Albert Meltzer

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Albert Meltzer (January 7, 1920 – May 7, 1996) was an anarcho-communist activist and writer.

Early life

Meltzer was born in London, and attracted to anarchism at the age of fifteen as a direct result of taking boxing lessons. The Labour MP for Edmonton, Edith Summerskill was virulently anti-boxing and his school governors at The Latymer School considered it "common". At his first anarchist meeting in 1935, he contradicted Emma Goldman's comments on boxing. As the Spanish Revolution turned into the Spanish Civil War Meltzer became active organising solidarity appeals. He involved himself with smuggling arms from Hamburg to the CNT in Spain and acted as a contact for the Spanish anarchist intelligence services in Britain. At this time he had a part as an extra in Leslie Howard's film "Pimpernel Smith", as Howard wanted more authentic actors playing the anarchists.

Beliefs on anarchism

Meltzer believed that the only true type of anarchism was communistic. He opposed the individualist anarchism of people such as Benjamin Tucker, believing that the private police that individualists support would constitute a "government." [Metlzer, Albert. "Anarchism: For and Against", AK Press. [http://www.spunk.org/texts/writers/meltzer/sp001500.html#INTRO] ]

Meltzer's activism

Meltzer was a co-founder of the anarchist newspaper "Black Flag" and was a prolific writer on anarchist topics. Amongst his books were "Anarchism, Arguments For and Against" (originally published by Cienfuegos Press) [http://www.spunk.org/library/writers/meltzer/sp001500.html] , "The Floodgates of Anarchy" (co-written with Stuart Christie) and his autobiography, "I Couldn't Paint Golden Angels", published by AK Press [http://www.spunk.org/library/writers/meltzer/sp001591/angeltoc.html] shortly before his death.

Meltzer also was involved in the founding of the Anarchist Black Cross. The imprisonment of Stuart Christie, jailed in 1964 for his part in a plot to assassinate Francisco Franco, led to the spotlight being placed on anarchist resistance and the fate of other anarchist prisoners. Meltzer campaigned for Christie's release and when he was freed in 1967 Christie joined with Albert to launch the Anarchist Black Cross, to call for solidarity with those anarchists left behind in prison. This solidarity gave practical help, such as food and medicine, to the prisoners, and helped force the Spanish state to apply its own parole rules. One of the first prisoners the Anarchist Black Cross helped free was Miguel Garcia, a veteran of the Spanish anarchist resistance, as well as wartime resistance in France. After serving 20 years in Spanish jails he moved to London to work with the Anarchist Black Cross. At the time, Albert was a printworker and managed to get Garcia work in the trade.

Meltzer also helped to found the Kate Sharpley Library.

He joined the anarcho-syndicalist Direct Action Movement in the early 80s and was a member of it, and its successor organisation the Solidarity Federation until his death. He was originally a member of the Central London Direct Action Movement branch, but when that wound up he joined the Deptford branch, as he lived in Lewisham. He died after a stroke at the 1996 Solidarity Federation Conference in Weston-super-Mare.

Notes and references

External links

* [http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/bright/meltzer/meltzer.html Anarchist Archives entry on Meltzer]
* [http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/ws/albert49.html An obituary for Meltzer]
* [http://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/meltzer.htm Tribute to Albert Meltzer]
* [http://libcom.org/tags/albert-meltzer Articles by or about Meltzer collected on libcom.org]
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19960510/ai_n14053361 Obituary, "The Independent"]