Siegfried Emil "Sid" Spindler (9 July 19321 March 2008) was an Australian politician who served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

for

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

from 1990 to 1996, representing the

Australian Democrats The Australian Democrats is a centrist political party in Australia. Founded in 1977 from a merger of the Australia Party and the New Liberal Movement, both of which were descended from Liberal Party dissenting splinter groups, it was Australi ...

Early life

Spindler was born in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...

, Poland, to an

ethnic German , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

family. He was the son of Gertrud Alma (née Bernewitz) and Oskar Karl Spindler; his father was a businessman. Spindler was considered part of the ''

Volksdeutsche In Nazi German terminology, ''Volksdeutsche'' () were "people whose language and culture had German origins but who did not hold German citizenship". The term is the nominalised plural of ''volksdeutsch'', with ''Volksdeutsche'' denoting a sing ...

'' by the Nazi regime, and after the German invasion of Poland in 1939 was required to join the ''

Deutsches Jungvolk The ''Deutsches Jungvolk in der Hitlerjugend'' (; DJ, also DJV; German for "German Youngsters in the Hitler Youth") was the separate section for boys aged 10 to 13 of the Hitler Youth organisation in Nazi Germany. Through a programme of outdoor a ...

'' (part of the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

). When Germany's Eastern Front collapsed in 1944, Spindler and other children of Łódź were evacuated to a rural estate north of the city. In January 1945, he and his companions were forced to flee west on foot to escape the advancing

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

; many of them were killed by starvation, exposure, or bombing raids. Spindler was eventually reunited with his family in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label= Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Mag ...

, and they settled in

Weißenfels Weißenfels (; often written in English as Weissenfels) is the largest town of the Burgenlandkreis district, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approximately south of Halle. History Perhaps the firs ...

, Saxony-Anhalt, which became part of the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a c ...

and later East Germany. He was blacklisted from attending university due to his anti-Soviet views, and at the age of 17 was granted permission to move to Australia, sponsored by a relative who had settled in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

.SPINDLER, SIEGFRIED EMIL (1932–2008)
Biographical Dictionary of the Australian Senate. In Australia, Spindler became an apprentice with a painting and decorating company. He became an Australian citizen in 1952. After completing his apprenticeship, he opened his own business, which rapidly grew in size. He also began studying part-time at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb n ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of ...

degree in 1967. He sold his business in 1973 to become an administrator with the Outer Eastern Regional Council for Social Development, which had been created by the Whitlam Government. He moved to the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

in 1978, becoming business manager of the Alice Springs Community College; he later worked as a youth advisor for the NT government. Spindler's background as a refugee from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Europe influenced what he described as

''a personal quest to resolve issues related to the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
, reaching a conclusion that a repetition can be prevented only if every human being is respected and treated equally, regardless of race, religion, gender and sexuality''.

Politics

Spindler was an organiser and candidate for the

Australia Party The Australia Party was a minor political party established initially in 1966 as the Liberal Reform Group. As the Australia Party, it became influential, particularly in the landmark 1972 federal election when its preferences assisted the Austr ...

in the 1970s, before joining the

and becoming senior adviser to

Don Chipp Donald Leslie Chipp, AO (21 August 192528 August 2006) was an Australian politician who was the inaugural leader of the Australian Democrats, leading the party from 1977 to 1986. He began his career as a member of the Liberal Party, winning e ...

and

Janine Haines Janine Winton Haines, AM (née Carter; 8 May 1945 – 20 November 2004) was an Australian politician who was a Senator for South Australia from 1977 to 1978 and again from 1981 to 1990. She represented the Australian Democrats, and served as t ...

. He was Victorian state president of the Democrats from 1985 to 1989 and a national vice-president from 1987 to 1990. He was elected as a senator for

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, serving from 1 July 1990 to 30 June 1996 and managing a range of shadow-ministerial portfolios, as was mandatory for all Democrat parliamentarians. In parliament he spoke in support of the rights of

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

refugees A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

prisoners A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

, pensioners,

taxpayers A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

and the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

. He also spoke and campaigned against child labour and

sexual discrimination Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...

. He retired from the Senate at the end of his term in 1996. Spindler's relationship with

Janet Powell Janet Frances Powell AM (née McDonald, 29 September 194230 September 2013) was an Australian politician. A native of Nhill, Victoria, Powell was educated at Ballarat Grammar School and Nhill High School. She graduated from the Universi ...

, then leader of the Democrats, was used as leverage to remove Powell from the leadership in 1991.

Later life

Spindler and his family established the ''Towards a Just Society Fund'' in 2002, which distributes $200,000 annually to help Aboriginal students. He died of

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

in the

Epworth Hospital Epworth HealthCare is a provider of acute medical, surgical and rehabilitation services in Melbourne, Australia. The group has four divisions: Epworth Richmond, Epworth Eastern, Epworth Cliveden, Epworth Freemasons and Epworth Geelong Ep ...

in Melbourne, on his fiftieth

wedding anniversary A wedding anniversary is the anniversary of the date a wedding took place. Couples may take the occasion to celebrate their relationship, either privately or with a larger party. Special celebrations and gifts are often given for particular ann ...

. He was survived by his wife Julia and their four children, Kerry, Chris, Lindy and Bec.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spindler, Sid Australian Democrats members of the Parliament of Australia Deaths from liver cancer Members of the Australian Senate for Victoria Members of the Australian Senate Politicians from Melbourne Melbourne Law School alumni 1932 births 2008 deaths Deaths from cancer in Victoria (Australia) 20th-century Australian politicians Polish emigrants to Australia Polish emigrants to East Germany German emigrants to Australia Polish people of German descent People from Łódź Hitler Youth members Naturalised citizens of Australia Australia Party politicians