of the

National Council of Austria The National Council (, ) is one of the two houses of the Austrian Parliament and is frequently referred to as the lower house. The constitution endows the National Council with far more power than the Federal Council. Responsibilities The Nat ...

. Though courted by the Communist Party, Adler stayed loyal to the Social Democrats and disclosed revolutionary attempts by the

Communist International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...

. Upon the death of his father on 11 November 1918, Friedrich Adler, together with his party fellows Otto Bauer and

Julius Deutsch Julius Deutsch (February 2, 1884, Lackenbach, Austria-Hungary – January 17, 1968, Vienna, Austria) was a politician of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Austria, member of Parliament between 1920 and 1933, and co-founder and leader of the ...

, paved the way for Karl Renner's

German-Austria The Republic of German-Austria (, alternatively spelt ), commonly known as German-Austria (), was an unrecognised state that was created following World War I as an initial rump state for areas with a predominantly German-speaking and ethnic ...

n government.

Inter-war period

While the SDAP presidency passed to pragmatic

Karl Seitz Karl Josef Seitz (; 4 September 1869 – 3 February 1950) was an Austrian politician of the Social Democratic Workers' Party. He served as member of the Imperial Council, President of the National Council and Mayor of Vienna. Early life Se ...

, who led the party into a coalition government with the Christian Social Party, Adler served as secretary of the

International Working Union of Socialist Parties The International Working Union of Socialist Parties (IWUSP; also known as the 2½ International or the Vienna International; , IASP) was a political international for the co-operation of socialist parties. History The IWUSP was founded on 27 Feb ...

in 1921. He was subsequently active in the formation of the

Labour and Socialist International The Labour and Socialist International (LSI) was an international organization of socialist and labourist parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The group was established through a merger of the rival Vienna International and the Berne Intern ...

, serving as secretary-general firstly jointly with Tom Shaw then on his own until 1940, witnessing the rise of

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

. The SDAP was already banned by the

Dollfuss Engelbert Dollfuss (alternatively Dollfuß; 4 October 1892 – 25 July 1934) was an Austrian politician and dictator who served as chancellor of Austria between 1932 and 1934. Having served as Minister for Forests and Agriculture, he ascended t ...

government upon the

Austrian Civil War The Austrian Civil War () of 12–15 February 1934, also known as the February Uprising () or the February Fights (), was a series of clashes in the First Austrian Republic between the forces of the authoritarian Fatherland Front (Austria), rig ...

in 1934. After the Austrian ''

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

'' to

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 ...

in March 1938, the functionaries around Otto Bauer and Joseph Buttinger moved to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and later to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

World War II

Upon the 1940

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

, the party leadership fled to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, while Adler together with Buttinger emigrated to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he established the Austrian Labor Committee in 1942. In the 1943

Moscow Declarations The Moscow Declarations were four declarations signed during the Moscow Conference on October 30, 1943. The declarations are distinct from the communique that was issued following the Moscow Conference of 1945. They were signed by the foreign sec ...

, the Allied called for the re-establishment of a free Austria after the victory over Nazi Germany. Adler, who rejected the "reactionary" ideas of an Austrian nation, gradually retired from politics. Back in Europe from 1946, Adler moved to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, where he edited his father Victor's exchange of letters with

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 ...

and

Karl Kautsky Karl Johann Kautsky (; ; 16 October 1854 – 17 October 1938) was a Czech-Austrian Marxism, Marxist theorist. A leading theorist of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Second International, Kautsky advocated orthodox Marxism, a ...

. He returned to Vienna once, to celebrate his father's centennial anniversary in 1952 and was received with full honours.

Death and legacy

On 2 January 1960, Adler died in his home in

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, at the age of 80.

Footnotes

External links

Works by and about Friedrich Adler
in Die Deutsche Bibliothek * Archive o
Friedrich Adler Papers
at the

International Institute of Social History International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

Friedrich Adler Archive
at marxists.org * {{DEFAULTSORT:Adler, Friedrich 1879 births 1960 deaths Politicians from Vienna Jewish Austrian politicians Social Democratic Party of Austria politicians Members of the Constituent National Assembly (Austria) Members of the 1st National Council (Austria) Jewish socialists 20th-century Austrian philosophers 20th-century Austrian physicists Austrian philosophers of science 20th-century murderers Austrian assassins Austrian people convicted of murder Prisoners and detainees from Austria-Hungary Austrian politicians convicted of crimes Austrian prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners and detainees of Austria-Hungary Recipients of Austro-Hungarian royal pardons Politicians convicted of murder ETH Zurich alumni