While Max Sievers represents a fixed and important historical point of reference for the Humanist Association of Germany, he is not well-known enough outside this framework. This is not least due to the lack of historical research, which is greatly disproportionate to his importance for organized freethought before 1933. A comprehensive biography and a collection of his writings have yet to be written. In 2025, the first attempt was made in France to present Sievers’ important texts in translation to a French audience; the translations were made by the Germanist and freethinker Pierre-Yves Modicom.
Max Sievers was born on July 11, 1887 in Berlin-Tempelhof and grew up in modest circumstances. He worked his way up from office boy to authorized signatory before the First World War led him to military service, ultimately in the medical service. In 1918, he became increasingly politically active: he joined the USPD, later the KPD and worked as an editor for the “Rote Fahne“, among others. After political conflicts, he left the KPD in 1921 and joined the SPD. As full-time managing director of the Association of Freethinkers for Cremation and later chairman of the German Freethinkers’ Association, he turned the organization into a mass organization with hundreds of thousands of members. After the National Socialists came to power, Sievers was arrested in 1933 and expatriated. He managed to escape into exile, from where he continued his resistance work (including his main work “Our Struggle against the Third Reich“, Stockholm 1939). In 1943, he was arrested by the Gestapo in northern France, sentenced to death by the People’s Court and executed in Brandenburg on January 17, 1944.
The evening is intended to make this important voice of organized freethought and resistance against National Socialism audible again in a mixture of biographical presentation and the reading of selected texts.
The Humanist Association of Germany – Federal Association is pleased to welcome Prof. Pierre-Yves Modicom (Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3) together with the association’s archivist and Federal Commissioner for the History of Humanism Olaf Schlunke on July 10, 2026 at 6 pm in the House of HUMANISM at Potsdamer Straße 157 in Berlin.
Max Sievers – freethinker and fighter against National Socialism. A themed evening with Pierre-Yves Modicom and Olaf Schlunke
Friday, July 10, 2026, 6 p.m.
Haus des HUMANISMUS, Potsdamer Straße 157, 10783 Berlin
Free admission. Registration is not required.
You are very welcome! We look forward to your participation.
