Rudolf Herrnstadt
Encyclopedia
Rudolf Herrnstadt was a German
journalist
and communist politicianmost notable for his anti-fascist activity as an exile from the Nazi German
regime in the Soviet Union
during the war and as a journalist in East Germany until his death, where he and Wilhelm Zaisser
represented the anti-Ulbricht
wing of the Socialist Unity Party
(SED) in the 1950s.
Herrnstadt actively provided intelligence about Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in the 1930s.
family in the multiethnic Upper Silesia
n city of Gleiwitz (now Gliwice, Poland
), where his father was employed as a lawyer. He began studying law in Heidelberg
in 1922, but moved towards writing instead, becoming a journalist for the left-wing Berliner Tageblatt
in 1929. He began working for the newspaper in 1925 as a typesetter. He joined the Communist Party of Germany
(KPD) in 1929, fleeing the country in 1933, when the arrival of Adolf Hitler
at the seat of power made Herrnstadt a target, both as an unrepentant communist activist and a Jew.
. With the invasion of Poland
by the Nazi military in 1939, Herrnstadt fled to the Soviet Union
and came to reside in Moscow
, where he applied and was accepted into the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
. Despite criticism from some members of the German exile community for his "anti-revolutionary" views, Herrnstadt was among the members of the National Committee for a Free Germany
. He returned to Germany as a member of the Sobottka Group, which laid the groundwork for the Soviet Military Administration in Germany
in Mecklenburg
.
line of the SED as a leading politician with candidate member status in the SED's Politburo
and chief editor of the Neues Deutschland
; a key ally during this time was Wilhelm Zaisser
, who criticized Ulbricht from his position as the country's Minister of State Security and a leading party ideologist. At one point in the early 1950s, Ulbricht was in fact summoned for a visit to Moscow
with the collective Soviet leadership which replaced Joseph Stalin
, where he was criticized for his introduction of collective farms and a slower course towards socialist construction. However, Herrnstadt's dissension against the course of the Ulbricht faction was also criticized by Soviet adviser Vladimir Semyonov, who answered Herrnstadt's attack by replying that "in two weeks you may no longer have state."
Despite Herrnstadt's view of Ulbricht's leadership, Ulbricht-led East Germany had pursuded a course of reform since March 1953, and a wave of mass protests in 1953 culminated with the ironic removal of the liberal-leaning Herrnstadt from his position in the SED's Politburo the same year. He was also removed from the Neue Deutschland at around the same timeat the request of Walter Ulbricht, according to the autobiography of fellow communist Markus Wolf
.
Herrnstadt died on 28 August 1966.
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...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and communist politicianmost notable for his anti-fascist activity as an exile from the Nazi German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
regime in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
during the war and as a journalist in East Germany until his death, where he and Wilhelm Zaisser
Wilhelm Zaisser
Wilhelm Zaisser was a German communist politician and the first Minister for State Security of the German Democratic Republic .- Life :...
represented the anti-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...
wing 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) in the 1950s.
Herrnstadt actively provided intelligence about Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in the 1930s.
Biography
Herrnstadt was born into a German-speakingGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
family in the multiethnic Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
n city of Gleiwitz (now Gliwice, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
), where his father was employed as a lawyer. He began studying law in Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
in 1922, but moved towards writing instead, becoming a journalist for the left-wing Berliner Tageblatt
Berliner Tageblatt
The Berliner Tageblatt or BT was a German language newspaper published in Berlin from 1872-1939. Along with the Frankfurter Zeitung, it became one of the most important liberal German newspapers of its time.-History:...
in 1929. He began working for the newspaper in 1925 as a typesetter. He joined 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...
(KPD) in 1929, fleeing the country in 1933, when the arrival of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
at the seat of power made Herrnstadt a target, both as an unrepentant communist activist and a Jew.
Abroad
Herrnstadt came to work for Soviet intelligence in the 1930s and spent most of the decade in WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. With the invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
by the Nazi military in 1939, Herrnstadt fled to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and came to reside in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, where he applied and was accepted into the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
. Despite criticism from some members of the German exile community for his "anti-revolutionary" views, Herrnstadt was among the members of the National Committee for a Free Germany
National Committee for a Free Germany
The National Committee for a Free Germany was a German anti-Nazi organization that operated in the Soviet Union during World War II.- History :...
. He returned to Germany as a member of the Sobottka Group, which laid the groundwork for the Soviet Military Administration in Germany
Soviet Military Administration in Germany
The Soviet Military Administration in Germany was the Soviet military government, headquartered in Berlin-Karlshorst, that directly ruled the Soviet occupation zone of Germany from the German surrender in May 1945 until after the establishment of the German Democratic Republic in October...
in Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
.
Against Walter Ulbricht
Herrnstadt was among the critics of the Walter UlbrichtWalter 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...
line of the SED as a leading politician with candidate member status in the SED's Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
and chief editor of the Neues Deutschland
Neues Deutschland
Neues Deutschland is a national German daily newspaper. It was the official party newspaper of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany , which governed the German Democratic Republic , and as such served as one of the party's most important organs...
; a key ally during this time was Wilhelm Zaisser
Wilhelm Zaisser
Wilhelm Zaisser was a German communist politician and the first Minister for State Security of the German Democratic Republic .- Life :...
, who criticized Ulbricht from his position as the country's Minister of State Security and a leading party ideologist. At one point in the early 1950s, Ulbricht was in fact summoned for a visit to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
with the collective Soviet leadership which replaced Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, where he was criticized for his introduction of collective farms and a slower course towards socialist construction. However, Herrnstadt's dissension against the course of the Ulbricht faction was also criticized by Soviet adviser Vladimir Semyonov, who answered Herrnstadt's attack by replying that "in two weeks you may no longer have state."
Despite Herrnstadt's view of Ulbricht's leadership, Ulbricht-led East Germany had pursuded a course of reform since March 1953, and a wave of mass protests in 1953 culminated with the ironic removal of the liberal-leaning Herrnstadt from his position in the SED's Politburo the same year. He was also removed from the Neue Deutschland at around the same timeat the request of Walter Ulbricht, according to the autobiography of fellow communist Markus Wolf
Markus Wolf
Markus Johannes "Mischa" Wolf was head of the General Intelligence Administration , the foreign intelligence division of East Germany's Ministry for State Security . He was the MfS's number two for 34 years, which spanned most of the Cold War...
.
Herrnstadt died on 28 August 1966.