Marx as a Migrant – A digital narrative

Karl Marx lived a long life as a migrant. Fleeing from the Prussian state, censorship and possible arrest, important stops on his journey were Paris, Brussels and London. These cities shaped his political activities, his engagement with political fellow-travellers, as well as his intellectual development and thus his entire work.

At the click of a mouse, you can follow Marx as a migrant from city to city. You can not only immerse yourself in his time, but also discover that even today, traces of his life and work continue to be seen in Paris, Brussels and London.

Each station takes about 45 minutes.

Contact: info@marx200.org

Marx as a Migrant

  • Brussels
  • Belgium Exile

In the ranks of political refugees

Brussels, 3 February 1845. – Around 19:00, presumably with the last train from Liège, Marx and Bürgers arrive at the old Gare du Nord train station. It was still an open construction site at the time.

Around 120,000 people lived in Brussels, nearly 24,000 of them from abroad, including 5,000 Germans. Many are political refugees, persecuted in their home countries or expelled from them: French Blanquists, Polish Democrats, German Republicans.

The philosopher and journalist Karl Marx, 26 years old in 1845, would number among the most famous of them 200 years later.