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Karl Schirdewan

Karl Schirdewan
Schirdewan in 1952
First Secretary of the
Socialist Unity Party in Bezirk Leipzig
In office
26 July 1952 – December 1952
Second Secretary
  • Luise Bäuml
Preceded byhimself (Saxony)
Succeeded byPaul Fröhlich (1953)
First Secretary of the
Socialist Unity Party in Saxony
In office
February 1952 – 26 July 1952
Second Secretary
  • Gerda Meschter
Preceded byErnst Lohagen
Succeeded byhimself (Bezirk Leipzig)
Hans Riesner
(Bezirk Dresden)
Walter Buchheim
(Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt)
Member of the Volkskammer
In office
23 July 1952 – 24 February 1958
Preceded byErnst Lohagen
Succeeded byHarry Bachmann
Central Committee Secretariat responsibilities
1956-1958Cadre Affairs
1953-1958KPD Working Office
1953-1958West
1953-1958Woman
1953-1958Youth
1953-1955Neuer Weg
1952-1956Leading Party Organs and Mass Organizations
Personal details
Born(1907-05-14)14 May 1907
Stettin, Province of Pomerania, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (now Szczecin, Poland)
Died14 July 1998(1998-07-14) (aged 91)
Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany
Political partyParty of Democratic Socialism
(1989–1998)
Other political
affiliations		Socialist Unity Party
(1952–1989)
Communist Party of Germany
(1925–1946)
SpouseGisela Schirdewan
Children4
Relatives
Occupation
  • Politician
  • Civil Servant
  • Party Clerk
AwardsPatriotic Order of Merit, 1st class
Central institution membership
Other offices held
  • 1958–1965: Director,
    State Archives Administration
  • 1954–1957: Member,
    Security Commission at the Politburo
  • 1950–1952: Head,
    West Department of the Central Committee

Karl Schirdewan (14 May 1907 – 14 July 1998) was a German Communist activist who after World War II became a top East German politician.[1][2]

During the mid 1950s, Schirdewan was seen as a potential successor to Walter Ulbricht but fell out of favour in 1958.[3] Ulbricht continued to lead the government until 1971, while 1958 was the year in which Schirdewan was thrown out of the Politburo[4] and placed in charge of the National Archives at Potsdam,[2] a position from which he retired in 1964[4] or 1965.[1]

  1. ^ a b Bernd-Rainer Barth; Helmut Müller-Enbergs. "Schirdewan, Karl (eigtl.: Aretz) * 14.5.1907, † 14.7.1998 Mitglied des Politbüros des ZK der SED". Wer war wer in der DDR?. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin & Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur, Berlin. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  2. ^ a b David Childs (10 August 1998). "Parteifeinde und Philosophen: Im Brandt-Bericht erwähnte DDR-Prominente". The Independent. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Gestorben - Karl Schirdewan .... das seltene Beispiel eines lernfähigen Kommunisten in der DDR-Führung.". Der Spiegel (online). 20 July 1998. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Parteifeinde und Philosophen: Im Brandt-Bericht erwähnte DDR-Prominente". Der Spiegel. Der Spiegel (online). 2 February 1967. Retrieved 16 December 2015.

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