She became a key figure of the revolutionary socialist movements of Poland and Germany during the late 19th and early 20th century, particularly the Spartacist uprising. Born and raised in a secular Jewish family in Congress Poland , she became a German citizen in The same year, she was awarded a Doctor of Law in political economy from the University of Zurich , becoming one of the first women in Europe to do so.
Luxemburg considered the Spartacist uprising of January a blunder, [ 1 ] but supported the attempted overthrow of the SPD-ruled Weimar Republic and rejected any attempt at a negotiated solution. Freikorps troops captured, tortured and executed [ 2 ] Luxemburg and Liebknecht during the rebellion. Due to her pointed criticism of both the Leninist and the more moderate social democratic schools of Marxism , Luxemburg has always had a somewhat ambivalent reception among scholars and theorists of the political left.
Little is known about Rozalia's great-grandparents, Elisza and Szayndla, but according to historical evidence it is likely they lived in Warsaw. Her father Edward, like his father Abraham, supported the Jewish Reform movement. Luxemburg later stated that her father imparted an interest in liberal ideas to her while her mother was religious and well-read with books kept at home.
Rory Castle writes: "From her grandfather and father [Rosa] inherited the belief that she was a Pole first and a Jew second, with her emotional connection to the Polish language and culture and her passionate opposition to Tsarism being of central importance. Although her parents were religious, they did not consider themselves to be Jewish by nationality, rather 'Poles of the Mosaic persuasion ' ".
Her family was a closely knitted support network, even when its members were spread out across Europe. This solid foundation, which supported and encouraged her at every step, gave Luxemburg the intellectual and personal confidence to go out and attempt to change the world.
