Within the Ernest Mandel section of our TrotskyanaNet website we present the following material about Ernest Mandel (1923-1995), who was undoubtedly the most eminent figure of international Trotskyism during the second half of the 20th century:

• Ernest Mandel Bibliography - an exhaustive repertory of writings by and about Ernest Mandel - an ongoing project.
  An earlier edition, fully indexed (as at 2004, thus a bit outdated by now) is still available within TrotskyanaNet as a PDF file [5 MB]
• Ernest Mandel Biography (in English and German)
• List of Ernest Mandel’s pseudonyms
• Note about the Ernest Mandel Archive at Amsterdam
• List of books dedicated to Ernest Mandel
• List of commemorations held in honour of Ernest Mandel
• External links to Ernest Mandel sites in the WWW
• Short description of our Ernest Mandel collection

List of Ernest Mandel’s pseudonyms

• Albert
• Camille
• Cancellier, P. *
• Das Zentralkomitee der GIM
• Devaux, Jean
• Deveaux, J.
• Deveaux, Jean
• E.
• E.G.
• Einstein, Ezra **
• E.M.
• Émile
• Er.
• E.R.
• Ernest
• Gebhardt
• Gebhardt, Walter
• Germain, E.
• Germain, Ernest
• Germain, Étienne
• Germain, Walter
• Gousset, P.
• Gousset, Pierre
• H.V.
• Jack
• Jean
• Jeb
• Jonckheere, A. de
• Kipp, Peter
• La Gauche
• Lambotte, P(ierre)
• Lammers, P(ierre) *
• Le Viseur
• Legros, P.
• Legros, Pierre
• Lux
• Masson, H. *
• Meyerson, Jacques **
• Moreau, Jacques
• P.G.
• R.
• Raes, Ernest
• Robert, H.
• Robert, M.
• Robert, N.J.
• Sprenger, W.
• Sprenger, Wilhelm
• Valin, H.
• Valin, Henri
• Vallin, H.
• Vallin, Henri
• Vanderlaer, Jacques
• W.
• Waldon, Fred
• Walter

Ernest Mandel Archives

After his death in 1995 the personal archives of Ernest Mandel were given by his widow, Anne Mandel-Sprimont, to the famous IISG (Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis = International Institute of Social History, IISH) which is situated at Cruquiusweg 31, NL-1019 Amsterdam, The Netherlands (tel. +31-20-6685866, fax +31-20-6654181, opening hours: Mon-Fri 9:00-17:00).
The size of the Mandel collection at IISH is 18.25 m, of which some 3.25 m were added in 1999. The archive contains material from 1937-1995 plus some additions dating from 1995-2005, for example:

• Correspondence with economists, political scientists and other scholars such as for example P. Sweezy, P. Anderson, A.G. Frank, R. Miliband, D. Guérin, R.J. Alexander,
• Correspondence with E. Federn, G. Jungclas, P. Frank and a lot of other Trotskyist and leftist militants,
• Correspondence with publishers and editors,
• Correspondence concerning La Gauche,
• Documents relating to the Belgian section of the Fourth International and other documents concerning Belgian Trotskyism,
• Documents relating to the SWP and Trotskyism in the United States from 1971-1979,
• Documents relating to the leading bodies of the Fourth International (e.g. minutes or proceedings of meetings, correspondence and other documents of the United Secretariat (Secrétariat Unifié) of the F.I. from 1963-1984,
• Documents relating to the world congresses of the F.I. from 1963-1995.
• Manuscripts of his books etc.,
• Notes, reports, subject files, press clippings and other documents concerning the political and economic situation in many countries of the world,
• Printed material,
• Some personal documents

