Eduard Wald
Encyclopedia
Eduard Wald was a Communist politician, trade union
ist and member of the German Resistance
against Nazism
.
and in 1924, he joined the Communist Party
(KPD). He soon became a member of the Lower Saxony
district leadership, where he was responsible for agitation and propaganda
and the Rotfrontkämpferbund
. In 1926, he became the editor of the Niedersächsischen Arbeiterzeitung, the Lower Saxony workers' newspaper and from 1926 to 1927, he was district treasurer. As editor of the newspaper, between 1926 and 1929, he was convicted of 12 different press violations. In 1929, he went to the Soviet Union
for medical reasons, to be cured of a lung condition. On his return, he was active in the educational programs of the KPD.
He was a member of the Versöhnler, a group of KPD members critical of the ultra-left policies of KPD leader Ernst Thälmann
and as a result, in 1929, lost his job in the Party, though he was not expelled until 1930. He was unemployed until 1930, when he got a job at a factory and began to build a regional Versöhnler network both in and outside the KPD.
After the Nazi Party seized power
in 1933, Wald was forced to go underground. He was able to build a Resistance group called the Committee for Proletarian Unity (Komitee für Proletarische Einheit). Several hundred members strong, it's focus was the Hanover
area. He kept in close contact with the Versöhnler group organized by Hans Westermann
in Hamburg
and the Hannover Socialist Workers' Party
under Otto Brenner. In 1934, Wald moved to Berlin, where he work to coordination the various Versöhnler groups around Germany. On May 11, 1936, he was arrested by the Gestapo
and on June 30, 1937, he was sentenced at the Volksgerichtshof to 15 years' hard labor. He was imprisoned at Emslandlager
and at Brandenburg-Görden Prison
with other political prisoners, including Erich Honnecker, later head of East Germany's Socialist Unity Party
. Wald remained at Brandenburg-Görden until his release in April 1945.
In 1945, Wald again became a KPD party official in Lower Saxony. From August 23, 1946 to October 29, 1946, he was a representative in the State of Hanover
legislature established under the British occupation forces. He also was one of those who held the newspaper license, required in postwar Germany, to publish a newspaper in Lower Saxony, the Niedersächsischen Volksstimme. He held this position until 1948, when he withdrew from the Party over the "Russianization
of the KPD". In 1948, Wald became the leader of the Confederation of German Trade Unions in Lower Saxony and on the national level. In 1950, he published Feinde der Demokratie ("Enemies of the Democracy") and he became a member of the Social Democratic Party
(SPD), working closely with Sigmund Neumann, then head of the eastern office of the SPD.
In 1977, Wald was quoted in Der Spiegel
in an article about Honnecker's years in Brandenburg-Görden Prison. Wald died in Lachen am Ammersee
in 1978.
. Otto Brenner was his first wife's brother.
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ist and member of the German Resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
against Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
.
Biography
Eduard Wald, known as Edu, was born in Kiel, Germany, where he attended school. He reached upper school, then received training as a gardener between 1921 and 1923. By 1923, he was already a member of the Young Communist League of GermanyYoung Communist League of Germany
The Young Communist League of Germany was a political youth organization in Germany. It was formed in 1920 from the Free Socialist Youth of the Communist Party of Germany, which itself was formed in October 1918, with support from the Spartacus League . The KJVD was created in 1925...
and in 1924, he joined the Communist Party
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
(KPD). He soon became a member of the Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
district leadership, where he was responsible for agitation and propaganda
Agitprop
Agitprop is derived from agitation and propaganda, and describes stage plays, pamphlets, motion pictures and other art forms with an explicitly political message....
and the Rotfrontkämpferbund
Rotfrontkämpferbund
Rotfrontkämpferbund was a paramilitary organization of the Communist Party of Germany created on 18 July 1924 during the Weimar Republic. Its first leader was Ernst Thälmann...
. In 1926, he became the editor of the Niedersächsischen Arbeiterzeitung, the Lower Saxony workers' newspaper and from 1926 to 1927, he was district treasurer. As editor of the newspaper, between 1926 and 1929, he was convicted of 12 different press violations. In 1929, he went to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
for medical reasons, to be cured of a lung condition. On his return, he was active in the educational programs of the KPD.
He was a member of the Versöhnler, a group of KPD members critical of the ultra-left policies of KPD leader Ernst Thälmann
Ernst Thälmann
Ernst Thälmann was the leader of the Communist Party of Germany during much of the Weimar Republic. He was arrested by the Gestapo in 1933 and held in solitary confinement for eleven years, before being shot in Buchenwald on Adolf Hitler's orders in 1944...
and as a result, in 1929, lost his job in the Party, though he was not expelled until 1930. He was unemployed until 1930, when he got a job at a factory and began to build a regional Versöhnler network both in and outside the KPD.
