Die neue Zeit. Monatsschrift für Demokratie, Geistesfreiheit und Kultur was first published on 1 October 1936 by the left-wing journalist Emile Marx (1899-1964) and professor Pierre Biermann (1901-1981). In the spirit of a cross-border movement, they defended a humanist concept of culture against the barbarism of fascism and anti-Semitism. The last issue appeared on 1 May 1940, shortly before the country was occupied by German troops.