The Mandel Archive also holds the papers of Gisela Mandel (born Scholtz, divorced Meschkat, 1935-1982 [pseud.: Martine Knoeller]), Mandel's first wife, including documents relating to the IMG (International Marxist Group, British Section of the F.I.), the RAL (Revolutionaire Arbeiders Liga [Belgian Section of the F.I.]), the SDS (Sozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund [Socialist German Student League]), and documents relating to the youth work of the Fourth International from 1968-1970.
Since 2006, an on-line inventory of the Ernest Esra Mandel Papers, made by Bouwe Hijma, is available in the WWW. Access to the collection is restricted.
Please note that a great deal of Mandel's letters and other documents by/about him can be found in other collections of the IISH (e.g. within the A.G. Frank papers, the I. Deutscher papers, the R. Prager papers, the Archief van Uitgeverij Van Gennep) as well as in other renowned hosts of archival collections such as the Hoover Institution Archives (Stanford, Cal.), the Archief en Museum van de Socialistiesche Arbeidersbeweging (AMSAB, Gent/Brussels), the Bibliothèque de Documentation Internationale Contemporaine (BDIC, Paris).
For some more details see also Stutje, Jan Willem: Ernest Mandel : rebel tussen droom en daad, 1923-1995, Antwerpen/Gent, 2007, pp. 431-433 or Stutje, Jan Willem: Ernest Mandel : a rebel’s dream deferred, London [etc.], 2009, pp. 355-357.

Sources used for this archive description:

• Guide to the international archives and collections at the IISH, Amsterdam / Jaap Haag and Atie van der Horst (eds.), Amsterdam : IISH, 1999, pp. 141-142.
• Guide to the international archives and collections at the IISH : supplement over 1999, in: International Review of Social History <Amsterdam>, 44.2000, p. 367.
• Ernest Esra Mandel Papers. [Abstract and description of the collection]
• Ernest Esra Mandel Papers. [Online-inventory and container list]

Books dedicated to Ernest Mandel

• Aguilar Mora, Manuel: El escándalo del estado : una teoría del poder político en México. - México, D.F.: Fontamara, 2000. - 416 pp. - (Colección Fontamara ; 273) ISBN 968-476-347-6
• Ali, Tariq; Street fighting years : an autobiography of the Sixties. - London : Collins, 1987. - VIII, 280 pp. ISBN 0-00-217779-X
• Ali, Tariq: Street fighting years : Autobiographie eines '68ers. - Köln : Neuer ISP-Verl., 1998. - 296 pp. ISBN 3-929008-76-9
• From Marx to Gramsci : a reader in revolutionary Marxist politics / historical overview and selection by Paul Le Blanc. - Atlantic Highlands, NJ : Humanities Pr., 1996. - XIV, 350 pp. ISBN 0-391-03960-1
• Jünke, Christoph: Der lange Schatten des Stalinismus : Sozialismus und Demokratie gestern und heute. - Köln [etc.] : Neuer ISP-Verl., 2007. - 207 pp. ISBN 978-3-89900-126-6
• Lanuque, Jean-Guillaume: Le mouvement trotskyste et la question coloniale : le cas de la guerre d'Indochine, 1945-1954 ; (la direction internationale et la Section Française de la Quatrième Internationale face au premier conflit colonial de l'Après-guerre) / mémoire de maîtrise réalisé sous la dir. de Gilbert Meynier. - [Nancy] : Univ. de Nancy II, UFR d'Histoire, 1994/95. - 153 pp.
• Lubitz, Wolfgang: Trotsky bibliography : an international classified list of publications about Leon Trotsky and Trotskyism 1905-1998 / comp. and ed. by Wolfgang and Petra Lubitz. - 3, completely rev. and enl. ed. - Vol. 1-2. - München : Saur, 1999. - XXVII, 840 pp. ISBN 3-598-11391-9
• Lubitz, Wolfgang: Ernest Mandel bibliography : an indexed and cross-referenced list of publications by and about Ernest Mandel (1923-1995) / comp. and ed. by Wolfgang and Petra Lubitz. - Berlin, Leipzig : [Authors], 2004. - XIII, 285, LXII pp. [Publ. on demand, generated from the Lubitz TrotskyanaNet website in the framework of which this bibliography is being presented now as an ongoing project in HTML script]
• Toussaint, Eric: La bourse ou la vie : la finance contre les peuples. - Bruxelles : Ed. Luc Pire [etc.], 1998. - 396 pp. - ([Cahiers d'étude et de recherche / IIRF ; 24/26]) ISBN 2-930088-74-5
• Traverso, Enzo: Understanding the Nazi genocide : Marxism after Auschwitz. - London (etc.] : Pluto Pr. with the International Institute for Research and Education (IIRE), 1999. - VIII, 152 pp. - ([Notebooks for study and research / IIRE ; 29/30]) ISBN 0-7453-1358-2

