April 1898: Rosa Luxemburg gets married (and a passport)

Posted on April 25, 2012 by rosaluxemburgblog

An April Wedding: Rosa Luxemburg marries Gustav Lübeck in 1898

Aged 27 and recently awarded a PhD for her thesis on ‘The Industrial Development of Poland’, Rosa Luxemburg married the son of her German friends, the Lübecks, in Switzerland. The hapless Gustav Lübeck seems to have had little say in the matter and after a quick official ceremony, the happy couple probably never saw eachother again. This ‘marriage of convenience’ was designed solely to allow Rosa to leave Zürich University for  Berlin, the centre of the German Empire and headquarters of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD). Without the German passport- courtesy of Herr. Lübeck- Rosa would not have been able to safely conduct political work in Germany. Many years after their divorce in 1903, Rosa would enjoy signing herself into hotels (whilst on the campaign trail) as Frau Doktor Gustav Lübeck!

About rosaluxemburgblog

I was awarded a PhD in History by Swansea University for a thesis on Rosa Luxemburg (2016). I am currently co-editing the fourth volume of 'The Complete Works of Rosa Luxemburg' and am a member of the Advisory Board of the International Rosa Luxemburg Society.
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4 Responses to April 1898: Rosa Luxemburg gets married (and a passport)

  1. Pingback: April 1898: Rosa Luxemburg gets married (and a passport) | rosaluxemburgblog

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