Lux, Stefan, 1888-1936

Štefan Lux (4 November 1888 – 3 July 1936) was a Slovak Jewish journalist, and a Czechoslovak citizen, who committed suicide in the general assembly of the League of Nations during its session on 3 July 1936. He shot himself in order to alert the world leaders of the rising dangers of German authoritarianism, expansionism, antisemitism, and militarism, hoping this would inspire the international community to take collective action against Nazi Germany. Lux wanted to bring attention to the danger the Nazis posed to peace and democracy worldwide including, but not limited to, antisemitism. As his close friend wrote in a telegram afterwards, “Lux did not die for the Jews but for the humanitarian ideal and Last Not Least for the League of Nations.”: 98  However, global news coverage focused almost exclusively on his Jewish heritage, and reported that he had killed himself exclusively “to draw attention to the plight of his fellow Jews in the Third Reich.”: 97  Lux carried six letters explaining his suicide and asking for political action against Germany, including one for Joseph Avenol, the Secretary-General of the League of Nations, in which he asked Avenol to deliver the other five letters to their intended recipients. However, the letters never reached their destinations, and Avenol explicitly misrepresented the story to the press, portraying Lux as a disgruntled Jew concerned only about antisemitism. : 96–101  Avenol would later resign from the League of Nations in order to willingly collaborate with the Nazi regime in France. Lux's suicide failed to shock the world into action. Press attention quickly faded, in part due to lack of interest in antisemitism, and in part due to deliberate attempts to downplay the incident by the League of Nations in order to protect its own reputation. The event was not included in official documentation of the 1936 Assembly and conspicuously few records of it exist in the League of Nations archives.: 90  The incident was almost entirely forgotten until the 1980s, when it was rediscovered by journalist Betty Sargent.: 95  Lux shot himself in the heart with a revolver on the floor of the League Assembly. Global newspapers gave conflicting accounts of his final words.: 96–97