A historian of socialism and of communism, he published a number of well known essays, notably on the Russian Revolution, Leninism, and the history of the labour movement in Belgium. He was also an early initiator of Israeli–Palestinian dialogue.
On 9 July 1943, Marcel's older brother, Henri, was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Malines. Several weeks later on 31 July, he was transported to Auschwitz with 1,555 other deportees where he was in all probability sent to the gas chambers upon arrival as he had not yet turned 16 years of age. Henri was born 15 October 1927 in Brussels and died in August 1943. Of the 1,556 deportees sent to Auschwitz on 31 July, only 40 returned after the camps were liberated.
From 1962 to 1967, he was editor of the weekly journal La Gauche (The Left) and in 1968 founded the journal Mai (May) which existed until 1973.
His son Riton Liebman is a comedian, author and director. Riton's actual name is Henri, named after Marcel's lost brother.
A foundation under the directorship Mateo Alaluf [fr] was created at the Université libre de Bruxelles upon Liebman's death in 1986. In December 2005, the foundation was converted into the Marcel Liebman Institute. It aims to contribute to socialist thought and the study of the left as well as a critical reflection on the practices of social movements.
English bibliography
Books
"Introduction" in Isaac Deutscher, Russia After Stalin (Jonathan Cape, London, 1969).
The Russian Revolution (Vintage Books, 1972).
Leninism Under Lenin (Merlin Press, 1973).
Born Jewish: A Childhood in Occupied Europe (Verso Books, 2005)
Essays
"The Webbs and the New Civilisation". Survey. 41. April 1962.
Liebman, Marcel (1970), "Lenin in 1905: A Revolution that Shook a Doctrine", in Sweezy, Paul M.; Magdoff, Harry (eds.), Lenin Today: Eight Essays on the Hundredth Anniversary of Lenin's Death, New York: Monthly Review Press
Liebman, Marcel (1971), "Isaac Deutscher as Historian of the Russian Revolution", in Horowitz, David (ed.), Isaac Deutscher: The Man and His Work, London: Macdonald