Paul Wessel (born 9 April 1904 in

Plauen Plauen (; Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest city in the Sa ...

; d. 20 January 1967 in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

) was a member of the small secretariat of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contractio ...

of the Central Committee of the

Socialist Unity Party of Germany The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (german: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, ; SED, ), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germ ...

, the

communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

of the former

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Life

Wessel graduated from a vocational school training as a metal worker. In 1918 he joined the

Socialist Workers' Youth Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

and was a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany from 1921 to 1932 and a correspondent for the SPD parliamentary faction of

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

from 1926 to 1927. From 1929 to 1932 he was a worker and foreman at Chemische Werke Wolfen, then foreman of an

artificial silk Artificial silk or art silk is any synthetic fiber which resembles silk, but typically costs less to produce. Frequently, "artificial silk" is just a synonym for rayon. When made out of bamboo viscose it is also sometimes called bamboo silk. Th ...

plant in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

, and during the years 1939 to 1945 he was a foreman in the Agfa film factory in Wolfen. In 1945 he was chairman of the SPD of Wolfen. From the beginning of 1946, he was head of the Economic Section of the SPD for the province of Saxony in

Halle, Saxony-Anhalt Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-A ...

, then head of the Economic Department of the SED State Association of Saxony-Anhalt and Member of Parliament. Finally, until 1949, he was secretary of the SED state association in Halle. During 1949–1951, he, Fred Oelßner, and Edith Baumann were members of the small secretariat of the Politburo. After attending the Party School from 1950 to 1960 he was deputy director and general manager of a foreign trade company, a member of the Trade Council in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

until 1965, and later worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and German domestic trade.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wessel, Paul 1904 births 1967 deaths Members of the Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt Members of the Provisional Volkskammer People from Plauen People from the Kingdom of Saxony Recipients of the Banner of Labor Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Socialist Workers' Party of Germany politicians