Decision of the Mass Meeting (Cologne, 1848)

Author(s) Ernst Dronke
Friedrich Engels
Joseph Moll
Karl Schapper
Written 23 September 1848


First published in the Neue Rheinische Zeitung No. 110, September 23, 1848
Printed according to the newspaper
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 7
Collection(s): Neue Rheinische Zeitung


🔍 See also : Mass Meeting in Worringen (Cologne, 1848).

The favour of reprinting is requested.

The citizens assembled in a mass meeting in Cologne on September 20,[1]

considering: that the decision of the Frankfurt National Assembly of the 16th, approving the dishonourable armistice with Denmark, is a betrayal of the German people and of the honour of German arms, declare:

Article 1. The members of the Frankfurt so-called National Assembly, with the exception of those who have announced to the people their readiness to resign, are traitors to the people;

Article 2. The fighters at the barricades in Frankfurt have rendered a meritorious service to the fatherland.

This proclamation is to be distributed as widely as possible by wall-posters and through the press.

The office of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung is prepared to accept contributions for the support of the insurgents and their families.[2]

  1. ↑ A separate leaflet with the text of the Proclamation was also issued. In this leaflet the introductory phrase was printed in the following form: "The citizens assembled in a mass meeting, which was summoned by the Committee of Public Safety, the Democratic Association and the Workers' Association, in Cologne on September 20...."— Ed.
  2. ↑ In the leaflet this sentence is replaced by the following text: "The office of the Neue Rheinische Zeitung has consented to accept contributions in aid of those who fought on the barricades in Frankfurt and their families, and it will forward them to Deputy Schlöffel from Silesia for appropriate use.
    "The other democratic newspapers will undoubtedly act in a similar way."—Ed.