Born in Poland, the daughter of a Jewish merchant, Rosa Luxemburg completed her schooling in Warsaw and in 1889 she fled to Switzerland through Germany when threatened with arrest for her radicalism. At a time when women rarely sought a university or college education, she studied natural sciences, law, and economics at the University of Zurich. In 1897, she earned a doctorate with her thesis on the “Industrial development of Poland.” After resettling in Germany and obtaining German citizenship, she vociferously fought for social democracy at the party, congress and international level, and through her articles and books.