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Primary sourceBook1934

Die Februarkämpfe in Österreich und ihre Lehren

Béla Kun · 1934

A 1934 German-language pamphlet by Béla Kun analysing the Austrian Civil War, published by a Comintern-linked press in Moscow.

This pamphlet was written by Kun himself, showing his later career as a Comintern theorist writing on European politics.

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Front cover of a dark red booklet. Top left reads 'Bela Kun' in cream letters. Center title reads 'Die Februarkämpfe in Österreich und ihre Lehren'. Bottom has a circular emblem with a figure and text 'Verlagsgenossenschaft Ausländischer Arbeiter in der UdSSR / Moskau-Leningrad 1934'.
Béla Kun, Die Februarkämpfe in Österreich und ihre Lehren, Moscow, Verlagsgenossenschaft Ausländischer Arbeiter in der UdSSR, 1934.

About this source

What it is

This is the cover of a pamphlet written by Béla Kun and published in 1934 in Moscow by the Verlagsgenossenschaft Ausländischer Arbeiter in der UdSSR, a publishing cooperative for foreign workers in the USSR. The title translates as 'The February Fighting in Austria and its Lessons'.

Why it matters

By 1934 Kun had become an exiled theorist working for the Communist International (Comintern) in Moscow. This pamphlet shows him analysing events abroad, in this case the Austrian Civil War, to draw political lessons for communists elsewhere. It reflects his continuing role shaping communist strategy long after the fall of the Hungarian Soviet Republic.

Look closer

  • Who was the intended audience for a German-language pamphlet printed in Moscow?
  • What does the choice of topic tell you about Kun's concerns in exile?
  • Why might a political exile write about events in a country other than his own?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Béla Kun on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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