Herwegh, Georg

Born May 31, 1817, in Stuttgart; died Apr. 7, 1875, in Baden-Baden. German poet.

In the fall of 1842, Herwegh met K. Marx. He established close ties with M. A. Bakunin and A. I. Herzen. His collection Poems of a Living Man (1841) was a moving call to action that responded to the strivings of revolutionary democracy in Germany. Herwegh became one of the leading writers on the Rheinische Zeitung and won the recognition of K. Marx. In the poem “The Party” (1842), Herwegh defended the idea of party spirit in poetry, in the sense of serving the forces of progress. He wrote satirical poems directed against the enemies of the Revolution of 1848-49. After the defeat of the revolution, Herwegh implacably condemned European reaction in a series of articles, topical satires, and poems. At the same time he drew closer to F. Lassalle, and in 1863 he wrote the hymn (anthem) of the General German Workers’ Association.