Philipp Dengel
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Philipp Dengel (15 December 1888 – 28 March 1948) was a German
communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
journalist and politician. Dengel was a member of the Reichstag for 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) between 1924 and 1930, a member of the KPD Central Committee and
Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...
, and an editor of ''
Die Rote Fahne ''Die Rote Fahne'' (, ''The Red Flag'') was a German newspaper originally founded in 1876 by Socialist Worker's Party leader Wilhelm Hasselmann, and which has been since published on and off, at times underground, by German Socialists and Commun ...
''. Dengel was a close ally of KPD 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 ...
until they fell out over the so-called Wittorf affair in 1928, for which he was demoted within the KPD and removed as a candidate for the 1930 federal election. Dengel lived principally 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 ...
and worked as an official for
Comintern The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...
between 1931 and 1947. Dengel returned to Germany shortly before his death 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 ...
in 1948.


Early years

Philipp Dengel was born on 15 December 1888 in Ober-Ingelheim, a village west of
Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
in the
Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine () was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The grand duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 as the Grand Duchy of Hesse (). It assumed the name ...
. His father, also named Philipp Dengel, was a producer and distiller in the
German wine German wine is primarily produced in the west of Germany, along the river Rhine and its tributaries, with the oldest plantations going back to the Celts and Ancient Rome, Roman eras. Approximately 60 percent of German wine is produced in the st ...
industry. He attended school, initially in the village, and then at the
Realgymnasium ''Gymnasium'' (; German plural: ''Gymnasien''), in the German education system, is the most advanced and highest of the three types of German secondary schools, the others being ''Hauptschule'' (lowest) and ''Realschule'' (middle). ''Gymnas ...
in Mainz between 1903 and 1907. He studied
Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
and
History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
at the
University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz () is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany. It has been named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. it had approximately 32,000 students enrolled in around 100 a ...
and the
University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the German-speaking world. It is named afte ...
. He worked as a teacher at a
private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...
in
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
until 1913, when he called up for
conscripted Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...
into the Imperial Germany Army. Dengel was still serving in the army when
World War I 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 ...
broke out the next year, and remained so until the war ended in 1918, when he discharged as a ''
leutnant () is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum ...
'' in the military
reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...
.


Political career

Dengel had joined the
Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...
(SPD) in 1911, but like hundreds of thousands of others he was
radicalised Radicalization (or radicalisation) is the process by which an individual or a group comes to adopt increasingly radical views in opposition to a political, social, or religious status quo. The ideas of society at large shape the outcomes of radic ...
by the war. He actively participated in 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 ...
in November 1918, joining
Kurt Eisner Kurt Eisner (; 14 May 1867 21 February 1919)"Kurt Eisner – Encyclopædia Britannica" (biography), ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2006, Britannica.com webpageBritannica-KurtEisner. was a German politician, revolutionary, journalist, and theatre c ...
in
People's State of Bavaria The People's State of Bavaria () was a socialist republic in Bavaria which existed from November 1918 to April 1919. It was established during the German revolution of 1918–1919, German revolution as an attempt at a socialist state to replace ...
, and turning up 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 ...
shortly afterwards as
legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a minister. Ambassadors outranked ministers and had precedence at official events. Legation ...
secretary from the short-lived communist government in Bavaria. In March 1919, Dengel switched from the SPD to the recently formed
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). He teamed up with Alfons Goldschmidt to help launch the ''
Räte-Zeitung The ''Räte-Zeitung'' (Councils' Newspaper) was a left-wing magazine published from April 1919 until late 1920. It was launched by Philipp Dengel and Alfons Goldschmidt. Leo Matthias joined the editorial team. It proclaimed itself the "Organ ...
'', a four-page newspaper of the revolutionary "
Workers' 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 polit ...
" movement. He was a contributing editor to ''Die Republik'', a daily newspaper directed by the
polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...
and pacifist
Wilhelm Herzog Wilhelm Herzog (12 January 1884 in Berlin – 4 April 1960 in Munich), alias Julian Sorel, René Kestner and Junius III, was a German publisher, historian of literature and culture, dramatist, encyclopedist, and pacifist. Life He studied economi ...
. In Berlin during early 1920, Dengel participated in defeating the
Kapp Putsch The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an abortive coup d'état against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to ...
and briefly became a member of the extremist breakaway Communist Workers' Party. Between September and December 1920, he visited
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 the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. According to at least one source, it was only after a visit and a meeting with
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
in early 1921 he returned to the mainstream KPD. In May 1921, Dengel joined ''
Die Rote Fahne ''Die Rote Fahne'' (, ''The Red Flag'') was a German newspaper originally founded in 1876 by Socialist Worker's Party leader Wilhelm Hasselmann, and which has been since published on and off, at times underground, by German Socialists and Commun ...
'' newspaper, which by this time had become a KPD publication, as
foreign policy Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...
editor. The next year, he was switched to work as a senior journalist with newspapers backing the party in Germany's principal industrial regions further to the west. In 1922, he took over as
editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...
at '' Sozialistische Republik'', the Communist daily newspaper produced in
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
. By 1923, he had moved again to
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
, and was looking after the '' Hamburger Volkszeitung''. In October, he took part in the
Hamburg Uprising The Hamburg Uprising () was a communist insurrection that occurred in Hamburg in Weimar Germany on 23 October 1923. A militant section of the Hamburg Communist Party of Germany launched an uprising as part of the so-called German October. R ...
in the city, taking on key organisational responsibilities for
munitions Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of ...
and food supplies. At the start of 1924, Dengel took a party appointment as " Polleiter" (loosely "policy leader") with the regional KPD leadership team (''"Bezirksleitung"'') for the Wasserkante region surrounding Hamburg. Later that year, he moved to the
Lower Rhine region The Lower Rhine region or Niederrhein () is a region around the Lower Rhine section of the river Rhine in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between approximately Oberhausen and Krefeld in the East and the Dutch border around Kleve in the West ...
, appointed regional ''Polleiter'' in August 1924, by now using for party purposes the
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
"Schmidt".


