1.

I searched for documented information on Martin Monath, Arbeiter und Soldat, and postwar republications. A few things stand out clearly.

Did Raya Dunayevskaya (“Forest”) or other Fourth International breakaways mention Monath?

I could not find evidence in the available sources that Raya Dunayevskaya, the Johnson-Forest Tendency, or C. L. R. James wrote about Martin Monath. The sources I found discussing Monath focus on Fourth International wartime networks, later Trotskyist historians, and modern biographers.

That does not prove they never mentioned him. It means I could not verify such references from the sources located.

In fact, Monath was obscure enough after 1944 that many later accounts did not even have his real name correct for decades.

Most important published editions of Arbeiter und Soldat

1. Original wartime issues (1943-1944)

Six issues were published clandestinely in occupied France for German soldiers. The paper was edited by Martin Monath and produced by Trotskyist militants associated with the Fourth International.

2. 2008 English republication

The surviving archive of issues was republished in English in 2008.

3. 2018 German edition

The German book by Nathaniel Flakin included the text of Arbeiter und Soldat.

4. 2019 Pluto Press English edition

The English biography Martin Monath: A Jewish Resistance Fighter Among Nazi Soldiers includes the translated text of the newspaper issues.

This is probably the most important current edition.

Top 5 arguments in Arbeiter und Soldat

Based on descriptions of the paper:

1. German soldiers were workers in uniform

Monath’s tendency argued that ordinary German soldiers were not identical with the Nazi leadership and could become revolutionary actors.

2. No support for Nazi officers

The paper encouraged rank-and-file soldiers to oppose the officer corps and Nazi command structure.

3. Fraternization with French workers

Central to the project was building solidarity between German soldiers and French workers.

4. Opposition to both Nazi and Allied imperialism

The paper opposed fascism but did not politically support the Western Allied governments, viewing them as imperialist powers as well.

5. International revolution as the solution to war

Rather than national victory, the paper advocated international working-class revolution as the way out of the war.

These are probably the five themes most associated with Monath.

Who was Paul Mattick?

Paul Mattick was a German-American council communist theorist associated with the KAPD tradition and later American council communism. He was strongly influenced by Anton Pannekoek and corresponded with council communist networks. He rejected both capitalism and Bolshevik-style party rule and emphasized workers’ councils and self-emancipation.

From the perspective of left communist history, Mattick is one of the most important postwar figures because he helped preserve the council communist tradition after it had largely disappeared organizationally.

Did Mattick cite Monath?

I could not find evidence that Paul Mattick cited Martin Monath. The available Mattick bibliographies and archives do not show an obvious Monath connection.

Which postwar currents seem most likely to appreciate Monath?

Not based on documented citations, but based on political affinity:

1. German anti-Stalinist Trotskyists.
2. Fourth International historians.
3. Council communists interested in rank-and-file self-organization.
4. Libertarian Marxists.
5. Some left communists interested in anti-nationalist resistance.

The challenge is that Monath died very young, and his writings circulated in a tiny underground milieu. Unlike Pannekoek, Mattick, Sylvia Pankhurst, or C. L. R. James, he did not live long enough to build a substantial postwar theoretical corpus.

The strongest documented intellectual link remains: Hashomer Hatzair → Trotskyist Fourth International → Arbeiter und Soldat.

A particularly interesting next step would be tracing whether Monath appears in postwar journals such as Living Marxism, International Council Correspondence, Socialisme ou Barbarie, or later British left communist publications. I have not yet found verified references there.

2.

From the sources I found, the restoration of Martin Monath‘s legacy happened in stages.

Who rediscovered Monath?

1. Former Trotskyist comrades (1940s)

The earliest memorial texts were written by surviving Fourth International militants after his death.

The surviving document collection includes:

• “Martin Widelin – Our Martyr” (1946)
• George Breitman, “Why the Gestapo Tracked Him Down”
• Marguerite Baget, “A Heroic Trotskyist Leader”
• Rudolf Segall memoirs and recollections

These are among the earliest attempts to preserve his memory.

2. Fourth International historians

For decades Monath survived mostly inside Trotskyist historical memory rather than mainstream Holocaust or labor history. The sources identify him as part of the wartime Fourth International underground.

3. Nathaniel (Wladek) Flakin

The single most important modern figure in recovering Monath’s history appears to be Nathaniel Flakin.

The sources state that Flakin reconstructed Monath’s life from archives, family records, correspondence, and unpublished material. The biography was presented as the first comprehensive reconstruction of Monath’s life.

If you’re asking “who did the most to rediscover Monath?” the strongest answer is probably:

1. surviving Fourth International comrades (1940s memorials)
2. Rudolf Segall and other surviving witnesses
3. Nathaniel Flakin (largest modern recovery effort)

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Exact digitized Arbeiter und Soldat issues documented

The sources explicitly list:

1. No. 1 – July 1943
2. No. 2 – August 1943
3. No. 3 – September 1943
4. No. 4 – April-May 1944
5. No. 5 – Special Issue, June 1944
6. No. 6 – July 1944

The English edition reproduces these issues.

The source also notes that six issues were published between 1943 and 1944.

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Important published editions

Original wartime publication

Arbeiter und Soldat (1943-1944).

2008 English republication

The surviving archive was republished in English in 2008.

German edition (2018)

Nathaniel Flakin, Arbeiter und Soldat: Martin Monath – Ein Berliner Jude unter Wehrmachtssoldaten.

English edition (2019)

Nathaniel Flakin, Martin Monath: A Jewish Resistance Fighter Among Nazi Soldiers, Pluto Press, including the newspaper texts.

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Most important surviving Monath-related documents

Based on the sources:

1. Arbeiter und Soldat issues 1-6.

Monath’s Berlin and Brussels correspondence discussed in Flakin’s work. Fourth International wartime conference materials mentioning his milieu. 1946 memorial text “Martin Widelin – Our Martyr”. Testimonies of Rudolf Segall.

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Did postwar council communists adopt Monath?

I searched specifically for evidence connecting Monath to:

• Paul Mattick
• council communist journals
• postwar Dutch council communist publications

I found no documented citation in the search results.

That does not mean none exist. It means I could not verify any from the sources retrieved.

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Why Monath is unusual

What makes Monath historically distinctive is that he combined:

1. Jewish background
2. Hashomer Hatzair leadership
3. Trotskyist Fourth International activity
4. anti-Nazi resistance
5. direct organizing among German soldiers

The last point is what makes Arbeiter und Soldat stand out. Few wartime socialist publications attempted systematic revolutionary agitation aimed directly at ordinary Wehrmacht soldiers.

If you’d like, I can also trace the chain Hashomer Hatzair → Abraham Leon → Martin Monath → Ernest Mandel and compare it to Pannekoek → Mattick → Root & Branch to see where the traditions converged and diverged.