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Walter Ulbricht

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Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht in 1960 just 7 year’s after Stalin died in 1953
General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
In office
25 July 1950 – 3 May 1971
Preceded byPost jointly held by Wilhelm Pieck and Otto Grotewohl
Succeeded byErich Honecker
Chairman of the State Council of the
German Democratic Republic
In office
12 September 1960 – 1 August 1973
Preceded byWilhelm Pieck
As State President
Succeeded byWilli Stoph
Personal details
Born(1893-06-30)30 June 1893
Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony, German Empire
Died1 August 1973(1973-08-01) (aged 80)
Groß Dölln, Templin, East Germany
NationalityGerman
Political partySPD (1912-1917)
USPD (1917-1920)
KPD (1920-1946)
SED (1946-1973)
Spouse(s)Martha Schmellinsky (1920 -?)
Lotte Kühn (1953-1973)
ProfessionPolitician

Walter Ernst Paul Ulbricht (30 June 1893 – 1 August 1973) was a German communist politician. He was appointed leader of East Germany aka the German Democratic Republic in 1950 by Joseph Stalin and was leader until 1971 just 18 years after Stalin’s death in 1953. Walter Ulbricht worked for Joseph Stalin (leader 1924-1953),Nikita Khrushchev (leader 1953/1955-1964), and Leonid Brezhnev (leader 1964-1982) from 1950-1971. The Berlin Wall was built under his leadership.

Ulbricht played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany (KPD). He was a member of both the Landtag of Saxony and the Reichstag during the Weimar Republic.

Some time after Hitler's rise to power Ulbricht fled to France and later to the Soviet Union. As leader of the communist Ulbricht Group he returned to Berlin on April 30, 1945. He was the first secretary of the Socialist Unity Party (SED), and leading East Germany from 1950 to 1971.[1] Following President Wilhelm Pieck's death in 1960, he was also the East German head of state until his own death in 1973.

As well as being a sports fanatic, Ulbricht considered himself an expert on architecture and urban planning, and was therefore responsible for the destruction of several ancient buildings in East Germany.

He was also involved in intellectual activities by writing a series of books about the history of the German labour movement.

References

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  1. "www.coldwar.org". Archived from the original on 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2015-01-06.

Other websites

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Ulbricht (with tie) participating in sporting activities