Zenon, Bernard

Born 1894; died June 25, 1942, in Kassel, Germany. Prominent in the labor movement of Luxembourg. A metalworker.

Zenon joined the socialist movement on the eve of World War I. In 1919 he became the leader of the left wing of the Social Democratic Party of Luxembourg, which advocated joining the Comintern. A cofounder of the Communist Party of Luxembourg in January 1921, Zenon was an early leader of the party, first as political secretary of the Central Committee and then chairman (May 1921). After the occupation of Luxembourg by the fascist German troops on May 10, 1940, Zenon went underground and directed the activity of the Communist Party of Luxembourg. Arrested in September 1940 by the Gestapo, he died in prison.