Paul Johansen Geleff (January 6, 1842 – May 16, 1928) was a Danish

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 ...

organizer.
Dansk biografisk Lexikon / V. Bind. Faaborg - Gersdorff / 588
' He was one of the founders of the socialist movement in Denmark. Geleff completed his education as school teacher in 1864, and went on to work as a teacher and publisher. In 1867 he issued the publication ''Hejmdal''. He was sentenced to pay a fine after having insulted the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n state in one of his articles. In 1871 he came into contact with H. F. V. Brix, and through Brix he became acquainted to

Louis Pio Louis Albert François Pio (14 December 1841 – 27 June 1894) was a Danish politician who founded and served as the first chairman of the Danish Social Democratic Party from 1872 to 1874 and again from 1876 to 1878. Early life Louis Albert ...

. The three began organizing a socialist movement. The trio founded the publication ''Socialisten'' ('The Socialist') in July 1871. In October the same year they founded a Danish branch of the

First International The International Workingmen's Association (IWA; 1864–1876), often called the First International, was a political international which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, social democratic, communist, and anarchist ...

.Paterson, William E., and Alastair H. Thomas.
Social Democratic Parties in Western Europe
'. London: Croom Helm, 1978. p. 235 The organization supported a bricklayers strike and had called for a meeting to mobilize support. In response, the authorities banned the organization and all its meetings. All three were arrested in the summer of 1872. Geleff was sentenced to three years forced labour. Geleff had also been accused of fraud, but after re-paying the amount he was accused of having embezzled those charges were dropped. Geleff wrote a book about his prison ordeals, ''Under Laas og Lukke'' ("Under lock and key") was published in 1876. After his release from jail, he and Pio again begun organizing socialist activities. In 1876 he was one of the founders of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

. In March 1877 Geleff and Pio emigrated to 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 ...

, with financial assistance from the Danish police. Their intention was to set up a colony in America. After settling down in America, Geleff and Pio broke their contacts. Geleff wrote a short publication about his trans-Atlantic travel and split with Pio, ''Den rene, skære Sandhed om Louis Pio og mig selv'' ("The pure truth about Louis Pio and myself") published in 1877.
Dansk biografisk Lexikon / V. Bind. Faaborg - Gersdorff / 589
' Geleff occasionally wrote articles for '' Den Danske Pioneer'', published from

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. Geleff played a crucial role in formulating the radical agenda of the newspaper. Geleff returned to Denmark in 1920, and lived as a pensioner with support from the Social Democratic Party.
Geleff, Paul
' Geleff died in 1928.
Karl Marx / Friedrich Engels: Werke, Artikel, Entwrfe, Mai 1875 bis Mai 1883
'. p. 1387 He was buried on

Capri Capri ( , ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. A popular resort destination since the time of the Roman Republic, its natural beauty ...

.Matvejević, Predrag, and Michael Henry Heim.
Mediterranean: A Cultural Landscape
'. Berkeley .a. Univ. of California Press, 1999. p. 216

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geleff, Paul Johansen Danish socialists 1842 births 1928 deaths Danish schoolteachers American people of Danish descent Members of the International Workingmen's Association History of Omaha, Nebraska