(1905-1977) Born into poverty in New York City as Arthur William Oldag, John Olday was abandoned by his father as an infant and later sent by his struggling mother to Hamburg, Germany. As a teenager, he participated in the Kiel mutiny, which lead to the overthrow of the German monarchy. He had joined the Young Communist League but was soon expelled due to his anarchist tendencies and his homosexuality.

He left Hamburg and settled in the Ruhr valley, where he organized workers along syndicalist lines with other anarchists. During this period he also produced a number of theater and cabaret acts and drew political cartoons during the Weimar Republic, which gained him national acclaim as one of Germany’s leading artists. When Nazis came to power, he leaked information about them to the IWW. Nazis made plans to arrest him and ship him off to a concentration camp, but he caught word, and fled to England in 1937.

While in England he married lesbian Hilde Meisel in a fictitious marriage, so the two could carry on with their underground anti-fascist activities, aiding refugees in escaping Germany and other Nazi occupied countries. During this time he also began working as a cartoonist for the Industrial Worker and Freedom Press. Soon he was forced underground when he was drafted into the war effort by the British government, where he continued aiding refugees and sending subversive anti-fascist literature to Germany.

Eventually he was arrested for stealing a typewriter to continue his work and sentenced to a year in prison. After being released, he was promptly transferred to serve hard labor in a military prison for 2 years for desertion. But a massive campaign organized by Herbert Read and Freedom Press for his release would lead to him only serving 3 months.

Following his release, he moved to Australia, where he became an early advocate of queer and trans liberation, opening gay friendly Cafe La Boheme in the late 50s and organizing the “Immortal Clown Cabaret” which was the country’s earliest drag show. He moved back to London in his last few years of life, where he died in 1977.

Further Reading:
Kingdom of Rags: The Autobiography of John Olday by John Olday