RARE FIRST CROATIAN TRANSLATION OF THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO

MARX, K. (+). F. ENGELS.

Komunistički manifest [i.e. Croatian: "Das Kommunistische Manifest"]

Preveo M. Pijade (Belgrad), Biblioteka Marksizma-Lenjinizma, 1945.

8vo (195 x 145 mm). In the original printed wrappers. A few small nicks to wrappers and a few occassional light markings in margin. Otherwise a fine and clean copy. 64, (3) pp.


First Croatian translation of the Communist Manifesto, translated by Moša Pijade (1890 – 1957), a Yugoslav communist, politician and Tito’s close friends. Pijade also translated the introductions to previous translations to other languages, to help the reader to understand the importance of the work.

Pijade, artist, art critic and author, was born in Belgrade and of Sephardic Jewish parentage. He joined the Communist party in the 1920s, in which he was active as a writer for various newspapers and magazines. After having translated ‘Das Kapital’ in 1924, Pijade was arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison because of his ‘revolutionary activities’, a sentence, for which he served 14 years.

In the prison Moša Pijade befriended Josip Bros-Tito, who was also imprisoned for his illegal communist activities, and the two men became good friends.

During WWII, Pijade became one of the leaders of Tito’s partisans and after the war the President of the Yugoslavian Parliament between 1954 and 1955. In 1948, Pijade convinced Tito to allow the Yugoslav Jews to immigrate to Israel.

Order-nr.: 59904


DKK 22.500,00