Robert Blum

Shot like Robert Blum goes a saying. Not much more is known of the pioneer of German democracy who was born in 1807 in Cologne, grew up in poor circumstances and came as theatre secretary to Leipzig where within a few years he grew into one of the most important progressive oppositional leaders of his time. In the beginning Blum did not have a mandate and worked as journalist, speaker and organizor of political societies and festivals. 1846 Blum became city official, in Mai 1848 Blum was elected into the Federal Assembly of 1848/49 in Frankfurt where he quickly developed into a leading speaker of the left-wing. In October he was taken into custody in Vienna which was threatened by counter revolution, sentenced according to law and shot on 9th November 1848. His violent death made him a martyr of democracy. The workers’ movement of 19th century celebrated him as their greatest pioneer. After 1945 in the inner German conflict of heritage the GDR tried to make Blum one of their forerunners. They did not succeed entirely. President Gustav Heinemann of West Germany competed energetically against it. He asked for justice for Robert Blum. The rehabilitation of the revolutionary continued. The Hamburg based political scientist Peter Reichel and author of several books on political cultural history of Germany (latest: Black-Red-Gold. Small History of German National Symbols, 2005. Made up Memories. Word War and Murder of Jews in Film and Theatre, 2004) tells in this biographic essay the short and eventful life of the almost forgotten German revolutionary, whose 200th anniversary was celebrated on 9th November 2007.