Walter Stoecker
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Walter Stoecker (9 April 1891 – 10 March 1939) was a
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 ...
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 ...
politician. He served as a
member of Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...
parliament (''"Reichstagsmitglied"'') between
1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...
and 1932.


Life


Provenance and early years

Walter Stoecker was born 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 ...
-Deutz (across from the cathedral, on the right bank of the river): Ernst Stoecker (1850–1921), his father was an engineer. Still slightly unusually for the time and place, he grew up in a family described as "konfessionslos", meaning that the family were not members of the church and not subject to "Kirchensteuer" (''church tax''). He attended primary school, middle school and then a "Realschule" (''traditional secondary school'') in the city during 1907/08, but was obliged to leave the "Realschule" after a year, on account of financial difficulties within the family. During or after his school career he completed a commercial training, mostly through attending evening classes after work. Stoecker became a member of the
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 ...
Young Socialist Movement (''"sozialistische Arbeiterjugendbewegung"'') in 1908, and 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 1909. In 1910 he took an unpaid internship with one or more regional
party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...
newspapers in
Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...
and
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 ...
, and was employed as a contributing editor and reporter between 1911 and 1913. He also spent a year as a student, starting in 1912 or 1913, during which he studied
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 ...
and Applied Economics (''"Volkswirtschaft"'') at
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 ...
,
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 ...
and, according to at least one source,
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. Mention is also made of his having led a socialist student organisation in Cologne during this period.


War years

War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
broke out, from a
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 ...
perspective, at the end of July 1914. Almost at the outset, in August 1914, Stoecker emerged as an anti-war activist. He was particularly critical of the "right-wing" SPD party leadership in
parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
as, following after considerable soul-searching, they declared what amounted to a parliamentary truce for the duration of the war. In
parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
the SPD would vote in favour of war funding. They were motivated variously by traditional patriotism, the hope that after the war the German government might, in return, agree to a more democratic voting system, and by the widespread belief that if Germany were to lose the war, the country would finally fall under the Russian tyranny which already extended across much of what had formerly been known as
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. There were plenty of party activists across Germany who believed, even in 1914, that none of these arguments justified SPD parliamentary backing for the war: Walter Stoecker was one of them. That did not prevent him from being conscripted into the army in February 1915, however. He was a soldier till November 1918. As more and more reports came through of the slaughter on the frontline, and shortages of almost everything made life for families left behind on the home front ever more difficult, the initial enthusiasm for the war among the citizens of the belligerent powers drained away. In Germany the
SPD 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 wi ...
finally split at the start of 1917, principally over the parliamentary leadership's continued backing for the war. Walter Stoecker was a founder member of the breakaway Independent Social Democratic Party (''"Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands"'' / USPD). At around the same time he was badly wounded in the fighting in
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.


Germany as a republic

After the war ended and revolution spread from the naval ports in the north to factories and cities across the country, Stoecker became a leading participant in the Workers' and Soldiers' Soviet 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 ...
. Between December 1918 and June 1919 he was editor of "Volkstribüne" the USPD's local newspaper in
Elberfeld Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the Germany, German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929. History The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "''elverfelde''" was ...
(
Wuppertal Wuppertal (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and List of cities in Germany by population, 17th-largest in Germany. It ...
). With the city under British military occupation at the time, Cologne did not feature prominently in the more extreme manifestations of the "German revolution". For a time during 1919 Stoecker served as a Cologne city councillor. At the start of 1919, he had been elected to the Prussian state assembly, mandated to produce a new post-imperial Prussian constitution, and a precursor body to the replacement Prussian "Landtag" / "Diet" which was elected on 20 February 1921. Through 1919 Stoecker was active at a
party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...
level. There were two USPD party conferences held that year, in March and October. Walter Stocker attended them both as a delegate. In June/July 1919 he was appointed secretary to the party's national leadership team, a job which carried significant influence. The party leadership was based in Berlin-Grunewald: it may have been the new appointment that caused him to leave his journalistic job in the
Ruhr region The Ruhr ( ; , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr Area, sometimes Ruhr District, Ruhr Region, or Ruhr Valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 1,160/km2 and a populatio ...
. The job evidently involved spending considerable time away from Cologne, though Stocker would retain close links to the
Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...
region throughout his political career.


