The Communist Club

http://www.theoryandpractice.org.uk/library/communist-club-keith-scholey-2006
Date Written:  2006-01-01
Publisher:  Theory and Practice
Year Published:  2006
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX20183

History of the Communist Club in 19th century London, in particular detailing the involvement of Karl Marx.

Abstract: 
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Excerpts:

As the name would imply the Association acted as an educational and social club for German workers, of which there were then many in the capital. In 1845-46 business meetings were held on a Sunday, political discussions (e.g. reading and commenting on contemporary political and philosophical literature) on a Tuesday night, with Saturdays reserved for cultural activities - such as song and dance - and classes in elementary education (e.g. English lessons). Lessner, speaking of the following year, adds: "The club had also evenings devoted to elocution. Everybody who was trained in reciting would recite poems of a serious or gay turn. My first recital consisted in the reading of a poem humorously describing an adventure that happened in Berlin in 1846."