Georg Ulrich Handke
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Georg Ulrich Handke (born
Hanau Hanau () is a city in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its railway Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ma ...
22 April 1894: died
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
7 September 1962) was a German politician (
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 ...
/
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 ...
). In 1958 he became one of the 111 members of the Party Central Committee in 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 ...
. He had previously served as an ambassador and as government minister.


Life


Early years

Handke was born into a working-class family in
Hanau Hanau () is a city in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its railway Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ma ...
, a substantial town a short distance upstream of
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
. His father was a
pipefitter A pipefitter or steamfitter is a tradesman who installs, assembles, fabricates, maintains, and repairs mechanical piping systems. Pipefitters usually begin as helpers or apprentices. Journeyman pipefitters deal with industrial/commercial/marine ...
. On leaving school he obtained a clerical traineeship with a bank. Following a further period at a commercially focused school he worked between 1913 and 1915 as a book-keeper. Between 1915 and 1918 he undertook war-time military service. He served on the front-line in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
.


Politics


Weimar years

Between 1911 and 1918 Handke was a member of Socialist Young Workers (SAJ / ''Sozialistische Arbeiter-Jugend'') organisation. He joined the newly formed
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 1917. The Independent Social Democrats had broken with the more mainstream SPD primarily on account of the existing party's continuing support for the war. Like many of the Independent Social Democrat's founder, Handke went on to join the
Spartacus League The Spartacus League () was a Marxism, Marxist revolutionary movement organized in Germany during World War I. It was founded in August 1914 as the International Group by Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht, Clara Zetkin, and other members of the So ...
at the end of 1918 and, in 1919, remained with it when it became 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 ...
. He took part in the founding meeting of the party's Hanau branch under the pseudonym "Ernst Spinger". From 1919 he was also the editor in chief of the locally produced workers' newspaper and sat on the Hanau local council as a Communist party councilor. Beyond his party activism he was also a member of the Soldiers' Council that emerged in Hanau as part of the wider revolutionary turmoil that spread across Germany directly after the war. During the early 1920s there was a further fragmentation of left wing parties in Germany, and following disagreements, apparently regarding tactics, in the wake of the
March Action The March Action ( or , i.e. "The March battles in Central Germany") was a failed communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communi ...
protests of 1921 Handke was among the Communist party members who broke away, following
Paul Levi Paul Levi (; 11 March 1883 – 9 February 1930) was a German communist and social democratic political leader. He was the head of the Communist Party of Germany following the assassination of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht in 1919. After bein ...
, to form the Communist Workers' Organisation. Handke rejoined 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 ...
two years later (unlike Levi). In 1923 he joined the management team of the
consumers' co-operative A consumer cooperative is an enterprise owned by consumers and managed democratically and that aims at fulfilling the needs and aspirations of its members. Such cooperatives operate within the market economy independently of the state, as a for ...
in Hanau, later also undertaking similar functions with the Co-op in
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
. He was in addition, between 1923 and 1930, editor in chief of the Frankfurt "Arbeiter-Zeitung" (''"Workers' Newspaper"''). From 1930 till 1933 he was the leader of the
Co-operatives A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...
department on the Communist Party Central Committee.


Nazi years

In January 1933 the (Nazi Party) took power and lost little time in establishing one-
party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...
government. Opposition parties were not actually outlawed till two months later at the end of March, but by that time measures had already been enacted which rendered illegal a final meeting of the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
Communist Party Central Committee that took place in Berlins's "Goat's Neck Sports Tavern" ("''Sporthaus Ziegenhals''") on 7 February 1933, and at which Handke was one of the 37 participants. Despite the party having been outlawed Handke continued to work for it during 1933/34. Less than a month after the Ziegelhaus meeting the Party leader,
Ernst Thälmann Ernst Johannes Fritz Thälmann (; 16 April 1886 – 18 August 1944) was a German communist politician and leader of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) from 1925 to 1933. A committed communist, Thälmann sought to overthrow the liberal democr ...
, was arrested: he would later be shot after 11 years in solitary confinement. Two prominent figures from Germany's subsequent post-war history now managed to escape to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. Before the Nazi years were over both
Wilhelm Pieck Friedrich Wilhelm Reinhold Pieck (; 3 January 1876 – 7 September 1960) was a German communist politician who served as the Leadership of East Germany, chairman of the Socialist Unity Party from 1946 to 1950 and as the only president of the Ger ...
and
Walter Ulbricht Walter Ernst Paul Ulbricht (; ; 30 June 18931 August 1973) was a German communist politician. Ulbricht played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar republic, Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and later in the early development ...
would move on again, to Moscow, where they spent the
war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
years, planning for a brighter future. Handke remained in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, however, and was arrested in Berlin on 21 September 1934, for taking part the previous evening in an illegal meeting in the Breitenbach Square (with Nikolaus Thielen and two other members of the outlawed Communist Party). On 2 July 1935 he appeared before the Berlin Special "People's" Court, faced with the usual (under these circumstances) charge of "Conspiring to commit High Treason" (''"Vorbereitung zum Hochverrat"''). The court sentenced him to fifteen years imprisonment: seven were to be spent in solitary confinement.