Party ructions

Following the disastrous end to the war in November 1918, the issue of opposition to support for the war, on the basis of which the
USPD The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of anti-war members of t ...
had been founded, lost relevance. During 1919 there was an increasingly urgent need to agree a future purpose and direction for the party. There were those who favoured re-integration with the
SPD 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 wi ...
, while a larger faction, on the left of the party, was keen for a merger with the new Communist Party, which had been founded at a three-day conference held 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 ...
between 30 December 1918 and 1 January 1919. Walter Stocker, with other leading party comrades including
Ernst Däumig Ernst Friedrich Däumig (25 November 1868 in Merseburg – 4 July 1922 in Berlin) was a German politician, journalist and newspaper editor who became co-chairman of both the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD) and Communist Party ...
and
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 ...
, pushed for a merger between the
USPD The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of anti-war members of t ...
and the
Communists 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, d ...
. In June/July 1920 he was one of those from the party who attended the
2nd World Congress of the Comintern The 2nd World Congress of the Communist International was a gathering of approximately 220 voting and non-voting representatives of Communism, communist and Revolutionary socialism, revolutionary socialist political parties from around the world, h ...
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 ...
. Extensive networking took place: Stoecker even had the opportunity to get to know
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 ...
personally. The Soviet leader took a close interest in political developments in
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. By the end of 1920 Stoecker was one of many former members of the USPD to have become members of an enlarged version of 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 ...
. Nevertheless, the development was not so much a "clean merger" of parties and a splintering of the USPD. Some comrades simply returned to the
SPD 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 wi ...
while others remained members of the USPD, which survived as a much diminished fringe movement till 1931.


Reichstag

A
general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
was held on 6 June 1920. The election represented a highpoint for the
USPD The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of anti-war members of t ...
, which won nearly 18% of the vote: under the recently introduced proportional representation-based voting system, that entitled them to 83 seats in the Reichstag ''(national parliament)''. One of the 83 USPD Reichstag members was Walter Stoecker. He represented Electoral District 26 ( Düsseldorf-West) By the end of 1920 he was sitting not as a
USPD The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of anti-war members of t ...
parliamentarian but as a Communist Party (KPD) member. He would remain a member of the Reichstag for twelve years, till July 1932.


