Abstract The article attempts to bring together variants of German pedagogical Marx reception and three central historical readings of Marx′s theory. After an overview of the interpretations of Traditional Marxism, Western Marxism, and the Neue Marx-Lektüre, it is shown that the pedagogical reception is predominantly connected with Western Marxism. It is argued that perspectives of a critical pedagogy that takes up insights from the currently popular reading of the Neue Marx-Lektüre are yet to be developed. Some apparently crucial aspects are discussed in this respect.