Imprisonment and liberation

Handke was incarcerated initially at Schwalmstadt. He was moved to Rockenberg in 1936, Butzbach in 1939, to Kassel-Wehlheiden in 1940 and finally to
Zwickau Zwickau (; ) is the fourth-largest city of Saxony, Germany, after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, with around 88,000 inhabitants,. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ''Zwickauer Mulde''; progression: ), ...
in 1944. Unlike many Communist comrades imprisoned under the
Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
, in May 1945 when the
war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
ended Handke was still alive. He was released from the jail in
Zwickau Zwickau (; ) is the fourth-largest city of Saxony, Germany, after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, with around 88,000 inhabitants,. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ''Zwickauer Mulde''; progression: ), ...
by the US 3rd Army which arrived in town on 17 April 1945, and in May Handke was installed by the military administrators as mayor of
Zwickau Zwickau (; ) is the fourth-largest city of Saxony, Germany, after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, with around 88,000 inhabitants,. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ''Zwickauer Mulde''; progression: ), ...
. Zones of occupation in what would remain of Germany had already been agreed between the wartime allies, and the arrival of the Americans in this part of the country ahead of the Soviet army was not something the politicians' plans had anticipated: Handke's home region of
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
was scheduled to end up in the
Soviet occupation zone The Soviet occupation zone in Germany ( or , ; ) was an area of Germany that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a communist area, established as a result of the Potsdam Agreement on 2 August 1945. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republ ...
. At the end of June the Americans withdrew their fighting forces from West Saxony into
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
, and on 1 July 1945 Zwickau was occupied by the
Red army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
. Many of the quasi-political appointments made by the Americans in the area were quickly reversed by the Soviet Military Administration, but the Soviets were content to leave the new mayor of Zwickau in his post and in due course to expand his administrative responsibilities in the region, where he became head of the administration in
Zwickau Zwickau (; ) is the fourth-largest city of Saxony, Germany, after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, with around 88,000 inhabitants,. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ''Zwickauer Mulde''; progression: ), ...
-
Plauen Plauen (; ; ) is a town in Saxony, Germany with a population of around 65,000. It is Saxony's 5th most populated city after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest cit ...
. For the entire Soviet occupation he was also appointed vice-president, and then president, of the German Trade and Supplies Administration between July 1945 and 1948. In Saxony, he also sat as a member of the regional legislature in 1949/50. At the same time the entire region was being developed into a separate stand-alone Soviet sponsored German state, 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 ...
, formally founded in October 1949. Already in April 1946, the merging of the old Communist Party and more moderately left wing Social Democratic Party into the new Socialist Unity Party had created the basis for a return to one-
party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...
government. Handke, a long-standing member of the Communist Party, now no longer illegal in Germany, like thousands of others, had lost little time in signing over his membership to the new Socialist Unity Party.


German Democratic Republic

In 1947 Handke married Emmy Thoma, like him a former party activist who had been arrested in 1934 and spent the Nazi years in a succession of jails. Emmi's first husband, a fellow Communist called Karl Thoma, had been arrested back in 1933 shortly after the
Reichstag fire The Reichstag fire (, ) was an arson attack on the Reichstag building, home of the German parliament in Berlin, on Monday, 27 February 1933, precisely four weeks after Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany. Marinus van der Lubbe, ...
, but he had been released later in the decade and gone to Spain to fight in the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
. Emmi had not seen him since her own arrest in 1934. Handke's political career assumed an increasingly national character within the East German state. Following on from his presidency of the Trade and Supplies commission, from 1948 till 1949 he was deputy president of the
German Economic Commission The German Economic Commission () was the top administrative body in the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany prior to the creation of the German Democratic Republic (). The DWK was established in June 1947 by the Soviet Military Administration in G ...
. From October 1949 till November 1950 he served as a junior minister for inter-German trade, Foreign Trade and Supplies. His ministerial trade responsibilities continued till September 1952. Due to the policy setting role of the party, ministerial office was essentially a question of carrying out policies determined elsewhere, and Handke's work involved extensive travel and a relatively high public profile outside the German Democratic Republic. Recalling his work with the co-operative movement back in the 1920s in the Frankfurt region, he served between 1949 and 1952 as president of the Co-Op chain. He headed a trade delegation to Moscow in 1951/52, and further overseas experience came with his appointment, in October 1952, as his country's ambassador in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
: a year later he was back working in Berlin where he became first deputy to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and at the same time a member of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Party Central Committee. Handke served on the Central Audit committee (''Zentrale Revisionskommission'') of the Party Central Committee between 1954 and 1958 and during this time was himself a candidate for Central Committee membership. In 1958 he became one of the Central Committee's 111 members. He also served as president of the Society for German–Soviet Friendship from 1958 till 1962, in succession to (the younger) Friedrich Ebert.


Death and burial

Handke died in Berlin on 7 September 1962. His ashes were placed with those of other senior East German politicians in the "Socialists' Memorial" area (''"Gedenkstätte der Sozialisten"'') at Berlin's Friedrichsfelde Central Cemetery.


Awards and honours

*1954
Patriotic Order of Merit The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...
in silver *1959 Order of Karl Marx *1960 Banner of Labor In 1974 the national postal service issued a special postage stamp to celebrate what would have been Handke's 80th birthday.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Handke, Georg Ulrich 1894 births 1962 deaths People from Hanau Politicians from Hesse-Nassau Independent Social Democratic Party politicians Communist Party of Germany politicians Communist Working Group (Germany) politicians Members of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Government ministers of East Germany Members of the Provisional Volkskammer Members of the 1st Volkskammer Members of the 2nd Volkskammer Members of the 3rd Volkskammer Ambassadors of East Germany to Romania German Army personnel of World War I Communists in the German Resistance Recipients of the Order of Karl Marx Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver Recipients of the Banner of Labor People convicted of treason against Nazi Germany