Comrade Carl Marx then spoke about the work of the Society 
since its inception. The Society had been founded in 1840 by Carl 
Schapper in collaboration with 6 other like-minded persons. There 
existed an organisation within the Society, ““The League of the 
Just”,°'? which had its seat in various countries and opposed the 
oppression of the people. Four or five nationalities had been 
involved in the foundation of this Society. In 1845°"° a congress 
had been convened in London at which the Communist Manifesto 
had been worked out and whose motto was: “Proletarians of All 
Countries, Unite!” Marx then gave a most interesting account of 
the associations in those days, stating that the number of members 
had reached a level of 400-500. In March 1848 the Society was 
closed down by the British government,”* which was otherwise 
not so swift to resort to police measures. The Chartist movement, 
which had received a great deal of support from the Society, may 
have been the cause of the closure. The organisation called “The 
League of the Just” was dissolved in 1849,°° whereupon many 
members moved to America. In the fifties the Society worked 
more by itself, though it had always remained a refuge for the 
persecuted and oppressed. Marx then went on to discuss the 
present movement, stressing that the Society had contributed to its 
rise and he hoped that it would continue to do so. 

Comrade Frederick Engels then recalled a faithful champion of 
truth and justice, Wilhelm Weitling. He was in fact the first person 
to try to spread the Communist idea in Germany. He was 
extradited by Switzerland to the Prussian government, which kept 
him in prison for a considerable time without any grounds. 
Weitling had died in America. His book Garantien der Harmonie 


566 Appendices 


und Freiheit had appeared at the advice of his friends. The speaker 
further recalled Comrade Moll, who had been one of the first 
members and had been killed in Southern Germany in the battle 
for freedom. The speaker then came to the movement in 
Germany, saying that in his view it had achieved a strength 
unmatched in any country hitherto. The speaker was of the opinion 
that the socialist movement was bound to go forward, since agitators 
such as Bismarck, Eulenburg and Tessendorf were active on its 
behalf. [...] 

Comrade Wroblewski, speaking in French, said: As long as there 
are Poles alive, the great movement of workers will have defenders 
in them; they will show by word and deed that their place is 
wherever the cause of the proletariat is being fought for. Speaker 
pays tribute to the workers’ movement in all countries. 

Comrade Engels translates Wroblewski’s speech into German and 
then provides information on his activities. Wroblewski was a 
general and in 1863, during the Polish revolution,”° managed to 
keep 2 Russian armies in check with a small band; he was 
sentenced to death by the Russian government and succeeded at 
some risk in escaping to France, where he earned his daily bread 
as a worker. When the Paris Commune rose up, he took part 1n its 
battles and defended the southern part of Paris; also con- 
demned to death by the Versailles people, he was fortunate 
enough to escape; he was still suffering greatly from the wounds 
he had incurred. [...]