Henk Sneevliet facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Henk Sneevliet
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| Member of the Dutch House of Representatives | |
| In office 1933–1937 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 13 May 1883 Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| Died | 13 April 1942 (aged 58) Amersfoort concentration camp, Netherlands |
| Cause of death | Execution |
| Political party | Revolutionary Socialist (Workers') Party |
| Other political affiliations |
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Hendricus Josephus Franciscus Marie Sneevliet, known as Henk Sneevliet, was an important Dutch political leader. He was also known by his secret name, "Maring." Born on May 13, 1883, he was a communist politician. He worked in both the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies (which is now Indonesia).
Henk Sneevliet helped create the Communist Party of Indonesia in 1914. He also helped form the Chinese Communist Party in 1921. In the Netherlands, he started the Revolutionary Socialist (Workers') Party (RSP/RSAP). He was their leader and their only representative in the Dutch Parliament. During World War II, he joined the resistance against the German occupation of the Netherlands. The Germans executed him in April 1942.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Work
Hendricus "Henk" Sneevliet was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on May 13, 1883. He grew up in Den Bosch. His father, Anthonie Sneevliet, made cigars.
After finishing school in 1900, Henk moved to Zutphen. He started working for the Dutch railways. In 1902, he joined the Social Democratic Workers Party (SDAP). He also joined the Dutch Association of Railway and Tramway Employees, a union for railway workers.
From 1906, Sneevliet was active in the SDAP in Zwolle. In 1907, he became the first social democrat to be elected to the city council there.
Union Leadership
Sneevliet was very active in the railway union. In 1906, he was elected to the union's main committee. He became the union's vice-chairman in 1909. He also became the editor of the union's newspaper. By 1911, he was the chairman of the union.
In 1911, an international strike for sailors was called. Sneevliet strongly supported it. However, his union and political party did not support the strike. Because of this, he left both organizations. He then joined the more radical Social Democratic Party of the Netherlands. This party later became the Dutch Communist Party. He also wrote for a Marxist magazine called De Nieuwe Tijd. These events made him decide to leave the Netherlands.
Work in the Dutch East Indies
Sneevliet lived in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) from 1913 to 1918. There, he quickly became involved in fighting against Dutch colonial rule. In 1914, he helped start the Indies Social Democratic Association (ISDV). This group included both Dutch and Indonesian people.
He also returned to union work. He joined a railway union that had both Dutch and Indonesian members. Because of his experience, he helped make this union stronger. It became a more active union with mostly Indonesian members. This union later became very important for the Indonesian communist movement.
The ISDV was strongly against capitalism. It spoke out against the Dutch colonial government. It also spoke out against the wealthy Indonesian leaders. This caused a lot of opposition to the ISDV and Sneevliet. In 1916, he left the SDAP and joined the SDP.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Sneevliet's ideas gained more support. Both Indonesian people and Dutch soldiers and sailors became interested. The Dutch authorities became worried. So, Sneevliet was forced to leave the Dutch East Indies in 1918. The Dutch colonial authorities then cracked down on the ISDV.
International Communist Work
Back in the Netherlands, Sneevliet became active in the growing communist movement. He became a paid official for the National Labor Secretariat (NAS). He also helped organize a big transportation strike in 1920.
In the same year, he went to Moscow for the 2nd World Congress of the Communist International. He represented the Partai Komunis Indonesia (PKI), which was the new name for his old group, the ISDV. In Moscow, Sneevliet used the secret name Maring. He was elected to the main committee of the Executive Committee of the Communist International. This was a very important international communist organization.
Vladimir Lenin, a famous Russian leader, was impressed by Sneevliet. He sent Sneevliet to China as a representative for the Comintern. Sneevliet lived in China from 1921 to 1923. He was there for the first meeting that founded the Chinese Communist Party in July 1921. Besides Maring, Sneevliet also used the names Martin, Philips, and Sentot during this time.
Sneevliet believed that communists should work with the non-communist nationalist party called Kuomintang. This party was led by Sun Yat-sen. Sneevliet had met Sun Yat-sen personally for the Comintern. In 1923, Sun Yat-sen offered Sneevliet a full-time job as an adviser for the Kuomintang. But Sneevliet said no. He also turned down an offer from the Soviets to run their news agency office in Guangzhou.
In early 1924, Sneevliet returned to Moscow. His time as a Comintern representative in China was over.
Return to the Netherlands
Sneevliet came back to the Netherlands from Moscow in 1924. He became the secretary of the National Labor Secretariat (NAS). In 1925, he joined the main committee of the Communist Party of Holland (CPH). However, he started to have disagreements with the other leaders of the CPH. In 1927, Sneevliet completely broke ties with the CPH and the Comintern.
In 1929, Sneevliet started a new political party called the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP). This party focused on issues within the Netherlands. They had some success helping unemployed people and organizing strikes. They also fought against the rise of fascism.
He continued to be interested in Indonesian affairs. In 1933, he was sent to prison for five months. This was because he supported Dutch and Indonesian sailors. These sailors had taken part in a mutiny on a ship called "De Zeven Provinciën". The mutiny was stopped by an air attack, and 23 sailors died. This event caused strong feelings among the Dutch public. While still in prison that same year, Sneevliet was elected to the Lower House of parliament. He held this position until 1937.
In August 1933, the RSP signed a document called the "Declaration of the Four." This was with other groups, including the International Left Opposition led by Leon Trotsky. This declaration was meant to be a step towards creating a new international group of revolutionary socialist parties, called the Fourth International. However, in 1938, Sneevliet and the RSP decided not to join this new organization. This meant they broke away from the Trotskyist movement. Instead, the RSP joined the International Bureau of Revolutionary Socialist Unity. This group included the Independent Labour Party from Britain and the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM) from Spain.
Sneevliet was part of a group of friends in Amsterdam that included Ignace Reiss. Reiss was a Soviet intelligence official who became unhappy with the Soviet government. Sneevliet and another person, Victor Serge, waited to meet Reiss in France in September 1937, but he never arrived. Reiss was later found murdered.
Sneevliet also traveled to Spain during its civil war. He went with James Maxton to help socialists who were being treated unfairly. They asked many questions and protested to government officials. Their efforts helped save the lives of some of these socialists.
Final Years and Death
The political situation became very difficult both in the Netherlands and abroad. The constant struggles against other political parties and government actions took a heavy toll on Sneevliet and his small organization. When World War II started on May 10, 1940, Sneevliet immediately ended the RSAP party.
A few months later, he started a resistance group against the German occupation. This group was called the Marx-Lenin-Luxemburg-Front (MLL-Front). They mainly created materials to promote socialism. They also opposed the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. They were heavily involved in the February strike of 1941.
As a known communist, Sneevliet had to go into hiding even before he started his resistance work. While in hiding, he edited a secret newspaper called Spartakus. He also took part in other resistance activities. He managed to avoid the Nazis for two years. But in April 1942, they finally arrested him and the other leaders of the MLL-Front. They were executed at the Amersfoort concentration camp on April 12, 1942. It is said that they sang "The Internationale" as they faced their deaths.
See also
- Communism in Sumatra
- Partai Komunis Indonesia (PKI)
