Alexander Abusch (14 February 1902 27 January 1982) was a German journalist, non-fiction writer, and politician. According to one source he was born into a Jewish family in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or colloquially Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia (Eastern Europe), Galicia in Eastern Europe. The Cr ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

. According to another source, he was born in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

, where, in the suburb of Gostenhof, he grew up, attended school, served his apprenticeship and had his first full-time job. His father worked as a

coachman A coachman is a person who drives a Coach (carriage), coach or carriage, or similar horse-drawn vehicle. A coachman has also been called a coachee, coachy, whip, or hackman. The coachman's first concern is to remain in full control of the hors ...

and scrap metal dealer, and later opened a hat shop. His mother also worked as a small trader. Abusch joined 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) in 1918. He was editor of several KPD publications. In 1937, he became part of the exiled KPD leadership in Paris, later in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

. In 1941, he moved to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, where he became a member of the Free Germany Movement. Between 1948 and 1950 he was part of the party leadership 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 ...

. He worked as a Secret Informer for the

Stasi The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive pol ...

. Between 1958 and 1961 he served as Minister of Culture of 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 ...

(East Germany). It was in his role as Minister of Culture that he ordered the demolition of princely castle of Putbus on Rügen.Ralph Sommer, Verein will Schloss Putbus auf Rügen wieder aufbauen, ''Nordkurier'', 8 December 201

/ref> He published under the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Ernst Reinhardt.

References

1902 births 1982 deaths People from Kraków Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Communist Party of Germany politicians Members of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Cultural Association of the GDR members Deputy prime ministers of East Germany Government ministers of East Germany Members of the Provisional Volkskammer Members of the 3rd Volkskammer Members of the 4th Volkskammer Members of the 5th Volkskammer Members of the 6th Volkskammer Members of the 7th Volkskammer Members of the 8th Volkskammer German male writers Jewish socialists German expatriates in Mexico Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to France National Committee for a Free Germany members Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit (honor clasp) Recipients of the Star of Peoples' Friendship Stasi informants {{Germany-SED-politician-stub