Albert Norden
Encyclopedia
Albert Norden was a German
communist politician. He went into exile during Nazi rule. He returned to Germany after the war, and became an important politician in the German Democratic Republic
(East Germany). A writer of several works, Norden authored the 1965 Braunbuch
.
. The following year he became a member of the Communist Party of Germany
. From 1923 onwards, he held editorial positions in various communist publications. Between 1931–33 he was the editor of Rote Fahne ('Red Flag').
. He also spent time in exile in Denmark
and Czechoslovakia
. In 1938 he returned to France. Norden was detained in France 1939-1940. In 1941, he was able to emigrate to the United States
. During World War II
, his father died in the Theresienstadt concentration camp
.
In exile in Paris
and New York
he worked with various popular front
publications. He wrote some chapters, dealing with the international linkages of the German NSDAP, in the widely read 1933 Braunbuch über Reichstagsbrand und Hitlerterror ('Brown Book on Reichstag Fire
and Hitler Terror').In October 1946 he returned to Berlin
, where he became editor of the weekly Deutschlands Stimme ('Voice of Germany').
. In December 1952 he was purged from his position in the Press Department, but obtained a professorship at Humboldt University.
In 1954 he became director of the National Council of the National Front for a Democratic Germany
. He would also become director of the Committee for German Unity. In 1955, he became a member of the Central Committee
of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
(SED). He was elected as one of the secretaries of the Central Committee. In 1958 he became a member of the Politburo
of the party.
Norden served as head of the Agitation Committee of the Politburo, 1955–67. He was in-charge of the Information & Foreign Department of the Politburo until 1979. In 1958 he became a member of the Volkskammer
(People's Chamber, the parliament of the GDR). In 1960 he became the head of the 'West Commission'. In June 1965 Norden suggested that regional elections in the German Democratic Republic should be open for alternate candidates.
In 1963 Norden became a member of the National Defense Council, a post he held until 1979. In 1976 he became a member of the State Council. In April 1981 the then ailing Norden was left out of the Central Committee and Politburo at the 10th SED party congress. In the same year he left the Volkskammer and State Council positions.
('Brown Book'), in which he accused over 1,900 politicians, state officials and other prominent persons in West Germany
of having worked for the Nazi regime in the past. The book became a reference in the West German New Left
, which increasingly had begun to question the official histiography on the Nazi period.
. As an adult, Norden declined to identify himself as a Jew. He was however, one of the most prominent persons of Jewish origin in East German society.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
communist politician. He went into exile during Nazi rule. He returned to Germany after the war, and became an important politician in the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
(East Germany). A writer of several works, Norden authored the 1965 Braunbuch
Braunbuch
Braunbuch — Kriegs- und Naziverbrecher in der Bundesrepublik: Staat - Wirtschaft - Verwaltung - Armee - Justiz - Wissenschaft is a book written by Albert Norden in 1965...
.
Early political activity
In 1919 he joined the Young Communist League of GermanyYoung Communist League of Germany
The Young Communist League of Germany was a political youth organization in Germany. It was formed in 1920 from the Free Socialist Youth of the Communist Party of Germany, which itself was formed in October 1918, with support from the Spartacus League . The KJVD was created in 1925...
. The following year he became a member of the Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
. From 1923 onwards, he held editorial positions in various communist publications. Between 1931–33 he was the editor of Rote Fahne ('Red Flag').
In exile
In 1933 Norden emigrated to FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He also spent time in exile in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. In 1938 he returned to France. Norden was detained in France 1939-1940. In 1941, he was able to emigrate to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, his father died in the Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp was a Nazi German ghetto during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín , located in what is now the Czech Republic.-History:The fortress of Terezín was constructed between the years 1780 and 1790 by the orders...
.
In exile in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
he worked with various popular front
Popular front
A popular front is a broad coalition of different political groupings, often made up of leftists and centrists. Being very broad, they can sometimes include centrist and liberal forces as well as socialist and communist groups...
publications. He wrote some chapters, dealing with the international linkages of the German NSDAP, in the widely read 1933 Braunbuch über Reichstagsbrand und Hitlerterror ('Brown Book on Reichstag Fire
Reichstag fire
The Reichstag fire was an arson attack on the Reichstag building in Berlin on 27 February 1933. The event is seen as pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany....
and Hitler Terror').In October 1946 he returned to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, where he became editor of the weekly Deutschlands Stimme ('Voice of Germany').
Political career in East Germany
In 1949 he was assigned as head of the Press Section of the Information Department of Ministerial Council of the German Democratic Republic, working under Gerhart EislerGerhart Eisler
Gerhart Eisler was a German politician. Along with his sister Ruth Fischer, he was a very early member of the Austrian German Communist Party and then a prominent member of the Communist Party of Germany during the Weimar Republic...
. In December 1952 he was purged from his position in the Press Department, but obtained a professorship at Humboldt University.
In 1954 he became director of the National Council of the National Front for a Democratic Germany
National Front (East Germany)
The National Front of the German Democratic Republic was an alliance of political parties and mass organisations in East Germany...
. He would also become director of the Committee for German Unity. In 1955, he became a member of the Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
(SED). He was elected as one of the secretaries of the Central Committee. In 1958 he became a member of the Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
of the party.
Norden served as head of the Agitation Committee of the Politburo, 1955–67. He was in-charge of the Information & Foreign Department of the Politburo until 1979. In 1958 he became a member of the Volkskammer
Volkskammer
The People's Chamber was the unicameral legislature of the German Democratic Republic . From its founding in 1949 until the first free elections on 18 March 1990, all members of the Volkskammer were elected on a slate controlled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany , called the National Front...
(People's Chamber, the parliament of the GDR). In 1960 he became the head of the 'West Commission'. In June 1965 Norden suggested that regional elections in the German Democratic Republic should be open for alternate candidates.
In 1963 Norden became a member of the National Defense Council, a post he held until 1979. In 1976 he became a member of the State Council. In April 1981 the then ailing Norden was left out of the Central Committee and Politburo at the 10th SED party congress. In the same year he left the Volkskammer and State Council positions.
Brown Book
After the war Norden argued in several publications, articles and speeches that there was a direct continuation between the Hitler and Adenauer governments. In 1965 the National Front published a work by Norden, BraunbuchBraunbuch
Braunbuch — Kriegs- und Naziverbrecher in der Bundesrepublik: Staat - Wirtschaft - Verwaltung - Armee - Justiz - Wissenschaft is a book written by Albert Norden in 1965...
('Brown Book'), in which he accused over 1,900 politicians, state officials and other prominent persons in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
of having worked for the Nazi regime in the past. The book became a reference in the West German New Left
New Left
The New Left was a term used mainly in the United Kingdom and United States in reference to activists, educators, agitators and others in the 1960s and 1970s who sought to implement a broad range of reforms, in contrast to earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had taken a more vanguardist...
, which increasingly had begun to question the official histiography on the Nazi period.
Religious identity
Norden was born in a Jewish petty bourgeois family. His father was a rabbiRabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
. As an adult, Norden declined to identify himself as a Jew. He was however, one of the most prominent persons of Jewish origin in East German society.