Max Nettlau
Max Heinrich Hermann Reinhardt Nettlau (German: [ˈnɛtlaʊ]; 30 April 1865 – 23 July 1944) was a German anarchist and historian. Although born in Neuwaldegg (today part of Vienna) and raised in Vienna, he lived there until the annexation to Nazi Germany in 1938. Max Nettlau retained his Prussian (later German) nationality throughout his life. A student of the Welsh language he spent time in London where he joined the Socialist League and met William Morris. While in London he met anarchists such as Errico Malatesta and Peter Kropotkin whom he remained in contact with for the rest of his life. He also helped to found Freedom Press for whom he wrote for many years.
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In the 1890s realising that a generation of socialist and anarchist militants from the mid-19th century was passing away and their archives of writings and correspondence being destroyed, he concentrated his effort and a recent modest inheritance from his father on acquiring and rescuing such collections from destruction. He also made many interviews of veteran militants for posterity. He wrote biographies of many famous anarchists, including Mikhail Bakunin, Élisée Reclus, and Errico Malatesta. He also wrote a seven volume history of anarchism.
His extensive collection or archives was sold to the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam in 1935.[1] He lived continuously in Amsterdam from 1938 where he worked on cataloging the archive for the Institute. He died there suddenly from stomach cancer in 1944, without ever being harassed.[2]
References
- "Max Nettlau Papers". 2007. hdl:10622/ARCH01001. Cite journal requires
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(help) - "Max Nettlau (1865-1944)". International Institute of Social History. 2018.
Further reading
- Burazerovic, Manfred (1996). Max Nettlau: der lange Weg zur Freiheit. Berlin: OPPO-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-926880-10-9. OCLC 52265380.
- Falk, Candace, ed. (2008). "Directory of Individuals". Emma Goldman, Vol. 1: A Documentary History of the American Years, Volume 1: Made for America, 1890–1901. University of Illinois Press. p. 547. ISBN 978-0-252-07541-4.
- Graf, Andreas G. (1999). "Nettlau, Max". Neue Deutsche Biographie. 19. pp. 88–89. ISBN 3-428-00200-8. Scan.
- Holze, Rainer (2009). "Maxx Nettlau (1865–1944)". In Benser, Günter; Schneider, Michael (eds.). 'Bewahren - Verbreiten - Aufklären': Archivare, Bibliothekare und Sammler der Quellen der deutschsprachigen Arbeiterbewegung. Bonn: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. pp. 216–221. ISBN 978-3-86872-105-8.
- Jong, Rudolf de (December 1969). "Biographische und bibliographische Daten von Max Nettlau, März 1940". International Review of Social History. 14 (3): 444–482. doi:10.1017/S0020859000003679. ISSN 1469-512X.
- Lehning, Arthur (1972). "Necrology of Max Nettlau". Geschichte der Anarchie: Ergänzungsband. Glashütten im Taunus: D. Auvermann. ISBN 978-3-289-00305-4. OCLC 630586872.
- Rocker, Rudolf (1978). Max Nettlau: Leben und Werk des Historikers vergessener sozialer Bewegungen. Berlin: Karin Kramer. OCLC 476643138.
External links
- Nettlau-Archive at the International Institute of Social History
- Max Nettlau, Writings
- Viaje libertario a través de la América Latina by Max Nettlau, Editorial Lxs Nadie, Abya Yala, (2017 [1934]).