Max Ernst Opitz (September 11, 1890 – January 7, 1982) was a German politician and

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, its collaborators before and during World War II ...

Life

Opitz was born on September 11, 1890, in Bernsdorf,

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: ), ...

, the son of a miner. After attending elementary school, he completed an apprenticeship as a carpenter from 1905 to 1908. In 1911 he was drafted into military service, served seven years in the

Uhlan Uhlan (; ; ; ; ) is a type of light cavalry, primarily armed with a lance. The uhlans started as Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, Lithuanian irregular cavalry, that were later also adopted by other countries during the 18th century, including Polis ...

Regiment No. 21. He was wounded several times 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 ...

. In 1915 he married for the first time. During the

German Revolution 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 ...

, he was elected to his regiment's

soldiers' council A workers' council, also called labour council, is a type of council in a workplace or a locality made up of workers or of temporary and instantly revocable delegates elected by the workers in a locality's workplaces. In such a system of politi ...

. After his discharge from the army, he became a founding member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) in 1919. In 1920 he moved to

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

. From 1923, Opitz held a succession of regional leadership roles in the KPD. From 1926 to 1930 he was a member of the

Landtag of the Free State of Saxony The Landtag of Saxony (), also known in English as the Saxon State Parliament, is the legislature of the Free State of Saxony, one of Germany's sixteen states. It is responsible for legislation, control of the government, and electing some state ...

. In 1932, Opitz was elected to the

Landtag of Prussia The Landtag of Prussia () was the representative assembly of the Kingdom of Prussia implemented in 1849, a bicameralism, bicameral legislature consisting of the upper Prussian House of Lords, House of Lords (''Herrenhaus'') and the lower Prussian ...

, where he would remain until the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

seized power in 1933. On February 7, 1933, Opitz took part in an illegal meeting of the Central Committee of the KPD in the Sporthaus Ziegenhals 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 ...

. On March 5, 1933, he was elected to the Reichstag, but like all KPD representatives he was unable to exercise his mandate due to the Nazi ban on the KPD. Opitz then took part in

anti-Nazi resistance Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

activities in

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

and

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. On November 2, 1933, he was arrested in Stuttgart and sentenced to three years and one month in prison in 1934 for "preparing to commit high

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

". In November 1937, he was put on trial for alleged involvement in the shooting of a police officer''.'' He was initially sentenced to four years in prison for

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

, but his conviction was overturned on appeal. In 1938, Opitz was again put on trial for treason, and subsequently sentenced to four years in prison. He served both of his sentences in the

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. After serving his prison sentence, he was transferred 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 ...

by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

in October 1941. On May 1, 1945, he was liberated 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 ...

near Flecken Zechlin. After the conclusion of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Opitz returned to

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 ...

. From July 1945 to April 1949 he was police chief in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. In 1946, he joined the Socialist Unity Party (SED). After the death of

Erich Zeigner Erich Zeigner (17 February 1886, in Erfurt – 5 April 1949, in Leipzig) was a German politician. He was Prime Minister of the German state of Saxony during the attempted communist uprising of 1923. In August 1921 Zeigner was Minister of Justi ...

, Opitz became mayor of

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

from May 18, 1949, to June 5, 1951. In

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

he was elected to 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 ...

, where he would remain until 1963. After his retirement he worked in the leadership of the

Committee of Antifascist Resistance Fighters The Committee of Antifascist Resistance Fighters (German: ''Komitee der Antifaschistischen Widerstandskämpfer'') (KdAW) was an anti-fascist organization in the German Democratic Republic. It was composed of both victims of the Nazi regime and res ...

Awards

* 1975

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 ...

, honour clasp * 1970 & 1965 Patriotic Order of Merit, in gold * 1960

Order of Karl Marx The Order of Karl Marx () was the most important order in the 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 the occasion of Karl Marx's 135th ...

* 1959 & 1954 Patriotic Order of Merit, in silver * 1958

Medal for Fighters Against Fascism The Medal for Fighters Against Fascism () was an award of the German Democratic Republic given to people who had been active in the German Resistance against Nazism. Institution and specifics of the award The award was instituted on 22 Februar ...

* 1955 Medal of Honor of the Volkspolizei

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Opitz, Max 1890 births 1982 deaths Sachsenhausen concentration camp prisoners Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit (honor clasp) Recipients of the Order of Karl Marx Members of the Volkskammer Socialist Unity Party of Germany members Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Communist Party of Germany members Communist Party of Germany politicians Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic Members of the Landtag of Prussia Mayors of Leipzig