Otto Buchwitz (27 April 1879 – 9 July 1964) was a German resistance fighter against National Socialism, politician and party functionary of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(SPD) and

Socialist Unity Party 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 Ma ...

(SED). A Social Democratic politician in the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

, Buchwitz went into exile in Denmark until being arrested and imprisoned in 1940. After the war, he supported the forced merger of the SPD and KPD and subsequently co-chaired the SED in

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 ...

and, briefly, the powerful Central Party Control Commission (ZPKK). His career was cut short in 1950, when former Social Democrats were largely purged from party functions.

Life and career

Early career

After attending elementary school from 1885 to 1893, Buchwitz completed an

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...

as a metal spinner and iron turner until 1896. He joined the

German Metal Workers' Union The German Metal Workers' Union (, abbreviated DMV) was a German industrial union for metalworkers formed in 1891 and dissolved after the Nazis' accession to power in 1933. History German metalworkers started to organize in labor unions in 18 ...

in 1896 and became a member of the

(SPD) in 1898. Until 1907, Buchwitz worked in his trained profession, but also as a weaver. From 1908, he served as the secretary of the German Textile Workers' Association for the

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 ...

area. Drafted for military service in 1914, he was stationed in

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

by the end of the war.

Weimar Republic

Afterwards, in 1919, he became the deputy district administrator for the Görlitz district. Additionally, in 1920, Buchwitz was elected as Political Secretary of the SPD in

Lower Silesia Lower Silesia ( ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ) is a historical and geographical region mostly located in Poland with small portions in the Czech Republic and Germany. It is the western part of the region of Silesia. Its largest city is Wrocław. The first ...

. From the beginning of the

, he was a member of the Silesian Provincial Parliament. He also represented the SPD as a deputy in the

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

from 1921 to 1924 and as a representative for the

Liegnitz Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. L ...

constituency in the Reichstag from 1924 to 1933. Buchwitz additionally helped to establish the

Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold The (, , simply in short) was an organization in Weimar Republic, Germany during the Weimar Republic with the goal to defend German parliamentary democracy against internal subversion and extremism from the left and right and to compel the ...

in 1924 and the

Iron Front The Iron Front () was a German "extraparliamentary" and paramilitary organization in the Weimar Republic which consisted of social democrats, trade unionists, and democratic socialists. Its main goal was to defend democracy against totalita ...

in Lower Silesia in 1931. In 1932 he was arrested for illegally carrying a weapon and sentenced to three months in prison.

Nazi Germany

After the

Nazis came to power The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the ''German Workers' Party, Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Par ...

, Buchwitz, along with other SPD Reichstag deputies, voted against the

Enabling Act An enabling act is a piece of legislation by which a legislative body grants an entity which depends on it (for authorization or legitimacy) for the delegation of the legislative body's power to take certain actions. For example, enabling act ...

and subsequently went into exile in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. From there, he organized the escape of German regime opponents to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and wrote for the anti-fascist weekly "Freies Deutschland" published in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. On 16 September 1937, he was stripped of his

German citizenship German nationality law details the conditions by which an individual is a national of Germany. The primary law governing these requirements is the Nationality Act, which came into force on 1 January 1914. Germany is a member state of the Euro ...

. Only a few days after the German occupation of Denmark in April 1940, he was arrested in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and handed over to 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 July. In July 1941, he was sentenced to eight years in prison. Buchwitz was first imprisoned in

Brandenburg-Görden Prison Brandenburg-Görden Prison is located on Anton-Saefkow-Allee in the Görden quarter of Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany. Erected between 1927 and 1935, it was built to be the most secure and modern prison in Europe. Both criminal and political pr ...

, then in

Sonnenburg concentration camp The Sonnenburg concentration camp () was a Nazi German concentration camp, that was opened on 3 April 1933 in Sonnenburg (now Słońsk in Poland) in a former prison, on the initiative of the Free State of Prussia Ministry of the Interior and Just ...

. There, the illegal communist leadership contacted him, and they discussed their course of action until the end of Nazi rule and thereafter. On 27 April 1945, the prison director Thümmler and most of the guards fled before the approaching

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 ...

. The political prisoners disarmed the remaining guards and took over the leadership of the prison. A military formation occupied the gate. Around 2 PM, the first Soviet tank reached the prison. On 28 April, about 100 former political prisoners moved via Bagow and

Nauen Nauen is a small town in the Havelland (district), Havelland district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is chiefly known for Nauen Transmitter Station, the world's oldest preserved radio transmitting installation. Geography Nauen is situated within t ...

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 ...

. Buchwitz was so weakened that he had to be transported in a handcart.

