FERDINAND LASSALLE – social democratic politician born on April 11 1825. Died on August 31 1864 in Geneva in a duel. His father was a wealthy Wrocław merchant hailing from the furthest parts of Upper Silesia. He only later changed his last name to Loslauer, Losal and Lassalle. He started his journey through life in poverty, in the city of Wrocław. It was there that he first came into contact with German culture in a country belonging to Prussia. This would leave its mark on the second generation: Ferdinand, a world famous scholar and politician, considered by his Rhineland-born party colleague Friedrich Engels to be a true Jew from Slavic borders – thus an eastern Jew with a puny touch of culture. But it was the Silesian/Prussian and thus heavily German atmosphere of Ferdinand Lassalle’s homestead that made him a German in the full sense of the word, one aware of the importance of state and culture. In the years 1842-1845 Lassalle studied philology, philosophy and history in Wrocław and Berlin. During the course of his studies he was especially influenced by George Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel (1770-1831), active in Berlin since the year 1818. Hegel, the most influential philosopher of the 19^th century, and his philosophy of ‘absolute idealism’ equipped Ferdinand with all he needed: a worldview, a belief in the meaning of the past and the present, a sense of future matters and a dialectical device enabling him to cope with all the problems of his world. It also gave him a new faith. The talented Lassalle starts his academic journey. In 1845 he discovers the ideas of Louis Blanc (1815-1882), an advocate of the cooperative system, which, with help from the state, would overcome and vanquish private ownership of the means of production and free competition. Lassalle was also heavily influenced by the French socialist P. J. Proudhon (1809-1865) who criticised ownership. Proudhon’s views on property obtained through labour is aptly summed up in his famous words “property is theft!” From 1848 Ferdinand becomes a radical democrat and the coeditor of the New Rhenish Newspaper published by Karl Marx (1818-1883). In 1849 he was sentenced to six months of prison for alleged agitation against the state. In 1850 Ferdinand Lassalle decides to dedicate his time to writing philosophical tracts.

In 1846 he meets Countess von Hatzfeldt-Trachenberg, the daughter of an influential Prussian officer of noble heritage. She was practically forced to marry her cousin, Edmund von Hatzfeldt-Wildenburg, whose cruelty she had to endure for more than twenty years. Lassalle brought her divorce and division of property trials before six courts. After successfully divorcing her cousin in 1851, Countess Hatzfeld was also able to win back her family possessions in 1854. As an act of gratitude, the ‘Red Countess’ offered Lassalle 7.000 Thalers worth of annuition, making him financially independent.

The year 1859 marks Lassalle’s return to politics. His Workers’ Programme (1862) and Open Letter Answering the Central Committee on the Convening of a General German Workers' Congress in Leipzig are examples of the most significant documents in German history. The proletariat – representative of humanity – is the new force. Labourers are fortunate in that their personal interest matches the flow of history and the principles of social development. The rule of the fourth class will ensure the fostering of morality, culture and science, while the state is responsible for ensuring freedom to all of humanity. The world of spirit and the proletariat should come to terms with each other on German soil. The significance of such a pact would be comparable to the ‘and there was light’ in respect to the world’s development. Thus the words: “A tint of scarlet hues the blood-red horizon, binding new light. The fog and the clouds gather in a dash against aurora, at times blocking her rays; yet there is no such strength in the world which would be capable of stopping the slow, majestic rise of the sun, which an hour later, burns joyfully for the whole world, sharing its warmth and glittering in the firmament.” In Lassale’s eyes, Germany and the rest of the world were witnessing a magnificent, historical sunrise, a harbinger of Germany’s great role and significance.

In February 1863 the Committee in Leipzig calls for Ferdinand to design a programme for the General German Workers’ Congress. This socialist programme appeared in the Open Letter on March 1^st 1863. Through encompassing the idea of solid law and gratifications based on gratification theories by Ricardo (1772-1823), Lassalle demanded increasing the role of the staff in the production process and replacing voting rights given to chosen entities with ones that are universal. As a result of the programme the General German Workers’ Association was established in May 23^rd 1863, serving as a foundation for the Social Democratic Party of Germany. The Association was formed by labour unions and committees from Leipzig, Dresden, Hamburg, Harburg, Frankfurt am Mein, Linz, Düsseldorf, Elberferd, Barmen and Solingen. Lassalle was elected for a 5-year service as its first president.

Despite of the Committee’s tenacious efforts and fervent agitation it was unsuccessful in gathering the greater part of the proletariat. On May 11 1863 Bismarck and Lassalle hold secret negotiations. Fifteen years later, on September 17 1878 Bismarck comments on this event: “Our contacts could not be the source of any political solutions. What could Lassalle possibly have to offer and to interest me with? He had no support. And yet there was something that personally drew me to him with unbelievable force – he was the most respectful, spiritually enlightened man I ever had the chance to come across. A man who was proud with great style, not at all a Republican. His orientation was definitely national and monarchical – a German Empire was the idea he was working for. And that was our starting point.” Perhaps he would find it difficult to decide whether it would be an empire led by the Hohenzollerns or the Lassalles.

On August 28 1864 in Switzerland, where he was undergoing rehabilitation, Lassalle, driven by jealousy for Hélène von Dönniges, got himself into a duel with a Romanian Count, Lanko von Racowitz. Lassalle died three days later as a result of his critical wounds.

Ferdinand Lassalle was first and foremost a remarkably active politician, a passionate speaker and an exceptionally effective agitator and organiser. He was also a prominent figure in the fields of history, philosophy of law, political economics and politology. [source: ‘Świat Opinii’ forum]