The Communist Party of Germany in the 1920s

Between October and December 1920 Stoecker served as one of three editors-producers on "Kommunistische Rundschau", a short-lived political journal of which six editions appeared during that three-month period. In December 1920 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 ...
" rebranded itself as the "United Communist Party of Germany" (''"Vereinigte Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands"'' / VKPD). The new name, which reflected the expansion resulting from the many members who had moved across from the
USPD The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of anti-war members of t ...
, was not universally used even at the time, and would be abandoned by the party leadership after barely two years. During 1920/21 Walter Stoecker was one of the enlarged party's six party secretaries and a member of its executive committee, of which, between February and August 1921, he served as co-chair, jointly with
Heinrich Brandler Heinrich Brandler (3 July 1881 – 26 September 1967) was a German communist, trade unionist, politician, revolutionary activist, and political writer. Brandler is best remembered as the head of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) during the par ...
. He was also one of the party's most prominent Reichstag members. The
economic crises A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and ma ...
of the early 1920s found their echo in social and political instability. Instability was a particular feature of the Communist Party, with bitter ideological rivalries at the leadership level reverberating through the lower levels of the party hierarchy. At the
Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...
party congress, held during August 1921, Walter Stoecker ceased to be a member of the party's national leadership team, though he remained influential within the party apparatus, partly on account of his role in the Reichstag. Eighteen months later Stoecker was returned to the (significantly expanded) party central committee at that year's party congress, held at
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 ...
during January/February 1923. He was also given an important regional position as senior "Polleiter" (''loosely, "head of policy"'') for the Communist Party's "region west", which comprised approximately the area covered since 1947 by
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
. According to at least one source he had effectively been filling an equivalent role on a less formal basis since 1921. The party had its regional headquarters at
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 ...
. During 1923 he was much involved in preparation for the October uprising in
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 ...
(which failed in its objectives), though the extent and precise details of his involvement have remained undisclosed.
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
was dissolved in October 1924 in anticipation of the general election scheduled for December, which the authorities saw as an opportunity to issue an arrest warrant against Stoecker in respect of his suspected involvement in the
uprising Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
the previous year. The question of whether his parliamentary immunity could be set aside because parliament was not actually in session remained untested, however, since the arrest warrant was never executed. He may have stayed away from the
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
party congress in April 1924, since the record indicates that his membership of the party central committee was not renewed on that occasion. Stoecker was re-elected to the Reichstag in December 1924 which put an end to any residual concern about possible loss of parliamentary immunity from arrest. He now became leader - in effect co-leader with party 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 ...
- of the 45 member
party group A party group () is a formal group within an organization that works to ensure democratic centralism as led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Party groups ensure the control of formally non-CCP public institutions like government organizati ...
in the assembly. He also teamed up with
Wilhelm Pieck Friedrich Wilhelm Reinhold Pieck (; 3 January 1876 – 7 September 1960) was a German communist politician who served as the Leadership of East Germany, chairman of the Socialist Unity Party from 1946 to 1950 and as the only president of the Ger ...
(who between 1921 and 1928 sat as a member of the Prussian "Landtag" (''"state parliament"'') rather than, as subsequently, of the Reichstag (''"national parliament"'')), to produce the party's regular publication "Der Rote Wähle" (''"The Red Voter"''). In 1925, following the "open letter" affair and the removal of
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 ...
along with the leadership team around her, and its rapid replacement with a more uncompromisingly pro-Moscow leadership team under
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 ...
, Walter Stoecker, still identified as a left-leaning comrade quickly recovered his influence within the party apparatus. Then at the
Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...
party congress The terms party conference ( UK English), political convention ( US and Canadian English), and party congress usually refer to a general meeting of a political party. The conference is attended by certain delegates who represent the party memb ...
in March 1927. Stoecker was briefly critical of Thälmann's role in the aftermath of the Wittorf affair in 1928, and even at one point vote for Thälmann's temporary suspension pending further discussion. However, it very quickly became clear that
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 ...
retained the Soviet leader's total confidence, and Stoecker was one of many comrades in and around the party leadership team who quickly came to realise that Thälmann's judgement of John Wittorf could not, after all, have been at fault. Stoecker's party career did not, at the time, appear to have suffered any lasting damage over the matter. 1929 saw him re-elected to membership of the party central committee. He had already, in September 1928, accepted the chairmanship of the newly launched "Bund der Freunde der Sowjetunion" / "Association of Friends of the Soviet Union". He had been a co-founder of the organisation, established with encouragement from Moscow in order both to communicate "the truth about building socialism in the Soviet Union" and to help prevent a future war between 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 ...
and western countries. By 1930 it had become clear that Stoecker was again becoming marginalised within the party apparatus. He had been replaced in 1929 by his parliamentary comrade
Ernst Torgler Ernst Torgler (25 April 1893 – 19 January 1963) was the last chairman of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) faction in the German Reichstag before he worked for the Nazis. Early life Torgler was born the son of an urban resident in Berlin ...
as leader of the party's members Reichstag. By the time of the July 1932 general election, the party was no longer even listing him as a candidate for re-election. During the early 1930s Stoecker's political involvement became increasingly focused on international aspects of communism. He had already undertaken a mission for 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 ...
in 1926, and now he worked for 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 ...
as an "instructor". With Leon Purman and
Jules Humbert-Droz Jules-Frédéric Humbert-Droz (23 September 1891, La Chaux-de-Fonds – 16 October 1971) was a Swiss pastor, journalist, socialist and communist. A founding member of the Communist Party of Switzerland, he held high Comintern office through the 1 ...
, he spent a lengthy period in
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
during the crisis-strewn period preceding the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. Towards the end of August 1932 he undertook a trip to
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
, this time in his capacity as chairman of the International Association of Friends of the Soviet Union. The meeting was billed as an "anti-war congress". These events, increasingly hard to arrange anywhere in Europe as the 1930s progressed, were also important as opportunities for informal networking. There was a large contingent of delegates from
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. These included
Ivor Montagu Ivor Goldsmid Samuel Montagu (23 April 1904, in Kensington, London – 5 November 1984, in Watford) was an English filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, film critic, writer, table tennis player, and Communist activist and spy in the 1930s. He help ...
, a
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 ...
scion of the Montagu banking dynasty, who attended as a representative of the British branch of the FSU. It subsequently became clear that Stoecker took the opportunity to get to know one another. Six months later the Stoecker family found itself in desperate need of a powerful friend in England.


