[1] The GWEA included among its members individuals hailing from several countries and attained a membership of approximately 500 by 1845.
[1] In its initial incarnation the GWEA acted as a public arm of the underground revolutionary organisation known as the League of the Just.
[1] After 1847 it closely cooperated with the Communist League of Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, and their associates and served in effect as a broader "front" organisation for that more narrow revolutionary group.
[1] Some time after 1850 the Communist League was split between factions and the GWEA was controlled by individuals hostile to Marx and Engels, who quit the organisation.
[1] The CWEA continued to function until 1917, when the group was terminated due to the wartime internment of German political émigrés in London.