After the Nazi Party seized power
Machtergreifung
Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
in 1933, Wald was forced to go underground. He was able to build a Resistance group called the Committee for Proletarian Unity (Komitee für Proletarische Einheit). Several hundred members strong, it's focus was the Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
area. He kept in close contact with the Versöhnler group organized by Hans Westermann
Hans Westermann
Hans Westermann was a German Communist, politician and fighter in the German Resistance against the Third Reich. He died in Nazi custody days after being arrested by the Gestapo.- Biography :...
in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and the Hannover Socialist Workers' Party
Socialist Workers' Party of Germany
The Socialist Workers' Party of Germany was a political party in Germany. It was formed by a left-wing party with around 20,000 members which split off from the SPD in the autumn of 1931. In 1931 the remnants of USPD merged into the party, and in 1932 some Communist Party dissenters joined the...
under Otto Brenner. In 1934, Wald moved to Berlin, where he work to coordination the various Versöhnler groups around Germany. On May 11, 1936, he was arrested by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
and on June 30, 1937, he was sentenced at the Volksgerichtshof to 15 years' hard labor. He was imprisoned at Emslandlager
Emslandlager
Emslandlager is the site of a post World War II British sector displaced person camp near Emsland in Lower Saxony in Germany.The moorland labor camps, Emslandlager - as they were known - were for political opponents of the Third Reich, located outside of Börgermoor, now part of the commune...
and at Brandenburg-Görden Prison
Brandenburg-Görden Prison
Brandenburg-Görden Prison is located on Anton-Saefkow-Allee in the Görden section of Brandenburg an der Havel. Erected between 1927 and 1935, it was built to be the most secure and modern prison in Europe. It was a Zuchthaus for inmates with lengthy or life sentences at hard labor, as well as...
with other political prisoners, including Erich Honnecker, later head of East Germany's Socialist Unity Party
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
. Wald remained at Brandenburg-Görden until his release in April 1945.
In 1945, Wald again became a KPD party official in Lower Saxony. From August 23, 1946 to October 29, 1946, he was a representative in the State of Hanover
State of Hanover
The State of Hanover was a state in Northwest Germany. It existed between the dissolution of the former State of Prussia and the foundation of Lower Saxony in 1946 and saw itself in the tradition of the Kingdom of Hanover, annexed in 1866 by Prussia, as is clear from the state emblems...
legislature established under the British occupation forces. He also was one of those who held the newspaper license, required in postwar Germany, to publish a newspaper in Lower Saxony, the Niedersächsischen Volksstimme. He held this position until 1948, when he withdrew from the Party over the "Russianization
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
of the KPD". In 1948, Wald became the leader of the Confederation of German Trade Unions in Lower Saxony and on the national level. In 1950, he published Feinde der Demokratie ("Enemies of the Democracy") and he became a member of the Social Democratic Party
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
(SPD), working closely with Sigmund Neumann, then head of the eastern office of the SPD.
In 1977, Wald was quoted in Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
in an article about Honnecker's years in Brandenburg-Görden Prison. Wald died in Lachen am Ammersee
Dießen am Ammersee
Dießen am Ammersee is a municipality in the district of Landsberg in Bavaria in Germany.-References:...
in 1978.
Personal
Wald was married twice. His son from his first marriage is the German journalist and author Peter Wald. He and his first wife were divorced in 1947. In November 1947, he married Orli WaldOrli Wald
Orli Wald was a member of the German Resistance in Nazi Germany. She was arrested in 1936 and charged with high treason, whereupon she served four and a half years in a women's prison, followed by "protective custody" in Nazi concentration camps until 1945, when she escaped...
. Otto Brenner was his first wife's brother.
Publications
- Arthur Mannbar and Eduard Wald, Brandenburg, Verlag VVN (1948)
- Eduard Wald, Die Gewerkschaften im politischen Zeitgeschehen. Frankfurt am Main (1953)
Sources
- Wilhelm Sommer, Edu Wald und die Widerstandsgruppe „Komitee für proletarische Einheit“ in Hannover – mit einem Text von Peter Wald. In: Hannoversche Geschichtsblätter (Neue Folge), Vol. 57/58, 2003/2004. Hannover (2004) pp. 205-218.
- Barbara Simon, Abgeordnete in Niedersachsen 1946–1994. Biographisches Handbuch. (1996) p. 393