Commemorations held in honour of Ernest Mandel

After the decease of Ernest Mandel on July 20, 1995, dozens of obituary notices by friends, comrades, colleagues and political organizations were published in many daily newspapers and several hundred obituaries, recollections and appraisals appeared in newspapers, journals and other publications all over the world.
Furthermore, there were held several memorial meetings and similar events in various countries all over the world commemorating Ernest Mandel. They were chiefly sponsored by organizations affiliated to the Fourth International which Ernest Mandel epitomised for some 50 years as an eminent political leader and theoretician. The funeral took place on September 30 at Père Lachaise cemetary, Paris.
What follows is a short chronological survey about some gatherings, including scholarly conferences, held in honour of the late Ernest Mandel:

Aug. 18, 1995, Melbourne (Australia). A commemoration at Lord Newry Hotel (North Fitzroy), sponsored by Solidarity in the presence of some 40 people. Speakers included C. Gaffney, S. Jolly et al.

Aug. 20, 1995, Sydney, N.S.W. (Australia). A commemoration, sponsored by Democratic Socialist Party. Speakers included J. Percy, F. Stilwell, P. Symon, B. Gould et al.

Sept. 24, 1995, New York, NY (USA). A commemoration at New School for Social Research, Manhattan, sponsored by Solidarity, Socialist Action, BIDOM, FSP, Brecht Forum and Committees of Correspondence (Memorial Meeting for Ernest Mandel) in the presence of some 200 people. Speakers included M. Vogt-Downey, S. Bloom, P.N. Siegel, J. Moneta, A. Shaikh (incl.  reading of messages from R. Ibarra de Piedra and P.M. Sweezy)

Sept. 29, 1995, San Francisco, Cal. (USA). A commemoration at Socialist Action Bookstore, sponsored by Socialist Action and co-sponsored by Bay Area Solidarity. Speakers included G. Foley, J. Mackler, N. Weinstein, B. Sheppard, C. Seligman et al.

Sept. 29, 1995, Brussels (Belgium). A commemoration at Centre Culturel Jacques Frank, sponsored by Fondation Léon Lesoil in the presence of some 300 people. Speakers included F. Vercammen, J. Moneta, A. Serfaty, J. Kruithof et al.

Sept. 30, 1995, Paris (France). Burying and funeral ceremony (Hommage à Ernest Mandel) at Père Lachaise cemetary, near Mur des Fédérés in the presence of some 1.500 people from various countries. Speakers included A. Krivine, L. Maitan

Sept. 30, 1995, Montreuil-sous-Bois (France). A commemoration at Centre des Expositions, Esplanade Benoit-Frachon (Soirée publique d'hommages et de rencontre avec les délégations étrangères et les invités + projection du film d'une interview d'Ernest Mandel) in the presence of some 1.000 people. Speakers included M. Pablo (Raptis), J. Moneta, J. Machado, P. Uhl, W. Wolf, C.-A. Udry et al.

Oct. 7, 1995, Madrid (Spain). Commemoration in the presence of some 400 people. No further details known.

Oct. 13, 1995, London (Britain). A commemoration at Conference Centre, Great Russell St., organised by Socialist Outlook in the presence of some 350 people. Speakers included T. Ali, R. Blackburn, C. Van Gelderen, M. Gordon, A. Thornett, P. Duggan, A. Conway et al.

Oct. 14, 1995, London (Britain). "The Marxism of Ernest Mandel - an international symposium" was held at University of London Union. Speakers included A. Kilmaster, J. Habel, A. Krivine et al. Exclusive first showing of T. Ali's biographical film on the early life of E. Mandel.

