Josef Peukert (22 January 1855 – 3 March 1910) was an

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

known for his autobiographical book ''Memoirs from the proletarian revolutionary labour movement'' (). The book provided a glimpse into the early days of the radical

labour movement The labour movement is the collective organisation of working people to further their shared political and economic interests. It consists of the trade union or labour union movement, as well as political parties of labour. It can be considere ...

in Austria, the start of the anarchist movement in Germany and the exile of the anarchists in

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 ...

and America at the time of Socialist Law (1878–1890). The accuracy of the book was questioned by fellow anarchist and historian Max Nettlau, who looked upon it in a "highly-skeptical" manner. He was an ethnic German from Bohemia.

Early life

Peukert grew up poor at Albrechtsdorf an der Adler in the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

, a

crown land Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

. From the age of six, he worked for his father's company and the age of eleven he was taken out of school. At the age of 16 he left home and worked odd jobs in

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 ...

. Peukert contributed to

social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

workers' associations later becoming an Anarchist communist.

Career

In exile in London, Peukert became involved in distributing '' Freiheit'' published by Johann Most, but became increasingly critical of Most as Social-Revolutionist as opposed to an anarchist. During this time he became even more radicalized and upon his return in the 1880s he became the leader of the radical ''Fraktion'', who were believers in the concept of Propaganda of the deed, which calls for the use of terror against society civil rights. In the early 1880s, Peukert became the editor of '' Die Zukunft'' (), published by '' Der Rebell'' (), from 1886 to 1893 he was the editor of '' Die Autonomie'' () and co-editor after 1889 of '' Der Anarchist'' (). A so-called civil war within the Socialist League began because of Peukert's friendship with

Theodor Reuss Albert Karl Theodor Reuss (; June 28, 1855 – October 28, 1923), also known by his neo-Gnostic bishop title of Carolus Albertus Theodorus Peregrinus, was a German tantra, tantric occultist, freemason, journalist, singer and head of Ordo Templ ...

Victor Dave Victor Dave (25 February 1847 – 31 October 1922) was a Belgian editor and journalist best known for his work on anarchist publications and in the International Workingmen's Association. Early life and career Victor Dave was born in Aal ...

, head of a rival anarchist grouping in London, did not trust Reuss which led to tension with Peukert. In 1887, Peukert went with Reuss to

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, where Reuss passed information to the police leading to the arrest of Johann Neve. Neve was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison. The episode severely damaged the reputation of Peukert, and also Dave. This incident is touched upon in John Henry Mackay's '' Die Anarchisten''. From 1890 he worked with

Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born Anarchism, anarchist revolutionary, political activist, and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europ ...

for several years in

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 ...

Works

* * Archive o
Josef Peukert 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peukert, Josef 1855 births 1910 deaths 20th-century anarchists American anarchists American people of German Bohemian descent Anarchists from Austria-Hungary Anarcho-communists Austrian anarchists Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States German Bohemian people People from Rychnov nad Kněžnou District