Ture Nerman - Political Awakening

Political Awakening

The year 1905 saw both a revolution in Russia and revolutionary development in Scandinavia as Norway declared itself independent from the rule of the Swedish crown. These changes radicalized Ture Nerman politically to the left. He had already started reading August Strindberg, Leo Tolstoy and Ellen Key. Soon he would discover Karl Marx (even if it took many years until he fully started to study and understand Marxism). Nerman started going to socialist youth meetings in Uppsala.

In 1907, Nerman was conscripted for military service. By his own request, he got medical training. Nerman had already developed an anti-militarist standpoint and in 1908 he was caught by the secret police handing out illegal anti-militarist leaflets. He was first convicted to jail, but the penalty was altered to a 300 kronor fine. His father sent him the money, but the rebellious son used it to finance a trip to Paris, where he stayed a couple of weeks. Upon returning to Sweden he was once again sent money by his father to pay off the fine to avoid going to jail.

In 1909, Nerman moved to the northern city of Sundsvall where he started working as a writer for a Social Democratic newspaper called Nya Samhället, (New Society). At this point Nerman had already gotten a couple of his poetry books published. Many of these were radical, provocative poems, aimed against the church, the Swedish king and the bourgeoisie.

Ture Nerman joined the Swedish Social Democratic Party and soon became part of the left wing together with Zeth Höglund. He became one of the leaders of the left opposition of the party against its reformist leader Hjalmar Branting.

On New Year's Day in 1912, and the following weeks, Nerman and some of his Swedish friends went to Germany to follow Karl Liebknecht during his election campaign. Nerman had met Liebknecht briefly a couple of years earlier on a socialist gathering in Stockholm, but this time they got to know each other well. In his autobiography, Nerman writes that he was surprised and impressed to learn that Liebknecht could speak almost fluent Swedish and liked to sing songs by Bellman.