Georg Weerth facts for kids
Georg Ludwig Weerth (born February 17, 1822 – died July 30, 1856) was a German writer and poet. He wrote poems that showed how workers could stick together to fight for fairness and better lives, especially against unfair bosses. He was a close friend of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. They believed Georg Weerth was the most important poet for German workers.
Who Was Georg Weerth?
Georg Weerth was born in a town called Detmold in Westphalia, Germany. His father, Ferdinand Weerth, was a clergyman and worked to improve schools. Georg Weerth later passed away in Havana, Cuba.
Weerth's Work as a Writer
Georg Weerth wrote for a German newspaper called the Neue Rheinische Zeitung. Karl Marx was the main editor of this newspaper. Weerth's strong and funny writings often made fun of powerful people. This sometimes got him into trouble, and he even faced problems because of his words. After some difficulties, he moved to England.
Time in England
From 1843 to 1846, Weerth lived in Bradford, England. For six months, he spent a lot of time with Friedrich Engels, who had a business in Manchester. Like Engels, Weerth used his free time, when he wasn't working for a textile company, to study how the Industrial Revolution changed things. He looked at how factory owners and workers got along.
Weerth went to meetings of a group called the Chartists. This group wanted more rights for working people. He became friends with their leaders, like George Julian Harney and Ernest Jones. He also wrote reports for German newspapers about what life was like in England.
Later Life and Travel
In 1846, Weerth left England and moved to Brussels, where Karl Marx was living.
Georg Weerth died from a tropical illness while on a business trip in Cuba. Not long before he passed away, he wrote to another famous writer, Heinrich Heine. He said that Cuba would be a place where big changes and conflicts would happen first in the new world.
