Robert Siewert
Encyclopedia
Robert Siewert was a German politician and fought in the German Resistance
against National Socialism. He is a survivor of Buchenwald concentration camp
, where he helped save the life of Stefan Jerzy Zweig
, among others.
), Poznań County
in Poland
. He learned the trade of masonry and became a member of the Social Democratic Party
(SPD) in 1906. From 1908 to 1915, he worked as a bricklayer in Switzerland
, where he got to know Vladimir Lenin
and Heinrich Brandler
.
Siewert was a soldier during the First World War, serving on the eastern front
, while also working for the Spartacist League
. In 1918, he was a member of the Soldiers' Council of the 10th Army. After that, he became a member of the Communist Party of Germany
(KPD).
In 1919, Siewert was the district political leader in the Ore Mountains and in 1919 and 1920, he was a delegate to the party congress and then secretary to the unification congress when the KPD merged with the USPD
. He was elected to the Central Committee at the KPD congresses in 1921 and 1923. In 1922, he was a delegate to the Fourth World Congress of the Communist International and he joined the leadership of the KPD publishers. He became the political leader in Chemnitz
in 1923.
Siewert's political position was between the "Brandlerists
" and the "middle group/conciliators," which led in 1924 to his being relieved of his party functions and being sent to Berlin
, where he was only allowed to handle minor party responsibilities. Working with Hans Beck, he organized a workers' delegation to go to the Soviet Union
. Later, he worked as editor of Einheit (Unity) magazine, which was oriented toward left-leaning Social Democrats
. In 1926, Siewert was elected to the Saxon Landtag
, where he served till 1929.
Siewert became an active functionary of the Communist Party Opposition
(KPO) and a member of the district leadership of West Saxony. He held his seat in the Saxon parliament as one of the five members of the KPO faction. From 1931 to 1936, he worked as business manager of the newspaper Arbeiterpolitik (Labor Policy), first in Leipzig
and then in Berlin. From 1933 till his arrest in late 1934, he was part of the initial national leadership of the KPO with Erich Hausen and Fritz Wiest.
and sentenced at the Volksgerichtshof to three years at hard labor in a Zuchthaus. After serving his term in Luckau
, rather than being released, he was sent to Buchenwald concentration camp
. There, he moved politically toward the KPD and became involved in the leadership of the underground resistance
at the camp. He often took a stand for Jewish prisoners and for the imprisoned children and he organized a class to teach bricklaying to Polish and Jewish children, an act that saved the lives of many.
In late August 1944, Siewert gave a speech at an illegal memorial organized by Willi Blecher for the Ernst Thälmann
, who had recently been executed by the Nazis. As a result, he was subjected to reprisals and was under growing threat of execution, when the camp was liberated in April 1945.
. By July 1945, he was being rejected by the secretariat of the SED
Central Committee
because of his KPO activities and he was replaced as district party leader. Nonetheless, he was able to become the first vice president of the Province of Saxony and later, Minister of the Interior of Saxony-Anhalt
.
In 1950, the SED began launching campaigns against the one-time members of the KPO, initiating repressive measures against Siewert and others. Siewert was demoted as Minister and installed in a minor position within the Ministry. Furthermore, he was forced to write a self-critical article in Neuen Deutschland (New Germany), which was published on January 25, 1950. A month and a half later, on March 15, it was labeled "inadequate" and he was forced to write another, even more self-critical article. One issue was the Central Party Control Commission's view that the KPO had not become an agent of financial capitalism, but rather had been one from the beginning.
.
Siewert died on November 2, 1973 in Berlin and was laid to rest in the "Pergolenweg" of the Memorial to the Socialists at the Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde
. The official SED obituary called him one of the "closest comrades of Ernst Thälmann," founder of the KPD. Three official memorial brochures omitted any mention of his leadership or activity in the KPO.
, there is an elementary school named after Siewert. Siewert, who was the first Construction Minister in the GDR, was memorialized in 1976, three years after his death, when a road construction regiment of the National People's Army
, based in Neuseddin, near Potsdam
was named for him.
There is a commemorative plaque
for Siewert in Berlin in the area where he lived after the war (see photo).
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 National Socialism. He is a survivor of Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
, where he helped save the life of Stefan Jerzy Zweig
Stefan Jerzy Zweig
Stefan Jerzy Zweig is an author and cameraman and is known as the Buchenwald child from the novel by Bruno Apitz, Naked Among Wolves. He survived Buchenwald concentration camp at age four by being protected by his father and other prisoners.- Early years :Stefan Jerzy Zweig lived with his parents,...
