Robert Blum

Robert Blum (10 November 1807 – 9 November 1848) was a German democratic politician, publicist, poet, publisher, revolutionist and member of the National Assembly of 1848. In his fight for a strong, unified Germany he opposed ethnocentrism and it was his strong belief that no one people should rule over another. As such he was an opponent of the Prussian occupation of Poland and was in contact with the revolutionists there. Blum was a critic of antisemitism, supported the German Catholics and agitated for the equality of the sexes. Although claiming diplomatic immunity as a member of parliament, he was arrested during a stay at the hotel "Stadt London" in Vienna and executed for his role in the Revolutions of 1848 in the German states.

Blum grew up in poverty in Cologne, the son of a failed theologian who made a poor living as a cooper. He was ten years old before he could go to school. After his schooling, he worked as a craftsman in different trades. He failed as a goldsmith's apprentice, but completed an apprenticeship as a gardener. After his journeyman's time, he returned to Cologne to work in a lamp factory. His employer put him to work at the counter since he was good at calculations. In 1829, he followed his employer to Berlin where he also continued his education. His work was interrupted by obligatory military service, and on his release, his poor circumstances obliged him to return to Cologne. There, in 1830, he worked serving in a theater company and started writing politically motivated poetry and plays. When the theater closed in the summer, he worked for a sheriff as a scribe.

The political upheavals of 1830 attracted his interest, and ideals of freedom found their way into his poetry. In 1832, he followed the theater troupe to Leipzig. There he came in touch with humanist and liberal circles, contributed to the liberal newspaper Zeitung für die elegante Welt and joined Leipzig's freemason lodge. By 1840, he had worked his way up to being a cashier in the city theater. That year he also founded the Schillerverein in Leipzig which celebrated the poet's anniversary as a festival in honor of political liberty.

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