Oct. 27, 1995, Lisboa (Portugal). No details known

July 4-6, 1996, Amsterdam (The Netherlands). An Ernest Mandel Seminar ("The contribution of Ernest Mandel to Marxist theory") was held at the International Institute for Research and Education (IIRE), organised by the Ernest Mandel Study Center. Speakers included G. Achcar, R. Blackburn, M. Löwy, J. Albarracín, P. Montes, M. Husson, F. Louçã, C. Post, C. Samary, N. Geras et al.

March 15, 1997, Brussels (Belgium). A colloqium ("De actualiteit van het marxisme van Ernest Mandel") was held at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, organised by the Ernest MandelStichting. Some 100 people participated in the colloquium. Speakers included E. Witte, G. Maissin, F. Vercammen, M. Alaluf, E. Toussaint, M. van der Linden, A. Tondeur, R. Lew, P. Verbraeken.

Nov. 10-11, 2003, Amsterdam (The Netherlands). A conference ("Theory as History: Ernest Mandel's historical analysis of world capitalism") was held at (and sponsored by) the International Institute of Social History (IISH/IISG). Speakers included P. O'Brien, F. Louca, J.W. Stutje, Ngo Manh Lan, M. Krätke, M. Massarrat, J. Banaji, M. van der Linden, E. Vanhaute.

Nov. 19, 2005, Buxelles (Belgium). A colloquium (“Ernest Mandel - la pensée créatrice” = “Ernest Mandel - een creatif denker”) was held at Salle de l’Epée (Bruxelles), organized by the Fondation Ernest Mandel together with the Fondation Léon Lesoil and the Fondation Marcel Liebman. The event was attended by some 250 people. Within 4 panels, the life and ideas of Ernest Mandel were discussed by Tariq Ali, Daniel Bensaïd, Guy Desolre, Eric Corijn, Michel Husson, Francisco Louçã, Michael Löwy, Daniel Tanuro, Eric Toussaint, François Vercammen et al. Furthermore, two films, now available on DVD, featuring the life of Ernest Mandel were presented.

External links to websites dealing with Ernest Mandel

• Ernest Mandel 1923-1995 (Marxists’ Internet Archiv) [Text archive]
• Mandel, Ernest [Ernest Mandel Archive at IISH, Amsterdam)
• Ernest Mandel Study Centre [at IIRE (International Institute for Research and Education), Amsterdam]
• Ernest Mandel Internet Archive = Ernest Mandel Internet-Archief = Ernest Mandel Archives Internet [Considerable text archive, secondary works, links, etc. English, French and Dutch versions, not fully identical. Link leads to Engl. version]
• Ernest Esra Mandel Papers [Inventory and container list of the Mandel Archive at IISH, Amsterdam. By Bouwe Hijma]
• Ernest Mandel [Small text archive, English]
• [Untitled small Mandel text archive, German]
• Personer: Ernest Mandel [Danish link collection]

Short description of our Ernest Mandel collection

Our private Ernest Mandel Collection is composed of the following parts:

• Books and pamphlets written by Ernest Mandel (some 100 items), chiefly in German, English, French and Spanish language. Thus almost all of Mandel’s independently published works are represented in our library, at least in one language. As a matter of fact, most of Mandel’s books have been translated to many languages, so that one and the same item may have been published with a dozen or more different titles proper in various countries of the world. As a rule, many of his writings were published as second, third etc. editions or printings (unaltered or revised); our collection however – with a few exeptions – is containing only one edition (preferably the first, original one).
• Articles and other contributions from Mandel’s pen which were published in journals, collections, festschrifts, bulletins, etc. Mandel’s dependently published writings are of course widespread and dispersed. Like his books and pamphlets, a great deal of his articles and contributions have been translated into various languages and have been published in a great variety of sources in dozens of countries.
  In our collection, Mandel’s articles and contributions sum up to some 2,100, partly (as xerox copies) filed alphabetically in archive boxes, partly contained in collections, journals, bulletins which are in our possession as originals.
• Last not least, there is a considerable number of secondary sources about Ernest Mandel in our collection (some 600 items), ranging from conference proceedings (containing edited papers from seminars about Mandel) to obituaries and biographical sketches and from critical reviews to clippings from daily press organs. Furthermore, our collection also contains non-print items such as DVD or sound recordings.

W. Lubitz, 2004
slightly rev. May 2009