Hitler years

In January 1933 the Hitler government took power and lost no time in exchanging German democracy for a one-
party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...
dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...
. On 7 February 1933 Walter Stoecker was one of the participants at the "illegal" Sporthaus Ziegenhals meeting, celebrated subsequently ( especially during the "East German" years) as the last meeting held by the
German Communist Party The German Communist Party (, ) is a communist party in Germany. The DKP supports far-left positions and was an observer member of the European Left before leaving in February 2016. History The DKP considered itself a reconstitution of the C ...
leadership before the participants were arrested, killed, or in a few cases managed to flee abroad. 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, ...
took place over night on 27/28 February 1933 and was followed with a rapidity which commentators, even at the time, found suspicious, by the
Reichstag Fire Decree The Reichstag Fire Decree () is the common name of the Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State () issued by German President Paul von Hindenburg on the advice of Chancellor Adolf Hitler on 28 February 1933 in immed ...
. Walter Stoecker was one of many known communists taken into government custody on the night of the fire, a few hours following its outbreak. Elfriede Stoecker was not arrested. She immediately fled the country with Helmuth and Helga, the couple's children. Elfriede and the children would all outlive the Hitler régime and survive the war. In England they made their way to the home of
Ivor Montagu Ivor Goldsmid Samuel Montagu (23 April 1904, in Kensington, London – 5 November 1984, in Watford) was an English filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, film critic, writer, table tennis player, and Communist activist and spy in the 1930s. He help ...
and his wife, known to friends and family as "Hell" Montagu. The Stoecker's children were at particular risk from a
National Socialist 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 frequen ...
government since, according to at least one source, Elfriede was deemed Jewish. The Montagus were surprised to see Elfriede and her children, but agreed to look after the children. Reports vary as to whether Elfriede returned at once to Germany or remained for some time in England. Helmuth, aged 12 and Helga, aged 8 found themselves enrolled at
Summerhill School Summerhill School is an independent (i.e. fee-charging) day and boarding school in Leiston, Suffolk, England. It was founded in 1921 by Alexander Sutherland Neill with the belief that the school should be made to fit the child, rather than ...
, a progressive boarding establishment in
Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
, created and directed by the formidable education reformer Alexander Sutherland Neill from
Forfar Forfar (; , ) is the county town of Angus, Scotland, and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million-pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town had a population of 16,280. The town ...
. Rowna Hellstern-Montagu, aged 11, was already a pupil. In May 1933 the English intelligence services intercepted a particularly moving letter received from Walter Stoecker in which the writer, by now an inmate in the
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 ...
, enquired after his children's health and welfare, and urged them to master
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
, but not to forget their
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 ...
. Following his arrest at the end of February 1933, Walter Stoecker was taken to the "protective custody" establishment at
Berlin-Spandau Spandau () is a locality (''Village, Ortsteil'') of Berlin, Germany's capital and largest city, in the homonymous Boroughs and neighborhoods of Berlin, borough (''Bezirk'') of Spandau. The historic city is situated, for the most part, on the west ...
. From there the authorities transferred him to
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 ...
, sited on marshy land close to the
Oder River The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through west ...
between
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 ...
and Posen during April 1933. During April/May 1934 the Sonnenburg camp was closed and Stoecker was one of several hundred former inmates transferred the
Lichtenburg concentration camp Lichtenburg was a Nazi concentration camp, housed in a Renaissance castle in Prettin, near Wittenberg in the Province of Saxony. Along with Sachsenburg, it was among the first to be built by the Nazis, and was operated by the SS from 1933 to ...
near
Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...
. At each
camp Camp may refer to: Areas of confinement, imprisonment, or for execution * Concentration camp, an internment camp for political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or minority ethnic groups * Extermination ...
Stoecker emerged as a member of the (illegal) communist leadership team. He was also able to correspond with his wife, through whom he secured the discussion and passage of an important resolution at the party's "Brussels congress". The final move came in August 1937 when he was sent with hundreds of other prisoners to a vast construction site at the Ettersberg hillside, just outside
Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...
. The others included
Theodor Neubauer Dr. Theodor Thilo Neubauer (12 December 1890 – 5 February 1945) was a German communist politician, educator, essayist, historian and anti-Nazi resistance fighter. Biography Early life Theodor Neubauer was born in the family of an estate i ...
and Albert Kuntz. With other inmates, the three men set up the kernel of a communist cell inside the Buchenwald (''"Beech Wood"'') concentration camp, as it was becoming known. It was at Buchenwald that Walter Stoecker died, worn down by torture, undernourishment and the heavy quarrying work. His death finally came about on 10 March 1939. The immediate cause of his death was probably an experimental anti-
Typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...
vaccine administered as part of a test programme organised by the camp physician, Dr. Ding-Schuler (who subsequently became notorious for his extensive medical experimentation on Buchenwald inmates).


