born Aug. 13, 1871, Leipzig, Ger.
died Jan. 15, 1919, Berlin
German socialist leader.
Son of Social Democratic Party for opposing its leadership and came into close alliance with Rosa Luxemburg , with whom he founded the {{link=Spartacists">Spartacists . He was imprisoned (1916–18) for advocating the overthrow of the government. In 1918 he played a leading role in forming the German Communist Party. A series of bloody clashes culminated in the January 1919 putsch in which Liebknecht resorted to force; he was shot on the pretext that he was attempting to escape arrest.
Karl Liebknecht, 1913
Interfoto-Friedrich Rauch, Munich