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{{Short description|Housekeeper of Karl Marx (1820–1890)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Helene Demuth
| name = Helene Demuth
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| caption =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1820|12|31|df=y}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1820|12|30|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Sankt Wendel]], [[Principality of Lichtenberg]], [[Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]], [[German Confederation]]
| birth_place = [[Sankt Wendel]], [[Principality of Lichtenberg]], [[Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]], [[German Confederation]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1890|11|04|1820|12|31|df=y}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1890|11|04|1820|12|31|df=y}}
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| caption =
| caption =
| birth_name = Henry Frederick Demuth
| birth_name = Henry Frederick Demuth
| birth_date = {{birth date|1851|6|23}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1851|6|23|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[London]], United Kingdom
| birth_place = [[London]], United Kingdom
| death_date = {{death date and age|1929|1|28|1851|6|23}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1929|1|28|1851|6|23|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Upper Clapton]], London, United Kingdom
| death_place = [[Upper Clapton]], London, United Kingdom
| nationality = [[English people|English]]
| nationality = [[English people|English]]
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| relatives =
| relatives =
}}
}}
'''Helene''' "'''Lenchen'''" '''Demuth''' (31 December 1820 - 4 November 1890) was the [[Housekeeper (domestic worker)|housekeeper]] of [[Jenny Marx|Jenny]] and [[Karl Marx]], later serving as the household manager and political confidante of [[Friedrich Engels]].
'''Helene''' or '''Helena Demuth''' (30 December 1820 – 4 November 1890) was a German [[Housekeeper (domestic worker)|housekeeper]] who worked for [[Jenny Marx|Jenny von Westphalen]] and [[Karl Marx]], and later served as the household manager and political confidante of [[Friedrich Engels]].


==Biography==
==Biography==
Helena Demuth was born of peasant parents on December 31, 1820 in [[Sankt Wendel]] in today's [[Saarland]]. In 1840 Helena and her older sister worked in Trier as maids, Helena in [Jenny von Westphalen|von Westphalen]] household, he sister in the house of a soapmaker two blocks away. They only worked there for about a year, then Katharina got pregnant and both went back to St. Wendel. In 1843 Helena lived in St. Wendel in the house of her mother in Grabenstrasse. In 1843 Karl Marx married [[Jenny von Westphalen]]. Helena Demuth joined their household in April 1845 in Brussels, where she was sent by Jenny's mother.<ref name=Draper55a>Hal Draper, "Helene Demuth," in ''The Marx-Engels Glossary: Volume III of the Marx-Engels Cyclopedia.'' New York: Schocken Books, 1986; pg. 55.</ref> She stayed with the Marxes as a lifelong housekeeper, friend, and political confidante, and was commonly known to the family by the nicknames Lenchen or Nim.<ref name=Draper55a />
Helena Demuth was born of peasant parents on 31 December 1820 in [[Sankt Wendel]] in today's [[Saarland]]. In 1840 Helena and her older sister Katharina worked in [[Trier]] as maids, Helena in the [[Jenny von Westphalen|von Westphalen]] household, her sister in the house of a soapmaker two blocks away. They only worked there for about a year, then Katharina got pregnant and both went back to St. Wendel. Helena was living in the house of her mother in Grabenstrasse, St. Wendel in 1843, when Karl Marx married [[Jenny von Westphalen]]. Helena joined their household in April 1845 in Brussels, where she was sent by Jenny's mother.<ref name=Draper55a>Hal Draper, "Helene Demuth," in ''The Marx-Engels Glossary: Volume III of the Marx-Engels Cyclopedia.'' New York: Schocken Books, 1986; pg. 55.</ref> She stayed with the Marxes as a lifelong housekeeper, friend, and political confidante, and was commonly known to the family by the nicknames Lenchen or Nim.<ref name=Draper55a />


After Marx's death in March 1883, Helena Demuth moved to Engels's home, where she ran the household.<ref name=Draper55a /> The pair worked in tandem to organize and arrange for the publication of Marx's literary estate, discovering in the process the manuscript from which Engels was able to reconstruct the [[Capital, Volume II|second volume]] of [[Das Kapital]].
After Marx's death in March 1883, Helena Demuth moved to Engels's home, where she ran the household.<ref name=Draper55a /> The pair worked in tandem to organize and arrange for the publication of Marx's literary estate, discovering in the process the manuscript from which Engels was able to reconstruct the [[Capital, Volume II|second volume]] of ''[[Das Kapital]]''.


