Witness to the German Revolution

Victor Serge: Victor Serge (1889-1947) is best known as a novelist with two of his works recently republished by the New York Review of Books and for his Memoirs of a Revolutionary. Originally a participant in the anarchist movement, Serge became a committed bolshevik upon arrival in Russia during 1919 and lent his considerable talents to the cause of spreading the revolution across Europe. An eloquent critic of tyranny no matter its form, Serge was a leading member of the Left Opposition in its struggle against Stalin, a cause which ultimately resulted in his exile from Russia.

"The novels, poems, memoirs and other writings of Victor Serge are among the finest works of literature inspired by the October Revolution that brought the working class to power in Russia in 1917. But young radicals often have only a vague sense of him -- and sometimes not even that. The appearance of two collections of his work in Haymarket editions is a welcome development. It's never too late for activists to discover Serge, but when you do, it feels like a revelation ...His articles -- like the work of John Reed, his American friend -- let us follow revolutionary events as they unfold, as seen through he eyes of an exceptionally alert journalist ... Serge is sensitive to the shifts in mood and outlook among people that take place during social upheaval. Such transformations, while very rapid, are also very deep.With Serge, you feel that. And he had the talent, as well as the courage, to record the changes within himself that happened along the way."Scott McLemee, socialistworker.og