On Your Marx Trivia Quiz

Answer: Trier

Karl Heinrich Marx was born into a wealthy middle class family of Jewish origin. On his father's side of the family his ancestors had supplied the rabbis for Trier for several generations. However, his father converted to Christianity in 1817 or 1818. His mother's family went on to form the Philips Electronics company.

Answer: Jenny

Baroness Johanna Bertha Julie "Jenny" von Westphalen to give her her full title. Jenny came from noble lineage which included the Dukes of Argyll and was distantly related to King James I of England.

Answer: Moor

The name 'Moor 'was used by friends, colleagues, children and spouse. It refers to his dark complexion and colouring in the sense of the Moorish people.

Answer: False

"The Communist Manifesto" was first published in 1848. The first volume of "Das Kapital" was released in 1867, the final two volumes were edited by Friedrich Engels and published posthumously.

Answer: Workers of the world, unite!

A variation of this line also appears on Marx's gravestone and was used as the state motto of the USSR. Originally written in German as "Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt Euch!", the literal translation would be "Proletarians of all countries, unite!"
"A spectre is haunting Europe - the spectre of communism" is the first line of the Manifesto.

Answer: Religion

What he actually said was "Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people," which is far more poetic.
He also had this to say about religion, "Religion is the impotence of the human mind to deal with occurrences it cannot understand."

Answer: Carbuncles

Periodically Marx would suffer from bouts of carbuncles that erupted over his body. This would cause immense pain and discomfort preventing sleep and sitting for any period of time. Marx tried many cures, including visits to spas such as Harrogate to take the waters.

Answer: Madrid

Marx spent his early life in various parts of Germany before leaving for Paris in 1843. He was eventually asked to leave after pressure from the Prussian Government and went to Brussels in 1845. He returned to Germany in 1848 and lived for a short while in Cologne before eventually relocating to London.

Answer: Friedrich Engels

Engels was a friend, co-author of "The Communist Manifesto" and editor of Marx's notes of the final two volumes of "Das Kapital" which allowed their posthumous publication. He also was financial backer to the ever destitute Marx sending him regular allowances. "The Condition of The Working Class in England" was written by Engels in 1845 and gave a grim description of living conditions in the industrial areas of the north of England.

Answer: Highgate Cemetery in London

"On the 14th of March, at a quarter to three in the afternoon, the greatest living thinker ceased to think. He had been left alone for scarcely two minutes, and when we came back we found him in his armchair, peacefully gone to sleep-but forever" - Friederich Engels at Marx's funeral.