Soviet occupation zone

After 1945, Buchwitz actively participated in the forced merger of the SPD and KPD into the SED, despite not being a friend of the KPD before the war. His fiercest adversary in this regard in Saxony was

Stanislaw Trabalski Stanislaw Bronislaw Boleslaw Trabalski (25 October 1896 – 12 November 1985) was a German politician ( SPD, USPD, SED). Life His parents, Franciszek Trabalski and Maria Trąbalski, born Mackowiack, had immigrated from Poland in 1888. His f ...

, whom he called ''Krawalski'' ("Krawall" meaning "riot" in German). Subsequently, from April 1946 to December 1948, he co-chaired the SED state leadership in

in parity with former Communist

Wilhelm Koenen Wilhelm Koenen (7 April 1886 – 19 October 1963) was a German communist activist and an East Germany, East German politician. He was married to Emmy Damerius-Koenen and was the father of Heinrich Koenen and Johanna Koenen. Biographical details ...

. From April 1946 to July 1964, he was a full member of the Party Executive Committee (PV), later Central Committee of the SED. Buchwitz additionally was a member of the

Saxon state parliament The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian "stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like them ...

from 1946 until its dissolution in 1952. During this time, he was also the president of the state parliament and held a seat in 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 ...

, which first convened in 1950. Buchwitz was the oldest member of the Volkskammer since 1950. On 29 November 1948, he was elected

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the Central Party Control Commission (ZPKK), the supreme disciplinary body of the SED, in parity alongside former Communist

Hermann Matern Hermann Matern (17 June 1893 – 24 January 1971) was a German communist politician (Communist Party of Germany, KPD) and high ranking functionary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany in the East Germany, German Democratic Republic. Life and ...

East Germany

In the course of the

Stalinization Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...

of the SED, former Social Democrats were gradually removed. In July 1950, the III. Party Congress of the SED eliminated the equal representation between former Social Democrats and former Communists in central party functions. As a result, Buchwitz had to step down from chairing the ZPPK. Afterwards, he remained a regular member of the ZPKK until his death. He unsuccessfully tried to calm the uprising on 17 June 1953. In 1953, he retired from full-time activity for health reasons. In 1957, Buchwitz was appointed an honorary senator of the

Technical University of Dresden TU Dresden (for , abbreviated as TUD), also as the Dresden University of Technology, is a public research university in Dresden, Germany. It is the largest institute of higher education in the city of Dresden, the largest university in Saxony a ...

, and on 27 April 1963, he became an

honorary citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honor usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

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 ...

Death and legacy

He died on 9 July 1964, in Dresden and his grave is located at the Heidefriedhof there. After his death, several streets, schools and other public facilities in the GDR were named after Buchwitz, including a street in

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

, the cultural center in Reichenbach/O.L., a youth hostel in Altenberg and an

FDGB The Free German Trade Union Federation ( or ''FDGB'') was the sole national trade union centre of the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) which existed from 1946 to 1990. As a mass organisation of the GDR, nominally representing al ...

vacation home (opened in 1984) in Schellerhau near Altenberg, most of which were renamed after

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

. In

Glauchau Glauchau (; , ) is a town in the German federal state of Saxony, on the right bank of the Mulde, 7 miles north of Zwickau and 17 miles west of Chemnitz by rail ( its train station is on the Dresden–Werdau line). It is part of the Zwickau dist ...

, the Spinnstoffwerk in the GDR era bore the name "VEB Spinnstoffwerk Otto Buchwitz," as shown by company documents in the factory ruins (2023). Currently, there are still Otto Buchwitz streets in

Oderwitz Oderwitz (; from Slavic for 'rinse'; , ) is a Saxony, Saxon municipality in the district Görlitz (district), Görlitz in Upper Lusatia, Germany. It is located in the southeast of the Free State of Saxony near the border with the Czech Republic. ...

, Bernsdorf (Oberlausitz), and

Mülsen Mülsen is a municipality in Germany, Landkreis Zwickau in Saxony. It is situated 6 km northeast of Zwickau Zwickau (; ) is the fourth-largest city of Saxony, Germany, after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, with around 88,000 inhabitants,. ...

, Otto Buchwitz Square in

Görlitz Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...

, and Otto Buchwitz Ring in

Neukirch/Lausitz Neukirch/Lausitz (German) or Wjazońca (Upper Sorbian, ) is a municipality in Upper Lusatia in the district of Bautzen, in the state of Saxony in eastern Germany. It belongs to the district of Bautzen and is situated in several valleys of the mou ...

. In 1961, the children's book publisher Berlin published "The Famous Great-Grandfather" (The Little Trumpeter Books 19), based on motifs from Buchwitz's published memoirs. The author, Gottfried Herold, did not mention Buchwitz's SPD membership.

Notes

References

External links