Reichstag member

In the first 1924 federal election, Dengel was elected as one of 62 KPD MPs of the Reichstag. It was the first time the KPD, now with more than 10% of the national vote, achieved a significant presence in the assembly. In July 1925, at the KPD's tenth party congress held in Berlin, Dengel was elected to the Central Committee, remaining a member through a decade of mixed political fortunes till 1935. 1925 was a year of intensified factionalism within the Communist Party. The German executive commission of the Moscow-based
Comintern The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...
, presumably taking their lead from Soviet leader
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
, became disenchanted with the leadership of
Arkadi Maslow Arkadi Maslow , born Isaak Yefimowich Chemerinsky (March 9, 1891 – November 20, 1941) was a communist politician in the German Republic, Along with his partner Ruth Fischer, he was a leading figure in the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) t ...
and
Ruth Fischer Ruth Fischer (11 December 1895 – 13 March 1961) was an Austrian and German Communist, and a co-founder of the Austrian Communist Party (KPÖ) in 1918. Along with her partner Arkadi Maslow, she led the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) throug ...
after the second 1924 federal election seven months later, which saw the party's vote share drop back below 10%. Some commentators saw this development as a result of an improvement in the German economy, but for Stalin and the KPD left-wingers it was a sign that their party was becoming insufficiently differentiated from the political mainstream. As the party became more divided, an "
open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...
" was drawn up between 12 and 14 August and sent to the KPD by the
Comintern The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internatio ...
's German executive commission, drawing attention to the growing resurgence of
Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imper ...
-era
nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a neoclassical compound derived from Greek language, Greek, consisting of (''nóstos''), a Homeric word me ...
on the extreme right of German politics, and providing a careful Soviet-
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
analysis and prescription.
Capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
stabilization imperilled the
class struggle In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...
on which future political success for Soviet style communism in Germany depended. The "open letter" was later published in ''Die Rote Fahne'' on 22 December 1928. A
triumvirate A triumvirate () or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs (). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are notionally equal, the actual distr ...
comprising Dengel,
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 ...
, and
John Schehr John Schehr (9 February 1896 – 1 February 1934) was a German political activist who became a Communist Party politician and ultimately, chairman (leader) of the Communist Party of Germany, following the arrest on 3 March 1933 of Ernst Thälma ...
led support for the "open letter" during the run-up to a Central Committee meeting which took place between 28 August and 1 September 1925. Maslow and Fischer retained their
Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...
memberships for the next few weeks, but under Thälmann's leadership the existing Politburo itself was sidelined by the alternative team, which proved adept at capturing the support of other influential comrades. In October 1925, Thälmann emerged as party leader with Dengel as his close political ally, becoming a Politburo member, and serving as secretary to the Party Central Committee and co-chairmen (with Thälmann) of the party between 1925 and 1929. In the late summer of 1928, at the sixth Comintern World Congress which took place in Moscow, Dengel was elected a member of the organisation's executive committee and of its
praesidium A presidium or praesidium is a council of executive officers in some countries' political assemblies that collectively administers its business, either alongside an individual president or in place of one. The term is also sometimes used for the ...
. The congress also saw powerful endorsement by Thälmann of Stalin's uncompromising and fateful rejection of any kind of collaboration with the SPD. Dengel would remain a member of the Comintern praesidium, at least formally, until June 1941. In October 1928, the Wittorf affair, a major
embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...
scandal within the KPD, seriously undermined the powerful alliance at the top of the party between Thälmann and Dengel. Thälmann's attempt to cover up the embezzlement led to him being expelled from the Central Committee by horrified comrades. Dengel suggested that Thälmann should give up the party leadership "for a period," which led to an immediate distancing between the two. It did not lead to Thälmann surrendering the party leadership, however, and Dengel found that in falling out with him he had also fallen out with Stalin and the
Stalinist 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 ...
s within the KPD. After Thälmann had been restored to his membership of the Central Committee, Dengel received a reprimand and faced the loss of his position as secretary of the Central Committee.


