Ernest Mandel

He was born in Frankfurt, Germany, in April 1923. Shortly before the rise of Nazism in Germany, his family self-exiled to Belgium to escape certain arrest. At the age of 16, he joined the Belgian section of the newly founded Fourth International. By the age of 18, he was a member of the Central Committee and was active in the underground movement. In 1941, he was arrested for the first time by the Nazis for distributing anti-fascist leaflets. Tirelessly advocating for socialism even while in prison, he managed to awaken the working-class consciousness of German soldiers, who helped him escape. He was arrested a second time and remained imprisoned until the complete collapse of Nazism. At 23, he became a member of the Unified Secretariat of the Fourth International and remained a leading figure until his death in 1995. He played a leading role in the Belgian general strike of 1961-62 and in the events of May 1968.