Workers of the world, unite!

The political slogan Workers of the world, unite! (German: "Proletarier aller Länder vereinigt Euch!", literally "Proletarians of all countries, unite!") is one of the most famous rallying cries of communism, found in The Communist Manifesto (1848), by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A variation ("Workers of all lands, unite") is also inscribed on Marx's tombstone.

This slogan was the USSR State motto (Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! Proletariy vsekh stran, soyedinyaytes'!), appeared in the coat of arms of the Soviet Union, on 1919 Russian SFSR banknotes (in German, French, Chinese, English, and Arabic) and in most Soviet newspapers. Contemporarily, some socialist and communist parties continue using it. Moreover, it is a common usage in popular culture, often chanted during labour strikes and protests[1]

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Variations

In the first Swedish language translation of the Communist Manifesto, published in 1848, the translator Pehr Götrek substituted the slogan for Folkets röst, Guds röst! (i.e. "Vox populi, vox Dei", or "The Voice of the People, the Voice of God"). Later translations have, however, included the original slogan.

Amongst Maoist-oriented groups a variation invented by Lenin, 'Workers and Oppressed Peoples and Nations of the World, Unite!', is sometimes used. This slogan was the rallying cry of the 2nd Comintern congress in 1920, and denoted the anti-Imperialist and anti-Colonialist agenda of the Comintern.

Non-English usage

This phrase has been translated into many languages. All of the Soviet Socialist Republics in the Soviet Union had it as their motto translated into the local languages. An extensive list of such translations is available at Wiktionary.

See also

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External links