Karl Liebknecht (1871–1919)
Born 1871 CE, died 1919 CE.
Karl Paul August Friedrich Liebknecht (; German: [ˈliːpknɛçt] ; 13 August 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a German socialist politician and revolutionary. A leader of the far-left wing of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Liebknecht was a co-founder of both the Spartacus League and Communist Party of Germany (KPD) along with Rosa Luxemburg. Liebknecht was born in Leipzig as the son of SPD co-founder Wilhelm Liebknecht, and studied law and political economy. In 1907, he was imprisoned a year for writing an anti-militarism pamphlet, and in 1912 was elected to the Reichstag. After the start of World War I, he vehemently opposed the SPD's support for the German war effort, co-founding the Spartacus League and beginning to call for revolution. Liebknecht was expelled from the party for his views in 1916, and again imprisoned for leading an anti-war demonstration. In 1917, the Spartacus League joined the Independent Social Democratic Party (USPD). Liebknecht was released shortly before the November Revolution, during which he proclaimed Germany a "Free Socialist Republic" from the Berlin Palace on 9 November 1918.
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