Letters from Tomis

My Socialist Hall of Fame

During this chaotic era of vile rhetoric and manipulative tactics from our so-called bourgeois leaders, I am invigorated by the opportunity to reflect on Socialists, Revolutionaries, Philosophers, Guerrilla Leaders, Partisans, and Critical Theory titans, champions, and martyrs who paved the way for us—my own audacious “Socialism’s Hall of Fame.” These are my heroes and fore-bearers. Not all are perfect, or even fully admirable, but all contributed in some way to our future–either as icons to emulate, or as warnings to avoid in the future.

Introduction

Alfred Rosmer (1877–1964) stands as one of the most influential yet underrecognized figures in the international socialist and communist movements of the early 20th century. A French trade unionist, anti-war activist, historian of the First World War, and committed revolutionary, Rosmer played a crucial role in shaping leftist internationalism during and after the Russian Revolution. His political trajectory, from anarcho-syndicalism to Bolshevism and then to independent Trotskyism, reflects the tumultuous ideological evolution of the revolutionary left in the interwar years. Through his work with the Comité de la Troisième Internationale and later the Left Opposition, Rosmer emerged as a critical voice of revolutionary Marxism, committed to workers’ internationalism and anti-bureaucratic socialism.

Early Life and Anarcho-Syndicalist Beginnings

Born Alfred Griot in Paterson, New Jersey, to French working-class immigrants, Rosmer returned with his family to France at an early age. By the early 1900s, he became involved in the syndicalist wing of the French labor movement and adopted the pen name “Rosmer” in his journalistic and political writings. A close collaborator of Pierre Monatte, he wrote for the revolutionary syndicalist journal La Vie Ouvrière, which emphasized direct action, the general strike, and anti-parliamentarianism. Like many syndicalists, Rosmer initially viewed the state with suspicion and focused on building autonomous working-class institutions.

World War I and Anti-Militarist Resistance

The outbreak of World War I marked a turning point in Rosmer’s political development. While many socialists and trade union leaders capitulated to nationalism, Rosmer, alongside Monatte and others, remained steadfast in their opposition to the war. He became one of the few French internationalists who maintained contact with anti-war revolutionaries across Europe. His participation in the Zimmerwald Movement—an international gathering of socialist opponents of the war—signaled his gradual shift toward Marxism and Bolshevism.

Rosmer’s anti-war stance culminated in the founding of La Vie Ouvrière’s clandestine successor, which continued to publish internationalist critiques of the war effort, denouncing both German and Allied imperialism. His moral clarity and firm stance during these years earned him admiration from Lenin and Trotsky.

The Russian Revolution and the Comintern

Following the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917, Rosmer was among the earliest French leftists to embrace the October Revolution. In 1920, he traveled to Soviet Russia and became a representative of the French Communist movement to the Communist International (Comintern). He worked closely with Zinoviev, Bukharin, and Trotsky and served on the Executive Committee of the Comintern, participating in its early congresses and aiding in the strategic development of Communist Parties across Western Europe.

Rosmer’s contribution to the Comintern was critical in promoting the “united front” policy and defending the autonomy of trade unions within the broader revolutionary project. He also functioned as a translator and mediator between the French movement and the Russian leadership, while maintaining his independence from Stalinist centralization.

Break with Stalinism and Left Opposition

By the mid-1920s, Rosmer became disillusioned with the bureaucratization of the Soviet regime and the degeneration of the Comintern under Stalin’s leadership. His opposition to the increasingly authoritarian direction of international Communism led to his expulsion from the French Communist Party (PCF) in 1924, alongside Monatte. In 1927, Rosmer joined Trotsky in forming the Left Opposition, a movement committed to defending Leninist principles and socialist democracy against Stalinism.

Though never a doctrinaire Trotskyist, Rosmer remained a loyal comrade to Trotsky, visiting him in exile and later defending his legacy after his assassination. He helped organize the Comité pour la Reprise des Relations Internationales (CRRI) in France, which served as a nucleus for anti-Stalinist Marxism during the 1930s.

Later Life, Historical Work, and Legacy

After withdrawing from active politics during World War II, Rosmer devoted himself to historical scholarship. His major works include Le Mouvement ouvrier pendant la Première Guerre mondiale and Moscou sous Lénine, both of which offer vivid and detailed accounts of workers’ struggles and revolutionary upheavals. Unlike the hagiographies produced by Stalinist historians, Rosmer’s works are characterized by their honest, first-hand accounts and critical assessments of revolutionary processes.

Rosmer’s historical significance lies not only in his activism but in his steadfast moral integrity. He consistently refused to compromise with bureaucratic authoritarianism, whether from the French state, social democratic reformism, or Stalinist repression. Though marginalized by the official narratives of both social democracy and Stalinist Communism, Rosmer’s legacy has been revived by historians and activists interested in libertarian Marxism, anti-war internationalism, and democratic socialism.

Conclusion

Alfred Rosmer occupies a unique place in the history of international socialism. His life charts a course through the core ideological struggles of the 20th century left: from syndicalist resistance to war, through revolutionary participation in the Comintern, to principled opposition to Stalinist betrayal. His contributions as both activist and historian remain vital to understanding the revolutionary hopes and tragic defeats of the socialist movement in the last century. Rosmer exemplifies a current of Marxism that prioritized worker self-emancipation, international solidarity, and opposition to all forms of bureaucratic domination—an outlook that remains resonant in the 21st century.

Bibliography

• Rosmer, Alfred. Moscow Under Lenin. Translated by Ian H. Birchall. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1971.

• Rosmer, Alfred. The Workers’ Movement in the First World War. London: Pluto Press, 1980.

• Birchall, Ian. The Spectre of Babeuf: The Life and Ideas of Gracchus Babeuf and the Legacy of Revolutionary Egalitarianism. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 1997.

• Broué, Pierre. The German Revolution 1917–1923. Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2006.

• Kriegel, Annie. The French Communists: Profile of a People. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1972.

• Nettl, J.P. Rosa Luxemburg, Volumes I and II. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1966.

• Le Blanc, Paul. Lenin and the Revolutionary Party. Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2016.

• Trotsky, Leon. The First Five Years of the Communist International. New York: Pathfinder Press, 1972.