In October 1890, Helena was diagnosed with cancer. She died in London on November 4 that year at the age of 69. In accordance with Jenny Marx's wishes, she was buried in the Marx family grave and later re-interred in the [[tomb of Karl Marx]] at [[Highgate Cemetery]].
In October 1890, Helena was diagnosed with cancer. She died in London on 4 November that year at the age of 69. She was buried in the Marx family grave in accordance with Jenny's wishes, and later re-interred in the [[tomb of Karl Marx]] at [[Highgate Cemetery]].

The obituary penned by Engels in The People's Press writes the following: "The leaders of the Socialist movement bore testimony to "her strong common-sense, her absolute rectitude of character, her ceaseless thoughtfulness for others, her reliability, and the essential truthfulness of her nature". Engels at her funeral declared that Marx took counsel of Helena Demuth, not only in difficult and intricate party matters, but even in respect of his economical writings. "As for me," he said, "what work I have been able to do since the death of Marx has been largely due to the sunshine and support of her presence in the house."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Helene Demuth Obituary |url=https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/bio/family/demuth/obitry.htm |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=www.marxists.org}}</ref>


===Frederick Demuth===
===Frederick Demuth===
On June 23, 1851 Helene Demuth gave birth to a boy, Henry Frederick Demuth, the birth certificate leaving the name of the father blank.<ref name=Wheen>{{Cite book|first=Francis |last=Wheen|title=Karl Marx|page=170-176 |publisher=Fourth Estate |date=1999 |ISBN=9781841151144}}</ref> Most scholars accept that the child had been sired by Karl Marx,<ref name=PadoverXXV>Saul Padover (trans. and ed.), "Introduction: Marx, the Human Side," to Karl Marx, ''On Education, Women, and Children.'' New York: McGraw Hill Book Co., 1975; pg. xxv.</ref> a view that reflects surviving correspondence from the Marx family and their wider circle, as well as the fact that Marx's wife had been on a trip abroad nine months prior to the birth.<ref name=Wheen/> The baby was given Friedrich Engels' first name, and family correspondence suggests that Engels, a bachelor living in [[Manchester]] and Karl Marx's closest personal friend, claimed fatherhood of the boy. But that correspondence was written years after the actual event by a Marx-daughter who knew it from hearsay.
On 23 June 1851 Helene Demuth gave birth to a boy, Henry Frederick Demuth, the birth certificate leaving the name of the father blank.<ref name="Wheen">{{Cite book |last=Wheen |first=Francis |title=Karl Marx |date=1999 |publisher=Fourth Estate |isbn=978-1-84115-114-4 |pages=170–176}}</ref> Some scholars accept that the child had been sired by Karl Marx,<ref name=PadoverXXV>Saul Padover (trans. and ed.), "Introduction: Marx, the Human Side," to Karl Marx, ''On Education, Women, and Children.'' New York: McGraw Hill Book Co., 1975; pg. xxv.</ref> a view that reflects surviving correspondence from the Marx family and their wider circle, as well as the fact that Marx's wife had been on a trip abroad nine months prior to the birth.<ref name=Wheen/> The baby was given Friedrich Engels' first name, and family correspondence suggests that Engels, a bachelor living in [[Manchester]] and Karl Marx's closest personal friend, claimed fatherhood of the boy. But that correspondence was written years after the actual event by one of Marx's daughters, who knew it from hearsay.


