Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist. Berkman Alexander

A reference to the execution of George Engel, Adolph Fischer, Albert Parsons, and August Spies on November 11, 1887. Some of the executed men certainly felt that their deaths would be the spark that lit the fire of revolt.

      97 At its 1891 Congress in Efurt, the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) declared religion to be a private matter. The Party also called for the end of public money donations to church bodies. What angered Berkman, however, was the refusal of the SPD to denounce religion in its entirety thus implying that one could still believe in God and be a socialist.

      98 To many Jewish anarchists, Most was the leading spokesperson of anarchism in America. His power of oratory brought people into the movement as well as constantly inspiring them once they had joined. Consequently his critique of Berkman’s action certainly had some effect among Jewish anarchists. Some, however, found the action itself indefensible regardless of the opinion of Most, while others supported it.

      Chapter IV: A Ray of Light

      I yearn for companionship. Even the mere sight of a human form is a relief. Every morning, after breakfast, I eagerly listen for the familiar swish-swash on the flagstones of the hallway: it is the old rangeman99 “sweeping up.” The sensitive mouth puckered up in an inaudible whistle, the one-armed prisoner swings the broom with his left, the top of the handle pressed under the armpit.

      “Hello, Aleck! How’re you feeling to-day?”