Gustav Lübeck

April 1898: Rosa Luxemburg gets married (and a passport) Posted on April 25, 2012 by rosaluxemburgblog https://rosaluxemburgblog.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/marriage/

Aged 27 and recently awarded a PhD for her thesis on ‘The Industrial Development of Poland’, Rosa Luxemburg married the son of her German friends, the Lübecks, in Switzerland. The hapless Gustav Lübeck seems to have had little say in the matter and after a quick official ceremony, the happy couple probably never saw eachother again. This ‘marriage of convenience’ was designed solely to allow Rosa to leave Zürich University for Berlin, the centre of the German Empire and headquarters of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD). Without the German passport- courtesy of Herr. Lübeck- Rosa would not have been able to safely conduct political work in Germany. Many years after their divorce in 1903, Rosa would enjoy signing herself into hotels (whilst on the campaign trail) as Frau Doktor Gustav Lübeck!