The child's paternity however remains a subject of discussion, with the academic [[Terrell Carver]] stating that, although it has been claimed since 1962 that Marx was the father, "this is not well founded on the documentary materials available", adding that "the gossip" is not supported by "direct evidence that bears unambiguously on this matter".<ref name="Carver, 1991">{{cite book|last=Carver|first=Terrell|title=The Cambridge Companion to Marx|date=1991|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, United Kingdom|isbn=9780521366946|page=11|url=https://www.google.com/books?id=6VrfmJOEzZsC&lpg=PA11&dq=The%20Cambridge%20Companion%20to%20Marx%20Demuth&pg=PA11#v=onepage&q&f=false|editor-last=Carver|editor-first=Terrell|accessdate=30 May 2014|chapter=Reading Marx: Life and Works}}</ref>
The child's paternity, however, remains a subject of discussion, with the academic [[Terrell Carver]] stating that, although it has been claimed since 1962 that Marx was the father, "this is not well founded on the documentary materials available", adding that "the gossip" is not supported by "direct evidence that bears unambiguously on this matter".<ref name="Carver, 1991">{{cite book |last=Carver |first=Terrell |title=The Cambridge Companion to Marx |date=1991 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-36694-6 |editor-last=Carver |editor-first=Terrell |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |page=11 |chapter=Reading Marx: Life and Works |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6VrfmJOEzZsC&dq=The%20Cambridge%20Companion%20to%20Marx%20Demuth&pg=PA11 |accessdate=30 May 2014}}</ref>


Shortly after the birth, the baby, Frederick Lewis Demuth (1851−1929), was placed with a [[working class]] foster family in London named Lewis. He later trained as a toolmaker,<ref name=Draper55b>Draper, "Frederick Demuth," in ''The Marx-Engels Glossary,'' pg. 55.</ref> and was active in the [[Amalgamated Engineering Union]] and a founder member of the [[Hackney, London|Hackney]] [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]].<ref name=Wheen/> [[Eleanor Marx]], Marx's youngest daughter, came to know Frederick some time after her father's death and made him a family friend.<ref name=Draper55b/>
Shortly after the birth, the baby, to be known as Frederick Lewis Demuth, was placed with a [[working class]] foster family in London named Lewis. He later trained as a toolmaker,<ref name=Draper55b>Draper, "Frederick Demuth," in ''The Marx-Engels Glossary,'' pg. 55.</ref> and was active in the [[Amalgamated Engineering Union]] and a founder member of the [[Hackney, London|Hackney]] [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]].<ref name=Wheen/> [[Eleanor Marx]], Marx's youngest daughter, came to know Frederick some time after her father's death and made him a family friend.<ref name=Draper55b/>


==Notes and references==
==Notes and references==
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[[Category:German domestic workers]]
[[Category:German domestic workers]]
[[Category:Burials at Highgate Cemetery]]
[[Category:Burials at Highgate Cemetery]]
[[Category:German emigrants to England]]
[[Category:People from Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]]
[[Category:Emigrants from the German Confederation to the United Kingdom]]

Latest revision as of 01:23, 8 July 2024

Helene Demuth
Black and white portrait on a mature woman wearing a dress.
Born(1820-12-30)30 December 1820
Sankt Wendel, Principality of Lichtenberg, Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, German Confederation
Died4 November 1890(1890-11-04) (aged 69)
London, United Kingdom
Resting placeHighgate Cemetery
NationalityPrussian, German
Known forHousekeeper of Karl Marx, later household manager and political confidante of Frederich Engels
Frederick Lewis Demuth
Born
Henry Frederick Demuth

(1851-06-23)23 June 1851
London, United Kingdom
Died28 January 1929(1929-01-28) (aged 77)
Upper Clapton, London, United Kingdom
NationalityEnglish
OccupationMachinist
OrganizationAmalgamated Engineering Union
Political partyLabour
Children1

Helene or Helena Demuth (30 December 1820 – 4 November 1890) was a German housekeeper who worked for Jenny von Westphalen and Karl Marx, and later served as the household manager and political confidante of Friedrich Engels.

