Museum Karl-Marx-Haus

Karl Marx
Karl Marx is one of my favorite revolutionary philosopher. And if you are into philosophy, history, sociology or economy and happened to be visiting Germany, a visit to Museum Karl-Marx-Haus in Trier is a must. Museum Karl-Marx-Haus is a house where he was born. It is now a museum dedicated to life and work of Karl Marx as well as the history of the labor movement. Just a brief history on Karl Marx before I tell you more about the museum.

Karl Marx

Karl Marx was born in Trier on May 5, 1818, where he received classical education. He studied jurisprudence in Bonn and Berlin, where, however, his preoccupation with philosophy soon turned him away from law. His interest was in the philosophical ideas of the Young Hegelians. After his studies, he wrote for radical newspaper in Köln, the Rheinische Zeitung and began to work out his theory of dialectical materialism. In pursuing that he found himself confronted with points of view which neither jurisprudence nor philosophy had taken account of. Proceeding from the Hegelian philosophy of law, Marx came to the conclusion that it was not the state, which Hegel had described as the 'top of the edifice', but 'civil society', which Hegel had regarded with disdain, that was the sphere in which a key to the understanding of the process of the historical development of mankind should be looked for. However, the science of civil society is political economy, and this science could not be studied in Germany, it could only be studied thoroughly in England or France.

After moving to Paris in 1843, he devoted himself primarily on studying political economy and the history of the Great French Revolution. He met Friedrich Engels in Paris, and the two men worked together on series of books. Exiled to Brussels, pursuing the same studies there, until the outbreak of February revolution. In Brussels, Marx was introduced to socialism by Moses Hess and finally broke off from the philosophy of Young Hegelians completely. While there, he wrote The German Ideology. 

At the beginning of 1846, Marx founded a Communist Correspondence Committee in attempt to link socialists from around Europe. Inspired by his ideas, socialists in England held a conference and formed the Communist League, and in 1847 at  a Central Committee meeting in London, the organization asked Marx and Engels to write Manifesto of the Communist Party. The Communist Manifesto, was published in 1848, and shortly after, in 1849, Marx was expelled from Belgium. He went to back to Köln with his friends and founded there Neue Rheinische Zeitung, the same year he was expelled from Prussia, and therefore had to move to Paris, from where he was once again expelled and from where he moved to London. In London, Marx helped found the German Workers' Educational Society, as well as a new headquarters for the Communist League. He continued to work as journalist as well as focusing himself on capitalism and economic theory, and in 1867, he published the first volume of Das Kapital. The rest of his life was spent writing and revising manuscripts for additional volumes, which he did not complete. He died in London on March 14, 1883.

Museum Karl-Marx-Haus in Trier

Karl-Marx-Haus

Marx's birthplace, No. 10 in what today is the Brückenstraße, was rebuilt and extended under a series of different owners. It was not recognized for a long time as the birthplace of Karl Marx. In 1904, it was 'rediscovered' by an announcement in the 'Trierische Zeitung' on 5 April 1818 in which Heinrich Marx announce his move to what was then Brückergasse No. 664.

Attempts of the SPD (Social Democratic Party) to acquire the house dragged out over many years. On 26 April 1928, the Social Democratic newspaper 'Volkswacht' proudly announced that the SPD had purchased the property. The seizure of power by the Nazis prevented the museum from opening. Immediately after the German capitulation, Social Democrats in Trier attempted to repossess it. With help from an international solidarity committee it was returned to the SPD, who opened it as a monument to Karl Marx in 1947. In 1968, the SPD entrusted the house to the care of the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation.

Karl Marx quote

If you enter the exhibition room 02 you will witness the eventful history of the house from the subject of bitter dispute as a political symbol up to modern day museum. Room 03 shows an object hanging in the center onto which well known quotes from Marx and also critical utterances about him. In Room 11 you will find information about his roots, youth and education as well as his early bonding with Jenny von Westphalen.

Communist Manifesto

Room 12 shows the young journalist and political philosopher and the beginning of a lifelong friendship with Friedrich Engels. In Room 13 you can witness the great importance of the 1848 revolution which was followed by a life in exile for Karl Marx. In this room you can see an electronic book of the Communist Manifest in various languages.

Room 14 gives an impression of Marx life with his family in London and of his daughters and their private situation. In Room 15, you will find further information about the great universal scholar, journalist and author of his comprehensive major work, Das Kapital.  The first volume did not appeared until 1867. Volumes 2 and 3 were not published until after his death.

Room 16 shows you the relationship of Karl Marx and the labour movement. An object clearly shows the climax of his second and last active political phase within the International Workingmen's Association (Internationale Arbeiter-Assoziation/IAA). Room 17 gives you an impression of the decade after Marx' death and points out the importance of Friedrich Engels for early Marxism.

Here in this floor, there is an open hallway, where you can see several names of intellectuals which were influenced for their entire lives or maybe periodically by Marx and his ideas.

Intellectuals influenced by Marx 

In Room 21, you will see the impact of Marx's ideas. Central themes are splitting of the labour movement during the First World War and in the wake of the Russian Revolution as well as the contrast between communists and social democrats. Room 22, describes the splitting of Europe after the Second World War with its symbolic Berlin Wall all the way through to the overcoming of this division in 1989.

Room 23 is the last room which is focused on the world-wide utilization of the ideas of Karl Marx with the help of a world map which is lowered into the floor. With the breakdown of the state socialism in Middle and East Europe and the transformation of the Asiatic communism in partly capitalistic development dictatorship, the influence of Karl Marx does not end.

If you are interested in buying his books or souvenirs, there is a small shop inside the museum, besides the entrance. There are wide range of souvenirs to choose from, like shirts, canvas books bags, books, statues of Karl Marx and even Karl Marx Wine.  

Note: This blog is research based on various sites and private visit to the Museum