August Kaden

Cigar maker, publisher & social democrat - a memorial to August Kaden

August Wilhelm Kaden died 100 years ago, on 21 June 1913 - a Radebeul personality to whom even Eduard Bilz had to cede his street name at the time. But who was August Kaden really? After an education at primary school and then secondary school, he learnt the trade of a cigar maker and initially earned his living by rolling tobacco leaves. He then opened a small cigar factory in Dresden. His livelihood was also secured by a small cigar shop where, in addition to smoking sticks, heads also smoked, as the premises served as a kind of secret headquarters for social democratic groups and were the scene of lively debate and organisation. Independent of the business income, August Kaden travelled to southern Germany, Holland and Switzerland for educational purposes and to make contacts.

In 1886, he finally settled at Uferstraße 6 in Kötzschenbroda. Here he continued his active political involvement, for example in the workers' education association and as a member of the local municipal council. He had already been a member of the Saxon Chamber of Deputies of the SPD for a year, where he fought for improvements in the areas of welfare for the poor, primary schools and servants (servants/servants structure). He vehemently opposed the course of the then incumbent Minister von Nostitz-Wallwitz (an old noble family).

August Kaden represented the SPD at the party congress in St. Gallen in 1887 and also at the first international socialist congress in Paris in 1889. As a candidate for the constituency of Saxony, he finally succeeded Wilhelm Liebknecht as a member of the Reichstag in 1898, a position Kaden held until his death. In this position, he primarily campaigned for the interests of local young people, for example in educational matters. Imparting knowledge through the written word was particularly close to his heart. This was linked to the founding of his publishing house Kaden & Companie in Dresden in 1898, with an associated printing works and bookshop. Organised by the "Vereinigung linksgerichteter Sortimenter", the publishing house published the "Sächsische Arbeiter-Zeitung", which was later renamed "Dresdner Volkszeitung". Kaden & Co. also published the "Jüdisches Gemeindeblatt" and, for a time, the "Mob", a recognised and sharp-tongued youth magazine. In addition to political and social issues, the publishing programme also included nature, sports and technology publications, children's and fairy tale stories, nature and poetry volumes.

Contemporaries particularly appreciated "his organisational activities within the Social Democratic Party, which owed much to him, especially in Saxony. With a certain tenacity and tireless consistency, he knew how to push through the goals he had set for himself." By dedicating a street to him in 1945, his commitment to politics and culture was honoured accordingly.

Maren Gündel, City Archive

Sources: Weiss, N.: Dichter, Denker, Literaten aus sechs Jahrhunderten in Dresden; Altner, M.:Sächsische Lebensbilder; Radebeuler Tageblatt from 24 June 1913.

Published in: Radebeul official gazette in June 2013