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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Theodor Bergmann obituary | Theodor Bergmann obituary |
| (5 months later) | |
| Loren Balhorn | |
| Thu 24 Aug 2017 17.37 BST | |
| Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 18.02 GMT | |
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| My friend and colleague Theodor Bergmann, who has died aged 101, was a German communist and an accomplished agronomist and historian. He was the last living eyewitness to the powerful labour movement of interwar Weimar Germany. | My friend and colleague Theodor Bergmann, who has died aged 101, was a German communist and an accomplished agronomist and historian. He was the last living eyewitness to the powerful labour movement of interwar Weimar Germany. |
| Born in Berlin, the son of Reform rabbi Julius and his wife, Hedwig (nee Rosenzweig), Theodor joined the communist movement at the age of 11, briefly participating in the Communist Youth League before joining his brothers Alfred and Josef in the Communist party (Opposition), or KPO, led by expelled anti-Stalinist dissidents. | Born in Berlin, the son of Reform rabbi Julius and his wife, Hedwig (nee Rosenzweig), Theodor joined the communist movement at the age of 11, briefly participating in the Communist Youth League before joining his brothers Alfred and Josef in the Communist party (Opposition), or KPO, led by expelled anti-Stalinist dissidents. |
| As a teenager he met many luminaries of German communism, including Heinrich Brandler, while helping out in the Junius Verlag publishing house, discussing politics with former party leaders after picking up their lunches from the local bakery and performing various errands. These experiences and relationships would shape his world view as a self-described “critical communist” for the rest of his life. | As a teenager he met many luminaries of German communism, including Heinrich Brandler, while helping out in the Junius Verlag publishing house, discussing politics with former party leaders after picking up their lunches from the local bakery and performing various errands. These experiences and relationships would shape his world view as a self-described “critical communist” for the rest of his life. |
| After fleeing to Palestine to avoid Nazi persecution, 19-year-old Theodor travelled to the Sudetenland along the German-Czechoslovak border in 1936 to help with underground work being conducted by his KPO comrades across the border. Following the Nazi annexation of Sudetenland in 1938, Bergmann went to Sweden, where he spent the rest of the second world war. | After fleeing to Palestine to avoid Nazi persecution, 19-year-old Theodor travelled to the Sudetenland along the German-Czechoslovak border in 1936 to help with underground work being conducted by his KPO comrades across the border. Following the Nazi annexation of Sudetenland in 1938, Bergmann went to Sweden, where he spent the rest of the second world war. |
| Returning to Germany in 1946, he moved around the occupied zones (both west and east) to reconnect with his former KPO comrades and spent several years editing the postwar group’s publications. Frustrated with the grim political outlook facing leftwing forces in the early 1950s, he left active politics and returned to his agronomy studies, completing a doctorate in 1955. | Returning to Germany in 1946, he moved around the occupied zones (both west and east) to reconnect with his former KPO comrades and spent several years editing the postwar group’s publications. Frustrated with the grim political outlook facing leftwing forces in the early 1950s, he left active politics and returned to his agronomy studies, completing a doctorate in 1955. |
| He taught all over Germany and Europe before becoming a professor of comparative international agricultural policy at the University of Stuttgart-Hohenheim in 1973, and published numerous books and articles on international agricultural developments throughout his career. | He taught all over Germany and Europe before becoming a professor of comparative international agricultural policy at the University of Stuttgart-Hohenheim in 1973, and published numerous books and articles on international agricultural developments throughout his career. |
| Following retirement in 1981, Theodor dedicated himself to documenting the history of the communist movement, publishing an immense catalogue of histories, biographies and analyses of the German and international movements. He visited Britain to interview Sir Fitzroy Maclean, the Scottish soldier and Unionist (Conservative) MP, several months before his death in 1996. Bergmann credited Maclean in his autobiography for being a principled opponent of fascism, unlike many conservatives. He also contributed to the British journal Revolutionary History. | Following retirement in 1981, Theodor dedicated himself to documenting the history of the communist movement, publishing an immense catalogue of histories, biographies and analyses of the German and international movements. He visited Britain to interview Sir Fitzroy Maclean, the Scottish soldier and Unionist (Conservative) MP, several months before his death in 1996. Bergmann credited Maclean in his autobiography for being a principled opponent of fascism, unlike many conservatives. He also contributed to the British journal Revolutionary History. |
| Until the end, Theodor remained involved in politics as a speaker and author, publishing nearly a book per year since 2009. His last, a critical defence of the People’s Republic of China, appeared earlier this year. His history of the KPO, Gegen den Strom (Against the Current), is planned for English translation in the Historical Materialism Book Series. | Until the end, Theodor remained involved in politics as a speaker and author, publishing nearly a book per year since 2009. His last, a critical defence of the People’s Republic of China, appeared earlier this year. His history of the KPO, Gegen den Strom (Against the Current), is planned for English translation in the Historical Materialism Book Series. |
| His partner, Gretel Steinhilber, died in 1994. | His partner, Gretel Steinhilber, died in 1994. |
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| Second world war | |
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