The widow and the children

Little is known of the later years of Anna Elfriede Stoecker. She died 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 ...
on 3 August 1966. It is likely that after delivering her children to relative safety in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in 1933 she returned to Germany and lived quietly in successively Hitler's Germany (1933–1945), 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 ...
of Germany (1845–1949) and
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 ...
's Soviet-Socialist
East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
(1949–1966). Ashes identified as her husband's remains had been disinterred after
1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...
and placed in Friedrichsfelde cemetery in the section reserved for the physical remains of heroes of socialism, and after she died Elfriede's Stoecker's physical remains were placed close by. At some point
Helmuth Helmuth is both a masculine German given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: __NOTOC__ Given name *Helmuth Theodor Bossert (1889–1961), German art historian, philologist and archaeologist *Helmuth Hübener (1925–1942), Ger ...
and Helga Stoecker moved out of Ivor and Hell Montagu's home, and were instead fostered by a Captain Lamont in
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
, in the northern part of England. The Stoecker's elder child, Helmuth Stoecker, attended the
University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...
during 1939/40: he studied
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 ...
. He was then identified by the English government as an
Enemy alien In customary international law, an enemy alien is any alien native, citizen, denizen or subject of any foreign nation or government with which a domestic nation or government is in conflict and who is liable to be apprehended, restrained, secur ...
and, with thousands of other refugees from Nazism who had sought safety in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, removed to a prison or detention camp. After the underlying policy had become discredited and been reversed he was released, but there was no return to university in England. Instead he was employed in farm and factory work till 1947 when he was able to make his way back to
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 ...
in what had become Germany's
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 ...
. Between 1947 and 1950 he studied at the
University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...
, which was also administered as part of the Soviet zone between 1945 and 1949. His teachers at
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 ...
included Walter Markov. He worked for the "General astGerman News Service" between 1950 and 1952, and then for the young country's new Museum for History during 1952/53, before returning to his academic career. He received his doctorate at
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 ...
in 1957 in return for a dissertation on "Germany and China in the nineteenth century: Penetration of German capitalism". His professorship followed quickly. He continued to teach at the University of Berlin till his retirement in 1986. Helga Stoecker did not live in the public eye. She appears to have returned with her brother in 1947, to 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 ...
(after 1949 the Soviet sponsored German Democratic Republic / East Germany), and to have pursued a career in teaching. She was a recipient of the Pestalozzi Medal for loyal service (generally in the field of education).


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoecker, Walter 1891 births 1939 deaths Politicians from Cologne People from the Rhine Province Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Independent Social Democratic Party politicians Communist Party of Germany politicians Members of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Germany Members of the Reichstag 1920–1924 Members of the Reichstag 1924 Members of the Reichstag 1924–1928 Members of the Reichstag 1928–1930 Members of the Reichstag 1930–1932 Sonnenburg concentration camp survivors Lichtenburg concentration camp survivors German people who died in Buchenwald concentration camp Deaths from typhus in Germany