Kurt Seibt (13 February 1908 in

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 ...

– 21 June 2002) was chairman of the Central Revision Commission 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 ...

(''Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands''; SED) and

East Germany 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 ...

's Minister for Direction and Control of Regional and District Councils.

Biography

Seibt completed training as a metal spinner in 1922–1926 and worked until 1933 as a civil engineering worker and a stone setter. In 1922, he joined the Socialist Worker Youth, in 1924 the Young Communist League of Germany (''Kommunistischer Jugendverband Deutschlands''; KJVD) and in 1932 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). From 1927 to 1930, he was First Secretary of the KJVD subdistrict of

Berlin-Kreuzberg Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in 1990, it has ...

, from 1930 to 1931 State Youth Leader of the

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

Red Sport Unit (''Rote Sporteinheit'') and a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg KJVD district leadership. From 1934 to 1939, Seibt was a stagehand and a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

master at the ''Deutsches Theater Berlin'', and also a member of the outlawed KPD's party leadership. In 1939 he was arrested and in 1941, he was sentenced by the '' Volksgerichtshof'' to life at hard labour in a '' Zuchthaus'' for "undermining German fighting forces and conspiracy to commit

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

". Thereafter he was an inmate at Brandenburg-Görden Prison in

Brandenburg an der Havel Brandenburg an der Havel (; ) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which served as the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was replaced by Berlin in 1417. With a population of 72,040 (as of 2020), it is located on the banks of the ...

until 1945. From 1945 to 1946, Seibt was the first secretary of the Brandenburg district leadership and a member of the KPD Brandenburg state leadership. From 1946 to 1952, he was secretary of the SED Brandenburg state leadership, and from 1947 to 1952, he was a member of the

Landtag of Brandenburg The Landtag of Brandenburg is the unicameral legislature of the states of Germany, state of Brandenburg in Germany. Its 88 members of parliament are usually elected every 5 years. It is responsible for deciding on state laws, controlling the s ...

. From 1952 to 1964, he was first secretary of the SED

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

district leadership, although this was interrupted by his studies at the

CPSU The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

Party College in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 1956–1957. Moreover, he was from 1950 a candidate, from 1954 to 1989 a member of the SED Central Committee, and from 1953 to 1989 a Member of the ''

Volkskammer The Volkskammer (, "People's Chamber") was the supreme power organ of East Germany. It was the only branch of government in the state, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it. The Volkskammer was initia ...

''. From 1964 to 1966, Seibt was Minister for Direction and Control of Regional and District Councils and a member of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers, and from 1967 to 1989, succeeding

Fritz Gäbler Fritz Gäbler (12 January 1897 – 26 March 1974) was an East German communist politician. In 1932, he was a representative in the Thuringia state parliament. Gäbler was imprisoned for most of the Nazi era, having been one of the first prisoner ...

, he was chairman of the SED Central Revision Commission."Liste von DDR-Persönlichkeiten"
List of famous people from politics, science, culture and sports from the German Democratic Republic. Retrieved March 24, 2010 Seibt received the

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 ...

(''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'') in 1965, the ''

Karl-Marx-Orden The Order of Karl Marx () was the most important Order (distinction), order in the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR). The award of the order also included a prize of 20,000 East German marks. The order was founded on May 5, 1953 on ...

'' in 1968 and 1988, the Clip of Honour for the Fatherland Order of Merit in 1973, the Star of the Friendship of Peoples (''Stern der Völkerfreundschaft'') in 1978, and the Great Star of the Friendship of Peoples (''Großer Stern der Völkerfreundschaft'') in 1983.

References

External links

* Helmut Müller-Enbergs and Elke Reuter. ''Wer war wer in der DDR?'' (''Who was who in the German Democratic Republic?'') Entry for Seibt, Kurt. 4th Edition, Vol. 2. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin (2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Seibt, Kurt 1908 births 2002 deaths Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Politicians from Berlin People from the Province of Brandenburg