Demotion

The KPD's twelfth party congress was held in the
Wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...
district of Berlin (a KPD stronghold) in June 1929. Dengel was re-elected to the Central Committee, but he was no longer included in the Politburo, and he was stripped of other party functions. Back in his
Ingelheim Ingelheim (), officially Ingelheim am Rhein (), is a town in the Mainz-Bingen Districts of Germany, district in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany. The town sprawls along the Rhine's left bank. It has been Mainz-Bingen's district seat sin ...
home base, reports surfaced that he had been expelled from the national party leadership due to conflicts with Thälmann. These were vehemently denied by local party officials, who were able to cite his continued membership of the Central Committee in support of their denials. With more time for journalism, he served as an editor of ''Die Rote Fahne'' from 1930 to 1931. He succeeded
Heinrich Süßkind Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...
whose fall from grace, in the eyes of Stalin and Thälmann, was evidently more absolute than his own. There are also references to Dengel having taught during this period at the "Rosa Luxemburg party academy" in Ficthenau on the eastern edge of Berlin. For the 1930 federal election, Dengel was no longer included on the KPD candidate list, ending his career in the Reichstag. Nevertheless, he campaigned actively for KPD, advocating the Stalinist party line for unity with the SPD in order to block 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 ...
. On 10 September 1930, he appeared at an election meeting in Ingelheim and addressed more than 300 people who "listened attentively to his remarks" even if they did not all agree with everything he said. In his speech, he savagely attacked the SPD, which he characterised as the complete opposite of a " true workers' party".