Biography

[edit]

Helena Demuth was born of peasant parents on 31 December 1820 in Sankt Wendel in today's Saarland. In 1840 Helena and her older sister Katharina worked in Trier as maids, Helena in the von Westphalen household, her sister in the house of a soapmaker two blocks away. They only worked there for about a year, then Katharina got pregnant and both went back to St. Wendel. Helena was living in the house of her mother in Grabenstrasse, St. Wendel in 1843, when Karl Marx married Jenny von Westphalen. Helena joined their household in April 1845 in Brussels, where she was sent by Jenny's mother.[1] She stayed with the Marxes as a lifelong housekeeper, friend, and political confidante, and was commonly known to the family by the nicknames Lenchen or Nim.[1]

After Marx's death in March 1883, Helena Demuth moved to Engels's home, where she ran the household.[1] The pair worked in tandem to organize and arrange for the publication of Marx's literary estate, discovering in the process the manuscript from which Engels was able to reconstruct the second volume of Das Kapital.

In October 1890, Helena was diagnosed with cancer. She died in London on 4 November that year at the age of 69. She was buried in the Marx family grave in accordance with Jenny's wishes, and later re-interred in the tomb of Karl Marx at Highgate Cemetery.

The obituary penned by Engels in The People's Press writes the following: "The leaders of the Socialist movement bore testimony to "her strong common-sense, her absolute rectitude of character, her ceaseless thoughtfulness for others, her reliability, and the essential truthfulness of her nature". Engels at her funeral declared that Marx took counsel of Helena Demuth, not only in difficult and intricate party matters, but even in respect of his economical writings. "As for me," he said, "what work I have been able to do since the death of Marx has been largely due to the sunshine and support of her presence in the house."[2]

Frederick Demuth

[edit]

On 23 June 1851 Helene Demuth gave birth to a boy, Henry Frederick Demuth, the birth certificate leaving the name of the father blank.[3] Some scholars accept that the child had been sired by Karl Marx,[4] a view that reflects surviving correspondence from the Marx family and their wider circle, as well as the fact that Marx's wife had been on a trip abroad nine months prior to the birth.[3] The baby was given Friedrich Engels' first name, and family correspondence suggests that Engels, a bachelor living in Manchester and Karl Marx's closest personal friend, claimed fatherhood of the boy. But that correspondence was written years after the actual event by one of Marx's daughters, who knew it from hearsay.

The child's paternity, however, remains a subject of discussion, with the academic Terrell Carver stating that, although it has been claimed since 1962 that Marx was the father, "this is not well founded on the documentary materials available", adding that "the gossip" is not supported by "direct evidence that bears unambiguously on this matter".[5]

Shortly after the birth, the baby, to be known as Frederick Lewis Demuth, was placed with a working class foster family in London named Lewis. He later trained as a toolmaker,[6] and was active in the Amalgamated Engineering Union and a founder member of the Hackney Labour Party.[3] Eleanor Marx, Marx's youngest daughter, came to know Frederick some time after her father's death and made him a family friend.[6]

Notes and references

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Hal Draper, "Helene Demuth," in The Marx-Engels Glossary: Volume III of the Marx-Engels Cyclopedia. New York: Schocken Books, 1986; pg. 55.
  2. ^ "Helene Demuth Obituary". www.marxists.org. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Wheen, Francis (1999). Karl Marx. Fourth Estate. pp. 170–176. ISBN 978-1-84115-114-4.
  4. ^ Saul Padover (trans. and ed.), "Introduction: Marx, the Human Side," to Karl Marx, On Education, Women, and Children. New York: McGraw Hill Book Co., 1975; pg. xxv.
  5. ^ Carver, Terrell (1991). "Reading Marx: Life and Works". In Carver, Terrell (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Marx. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-521-36694-6. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  6. ^ a b Draper, "Frederick Demuth," in The Marx-Engels Glossary, pg. 55.
[edit]
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