Benjamin's work drew on two very disparate theoretical traditions. On the one side lay German academic philosophy and the rich ideological milieu in which his own thought first developed. On the other was the Bolshevism which he first encountered in the years after the First World War. Some understanding of this context is necessary if we are to follow the path along which Benjamin's thinking developed. It is particularly important if we are to make sense of the unattributed citations which fill Benjamin's writings; failure to identify these citations, and to recognise the ideological background which for Benjamin himself gave them their political colouring, can lead to serious misunderstanding of his point of view.