Comintern

Towards the end of 1931, the KPD sent Dengel to Moscow to work for the Comintern, where his work appears to have involved a good deal of international travel, while his wife and family seem to have remained in Germany. According to at least one source, he spent almost a year in the
Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...
during the
First Biennium The First Biennium, also known as the Social-Azañist Biennium, the Reformist Biennium, or the Transformer Biennium, was the period between the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic on April 14, 1931, and the 1933 Spanish general election. ...
from 1931 to 1932, followed by several weeks in
Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...
. By the end of 1932, he was back in Moscow. From December 1933 to August 1935, he headed the Comintern regional secretariat for
Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
, which involved a number of trips to
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 ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
and
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 ...
. In January 1933, the Nazis took power in Germany and quickly transformed the country into a
one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...
Enabling Act of 1933 The Enabling Act of 1933 ( German: ', officially titled ' ), was a law that gave the German Cabinet—most importantly, the chancellor, Adolf Hitler—the power to make and enforce laws without the involvement of the Reichstag or President Pa ...
. 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, ...
occurred in Berlin overnight on 27/28 February 1933, and was blamed by the government with implausible haste on "communists". It quickly became apparent – to the extent that it had not already been – that those with communist connections were in particular danger from 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 ...
, the Nazi
secret police image:Putin-Stasi-Ausweis.png, 300px, Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 1985 to 1989. Both organizations used similar forms of repression. Secre ...
. Dengel's wife Katharina now joined him in Moscow where the family were from now on to be based, though he would continue to travel extensively in connection with his Comintern work. In July/August, Dengel attended the
Seventh World Congress of the Comintern The Seventh World Congress of the Communist International (Comintern) was a multinational conference held in Moscow from July 25 through August 20, 1935 by delegated representatives of ruling and non-ruling communist parties from around the worl ...
, identifying himself by the party pseudonym "Ulmer". In October 1935, the exiled KPD held its thirteenth party congress. In order to try and reduce the dangers to the comrades involved, this congress was always referred to in communications as the "
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 ...
congress" though it actually took place in the town of
Kuntsevo Kúntsevo () is a district in Western Administrative Okrug of the federal city of Moscow, Russia. Population: History In the 18th century, a palace and a park were built; they were often visited by the Empress Catherine II. Kuntsevo is the site ...
near Moscow. Dengel was in attendance. He left both the Comintern congress and the "Brussels congress" armed with clear detailed instructions from the party to its members and activists concerning the project, for which he had personally already been pressing, involving the creation of a broadly based anti-Nazi German " popular front" movement. A new KPD Central Committee was elected comprising just fifteen members, in contrast to the previous committee elected in 1929 which had consisted of 38 member. With the benefit of hindsight, it becomes clear that the new slimmed down Central Committee was made up of supporters of
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 ...
. Dengel, despite being based in Moscow at the time and having already been a Central Committee member for ten years, was now excluded from it. Between November 1935 and April 1936, Dengel undertook a lengthy visit 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 ...
where he worked with the so-called " Lutetia Circle" attempting to create a "popular front" against the Nazis. Most of the exiled KPD leaders had ended up in Paris, Moscow, or
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
. The KPD, along with their Soviet backers, took the lead in the Lutetia project while insisting that membership should be broadly based as was open to all who opposed
Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...
in Germany. At least one preparatory meeting was convened at the
Hôtel Lutetia The Mandarin Oriental Lutetia, Paris, located at 45 Boulevard Raspail, in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, is one of the best-known hotels on the Left Bank. It is noted for its architecture and its historical ...
in February and/or March 1936. Dengel presented a policy paper that had been helpfully drawn up by exiled members of the KPD Politburo in Moscow. Nevertheless, many on the political left still blamed the KPD for splitting the political left during the early 1930s, thereby opening the way for the Nazis to take power. Somehow, the energy the exiled communists devoted to the Lutetia Circle, served only to dampen the enthusiasm from other parts of the anti-Nazi political spectrum. The meeting at which Dengel gave his presentation left fellow delegates convinced that he was present simply as a "trusted representative" of the party leaders in Moscow, and in April 1936 he was recalled. Attempts were made to revive the Lutetia Circle later in 1936, with the KPD leadership represented by
Franz Dahlem Franz Dahlem (14 January 1892 – 17 December 1981) was a German communist politician who was a leading official of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, Socialist Unity Party (SED). Dahlem helped establish the SED and German Democratic Republic, ...
and Ulbricht. The most visible outcome was the so-called "Appeal to the German people", signed by more than 70 German political exiles, including Dengel among them, issued at the end of December 1936. It called for the overthrow of the Nazi government and included the plea, "Create the German popular front! For peace, liberty and bread!".


Later years and death

In 1936, Dengel was recalled to party work, sent to Prague between April and September to facilitate and secure the production 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 ...
-language ''Deutsche Volkszeitung'' newspaper being produced in the city at that time. After returning to Moscow at the end of the year, he started work at the Comintern's
International Lenin School The International Lenin School (ILS) () was an official training school operated in Moscow, Soviet Union, by the Communist International from May 1926 to 1938. It was resumed after the Second World War and run by the Communist Party of the Soviet ...
as a teacher-instructor. On 8 March 1938, the Nazi had deprived Dengel and his family of their German citizenship rights. At the "
Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
congress" which actually took place in
Draveil Draveil () is a commune in the Essonne department in the southern outer suburbs of Paris, France.Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...
between
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
and the Soviet Union. In September 1939, both countries invaded and occupied Poland from opposite directions. In Moscow, it was necessary to undergo a rapid change of heart when it came to "a united front against fascism" which was now contrary to its interests. There are reports that as early as 1929, Dengel was forced by serious illness to cut short a Comintern mission overseas. There is no indication that he became more actively involved in party work after his return to the Central Committee ten years later. On 22 June 1941, Nazi Germany launched its
invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a ...
which, that same day, Dengel suffered a serious
stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...
from which he would never properly recover. In 1944, he was listed as a member of the Soviet sponsored
National Committee for a Free Germany The National Committee for a Free Germany (, or NKFD) was an Anti-fascism, anti-fascist political and military organisation formed in the Soviet Union during World War II, composed mostly of German defectors from the ranks of German prisoners of ...
, but he was no longer playing any active political role. It was as an invalid that he returned with his wife to
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 ...
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 ...
in September 1947, where he died there six months later.


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dergel, Philipp 1888 births 1948 deaths People from Ingelheim am Rhein German Army personnel of World War I People of the German Revolution of 1918–1919 20th-century German journalists Journalists from Hamburg Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic Members of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Germany Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Communist Party of Germany politicians German Comintern people Executive Committee of the Communist International Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz alumni