Albert Buchmann (28 October 1894 – 17 May 1975) was a German politician. He was a member of the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (, ; KPD ) was a major Far-left politics, far-left political party in the Weimar Republic during the interwar period, German resistance to Nazism, underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and minor party ...

(KPD) and was Reichstag deputy of the party from 1924 to 1933.

Life

Buchmann was born in 1894 in

Pirmasens Pirmasens (; (also ''Bermesens'' or ''Bärmasens'')) is an independent town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It was famous for the manufacture of shoes. The surrounding rural district was called ''Landkreis Pirmasens ...

. From 1914 to 1918 he served as a soldier in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the end of the war, in 1919 he joined the

Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of anti-war members of t ...

. In 1920 he moved to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, where in 1921 he joined the

(KDP). In 1922 he became president of the Shoe Workers' Union. From 1923 Buchmann was head of the KPD in Munich. In October 1923 he was imprisoned. In the years 1925 to 1932 he was political director of the Southern Bavaria district. From 1932 he held the same position in the district of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

. From 1924 to 1932 he belonged to the constituency Upper Bavaria-Swabia. In May 1933, Buchmann was arrested and accused of high treason. In 1936 he was sent to

Dachau concentration camp Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

and

Ludwigsburg Ludwigsburg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a Cities of Germany, city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg (district), Lu ...

prison. In 1940 he was moved to

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners t ...

, 1942 he was moved to

Flossenbürg concentration camp Flossenbürg was a Nazi concentration camp built in May 1938 by the SS Main Economic and Administrative Office. Unlike other concentration camps, it was located in a remote area, in the Fichtel Mountains of Bavaria, adjacent to the town of Flos ...

until his release in 1945. He was released at the end of the war and from 1945 he was chairman of the KPD for Northern Wuerttemberg. From 1946-1950 he was a member of the Provisional People's Representative for

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

, the National Constituent Assembly of Baden-Württemberg and the first parliament of Baden-Württemberg. In 1948, Buchmann became a member of the party executive of the KPD. In 1952 he emigrated to the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. From 1955 he was party secretary of the

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (, ; SED, ) was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from the country's foundation in 1949 until its dissolution after the Peaceful Revolution in 1989. It was a Mar ...

. From 1956 to 1971 he was a member of the Central Committee of the now banned West German KPD. He died in 1975 in Berlin.

Literature

* Martin Broszat, Hartmut Mehringer (eds.): ''Bayern in der NS-Zeit. Die Parteien KPD, SPD, BVP in Verfolgung und Widerstand''. Oldenbourg, München 1983, S. 25. * Klaus J. Becker: ''Die KPD in Rheinland-Pfalz 1946–1956''. von Hase & Koehler, Mainz 2001, S. 424. *

Hermann Weber Hermann Weber (23 August 1928 – 29 December 2014) was a German historian and political scientist. He has been described as "the man who knew everything about the German Democratic Republic". Life Early years Hermann Weber was born into a work ...

, Andreas Herbst: ''Deutsche Kommunisten. Biographisches Handbuch 1918 bis 1945''. Karl Dietz Verlag, Berlin, , S. 129f.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchmann, Albert 1894 births 1975 deaths People from Pirmasens Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Independent Social Democratic Party politicians Communist Party of Germany politicians Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic German prisoners of war in World War I German Army personnel of World War I