The death of Pierre Broué, an irreparable loss to Marxism

With profound sadness we learned of the death of comrade Pierre Broué, the outstanding Trotskyist historian and veteran revolutionary militant. After a long and painful battle against cancer, Pierre passed away at 03h04 on Wednesday July 27, at the age of 79.

In Spanish: La muerte de Pierre Broué - Una perdida irreparable para el marxismo
In German: Der Tod von Pierre Broué, ein unwiederbringlicher Verlust für den Marxismus

With profound sadness we learned of the death of comrade Pierre Broué, the outstanding Trotskyist historian and veteran revolutionary militant. After a long and painful battle against cancer, Pierre passed away at 03h04 on Wednesday July 27, at the age of 79.

(Photo by Greg Oxley)

Pierre Broué will be remembered for his marvellous books which trace the history of the international revolutionary movement and particularly the life and work of Leon Trotsky and his followers. Among these are the History of the Bolshevik Party, Communists against Stalin, Trotsky, and many books on the Spanish and German revolution

He was a man who dedicated his entire life to the cause of revolutionary communism. As a young man, he fought in the ranks of the French resistance against Nazi occupation. He joined the Young Communists, and soon adopted the standpoint of Trotskyism, which he has consistently defended ever since.

In the last years of his life, Pierre moved close to the political positions of the International Marxist Tendency, the public expression of which is Marxist.com.

Pierre Broué enthusiastically supported the Leon Trotsky publishing project, which we launched two years ago. He recently wrote a preface to our edition of Not Guilty, the conclusion of the Dewey Commission on the Moscow Trials, which have been out of print for many years.

The death of Pierre Broué represents an irreparable loss for international Marxism. Had he lived, we have no doubt that he would have produced even more works of lasting importance for our movement.

We extend our heartfelt sympathy to Pierre’s family, friends and comrades, in particular Jean-Pierre, his close collaborator, comrade and friend.

Marxist.com will be publishing tributes to Pierre Broué next week.