Horst Sindermann
Encyclopedia
Horst Sindermann (ˈhɔʁst ˈzɪndɐman; 5 September 1915 – 20 April 1990) was a Communist
German politician and one of the leaders of East Germany.
as the son of the Saxon
Social Democratic
politician Karl Sindermann. His older brother, Kurt Sindermann, also entered politics as a member of the Communist Party
and sat on the Saxon state parliament from 1929 to 1933.
Horst Sindermann joined the Communist Youth Federation (KJVD) in 1929 and in 1932 became a local functionary in Dresden. The group was banned by the Nazi regime and in June 1933, Sindermann was arrested and condemned to eight months of imprisonment for illegal political activities under the . In September 1934, he became political director of the KJVD's Dresden branch. In March 1935, he again was arrested for attempted high treason, tortured and put in solitary confinement
for six years at Waldheim
jail. In 1941, he was transferred to "protective custody
" to several concentration camps, first at Sachsenhausen
, then at Mauthausen
in Upper Austria
, and finally at Ebensee, until being freed by the arriving U.S. army in 1945.
(KPD). After 1946 he was a member of the Socialist Unity Party
(SED), created from a forced merger of Communists and Social Democrats in the Soviet Occupation Zone.
Sindermann worked as a newspaper editor of the Sächsische Volkszeitung at Dresden and the Volksstimme at Chemnitz from 1945 to 1947. He became First party secretary in the Landkreis
of Chemnitz and Leipzig. He ran afoul of party chairman Otto Grothewohl, whom he criticised for being married to a former Nazi functionary, and in June 1949 was censured by the party's controlling commission and was demoted to the Freiheit paper in Halle, where he then became editor-in-chief from 1950 to 1953.
Sindermann was director of agitation and propaganda in the Central Committee
from 1954 to 1963. In 1958, he became a candidate and in 1963 a member of the Central Committee. In the same year, he also was appointed first party secretary in the district of Halle (until 1971) and was first elected into the Volkskammer
. In 1967, he was admitted to the politburo
.
, and two years later, its Chairman when the previous occupant, Willi Stoph
, succeeded the deceased Walter Ulbricht
as Chairman of the State Council.
His rise was cut short in October 1976, as party leader Erich Honnecker deemed him too liberal
on economics. Willi Stoph resumed his former post as head of government, while Sindermann was demoted to the posts of President of the Volkskammer and deputy chairman of the State Council. Formally a member of the country's collective head of state and, as president of parliament, holder of the third-highest office, he was left with little political influence.
, during which he resigned from all offices in November 1989. On 3 December, he was excluded from the SED (now renamed PDS.
In January he was arrested but eventually released on health concerns, without charges being filed. He died in 1990 in Berlin.
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...
German politician and one of the leaders of East Germany.
Early life
Sindermann was born in DresdenDresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
as the son of the Saxon
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
Social Democratic
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
politician Karl Sindermann. His older brother, Kurt Sindermann, also entered politics as a member of the Communist Party
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...
and sat on the Saxon state parliament from 1929 to 1933.
Horst Sindermann joined the Communist Youth Federation (KJVD) in 1929 and in 1932 became a local functionary in Dresden. The group was banned by the Nazi regime and in June 1933, Sindermann was arrested and condemned to eight months of imprisonment for illegal political activities under the . In September 1934, he became political director of the KJVD's Dresden branch. In March 1935, he again was arrested for attempted high treason, tortured and put in solitary confinement
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
for six years at Waldheim
Waldheim, Saxony
Waldheim is a town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the Zschopau River, 9 km southwest of Döbeln, and 28 km north of Chemnitz....
jail. In 1941, he was transferred to "protective custody
Protective custody
Protective custody is a type of imprisonment to protect a prisoner from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners. Many administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within prisoners, is a chief factor causing the need for PC units...
" to several concentration camps, first at Sachsenhausen
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
, then at Mauthausen
Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Mauthausen Concentration Camp grew to become a large group of Nazi concentration camps that was built around the villages of Mauthausen and Gusen in Upper Austria, roughly east of the city of Linz.Initially a single camp at Mauthausen, it expanded over time and by the summer of 1940, the...
in Upper Austria
Upper Austria
Upper Austria is one of the nine states or Bundesländer of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders on Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as on the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg...
, and finally at Ebensee, until being freed by the arriving U.S. army in 1945.
Career in East Germany
After the war, Sindermann returned to Saxony and joined the Communist PartyCommunist 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...
(KPD). After 1946 he was a member of the Socialist Unity Party
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), created from a forced merger of Communists and Social Democrats in the Soviet Occupation Zone.
Sindermann worked as a newspaper editor of the Sächsische Volkszeitung at Dresden and the Volksstimme at Chemnitz from 1945 to 1947. He became First party secretary in the Landkreis
Districts of Germany
The districts of Germany are known as , except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where they are known simply as ....
of Chemnitz and Leipzig. He ran afoul of party chairman Otto Grothewohl, whom he criticised for being married to a former Nazi functionary, and in June 1949 was censured by the party's controlling commission and was demoted to the Freiheit paper in Halle, where he then became editor-in-chief from 1950 to 1953.
Sindermann was director of agitation and propaganda in 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...
from 1954 to 1963. In 1958, he became a candidate and in 1963 a member of the Central Committee. In the same year, he also was appointed first party secretary in the district of Halle (until 1971) and was first elected into 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...
. In 1967, he was admitted to 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:...
.
In the East German leadership
In 1971, he became Deputy chairman of the Council of MinistersMinisterrat
The Council of Ministers of the German Democratic Republic was the chief executive body of East Germany from November 1950 until the GDR was unified with the Federal Republic of Germany on 3 October 1990...
, and two years later, its Chairman when the previous occupant, Willi Stoph
Willi Stoph
Willi Stoph was an East German politician. He served as Prime Minister of the German Democratic Republic from 1964 to 1973, and again from 1976 until 1989.-Biography:...
, succeeded the deceased Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht was a German communist politician. As First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971 , he played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany and later in the early development and...
as Chairman of the State Council.
His rise was cut short in October 1976, as party leader Erich Honnecker deemed him too liberal
Liberalism in Germany
This article aims to give an historical overview of liberalism in Germany. The liberal parties dealt with in the timeline below are, largely, those which received sufficient support at one time or another to have been represented in parliament. Not all parties so included, however, necessarily...
on economics. Willi Stoph resumed his former post as head of government, while Sindermann was demoted to the posts of President of the Volkskammer and deputy chairman of the State Council. Formally a member of the country's collective head of state and, as president of parliament, holder of the third-highest office, he was left with little political influence.
Resignation and final years
Sindermann remained in these positions until the peaceful revolutionDie Wende
marks the complete process of the change from socialism and planned economy to market economy and capitalism in East Germany around the years 1989 and 1990. It encompasses several processes and events which later have become synonymous with the overall process...
, during which he resigned from all offices in November 1989. On 3 December, he was excluded from the SED (now renamed PDS.
In January he was arrested but eventually released on health concerns, without charges being filed. He died in 1990 in Berlin.