, among others.
Youth, war and the early Weimar years
Siewert was born the son of a carpenter in Schwersenz (today, SwarzędzSwarzedz
Swarzędz is a town in central Poland of 29,766 inhabitants and a mixed urban-rural commune of 40,166 inhabitants...
), Poznań County
Poznan County
Poznań County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat is the city of Poznań, although the city...
in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. He learned the trade of masonry and 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) in 1906. From 1908 to 1915, he worked as a bricklayer in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, where he got to know Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
and Heinrich Brandler
Heinrich Brandler
Heinrich Brandler was a German communist trade unionist, politician, revolutionary activist, and writer. Brandler is best remember as the head of the Communist Party of Germany during the party's ill-fated "March Action" of 1921 and aborted uprising of 1923, for which he was held responsible by...
.
Siewert was a soldier during the First World War, serving on the eastern front
Eastern Front (World War I)
The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theatres strongly influenced each other...
, while also working for the Spartacist League
Spartacist League
The Spartacus League was a left-wing Marxist revolutionary movement organized in Germany during World War I. The League was named after Spartacus, leader of the largest slave rebellion of the Roman Republic...
. In 1918, he was a member of the Soldiers' Council of the 10th Army. After that, he became a member of the Communist Party of Germany
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).
In 1919, Siewert was the district political leader in the Ore Mountains and in 1919 and 1920, he was a delegate to the party congress and then secretary to the unification congress when the KPD merged with the USPD
Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany was a short-lived political party in Germany during the Second Reich and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of left wing members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany...
. He was elected to the Central Committee at the KPD congresses in 1921 and 1923. In 1922, he was a delegate to the Fourth World Congress of the Communist International and he joined the leadership of the KPD publishers. He became the political leader in Chemnitz
Chemnitz
Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
in 1923.
Siewert's political position was between the "Brandlerists
Heinrich Brandler
Heinrich Brandler was a German communist trade unionist, politician, revolutionary activist, and writer. Brandler is best remember as the head of the Communist Party of Germany during the party's ill-fated "March Action" of 1921 and aborted uprising of 1923, for which he was held responsible by...
" and the "middle group/conciliators," which led in 1924 to his being relieved of his party functions and being sent to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, where he was only allowed to handle minor party responsibilities. Working with Hans Beck, he organized a workers' delegation to go 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....
. Later, he worked as editor of Einheit (Unity) magazine, which was oriented toward left-leaning Social Democrats
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
. In 1926, Siewert was elected to the Saxon Landtag
Landtag
A Landtag is a representative assembly or parliament in German-speaking countries with some legislative authority.- Name :...
, where he served till 1929.
Opposition to the Stalinization of the KPD
Siewert's position as a "Brandlerist" in opposition to the growing Stalinization of the KPD caused him to be relieved of all party responsibilities in 1928 and on January 14, 1929, he was expelled from the KPD.Siewert became an active functionary of the Communist Party Opposition
Communist Party Opposition
The Communist Party of Germany was a communist opposition organisation established at the end of 1928 and maintaining its existence until 1939 or 1940...
(KPO) and a member of the district leadership of West Saxony. He held his seat in the Saxon parliament as one of the five members of the KPO faction. From 1931 to 1936, he worked as business manager of the newspaper Arbeiterpolitik (Labor Policy), first in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
and then in Berlin. From 1933 till his arrest in late 1934, he was part of the initial national leadership of the KPO with Erich Hausen and Fritz Wiest.
Resistance to Nazism
Siewert was charged by the Nazis with high treasonHigh treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
and sentenced at the Volksgerichtshof to three years at hard labor in a Zuchthaus. After serving his term in Luckau
Luckau
Luckau is a city in the district of Dahme-Spreewald in the federal state of Brandenburg, Germany. Known for its beauty, it has been dubbed "the Pearl of Lower Lusatia".-Origin of the name:...
, rather than being released, he was sent to Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald concentration camp was a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps on German soil.Camp prisoners from all over Europe and Russia—Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slovenes,...
. There, he moved politically toward the KPD and became involved in the leadership of the underground resistance
Buchenwald Resistance
The Buchenwald Resistance was a resistance group of prisoners at Buchenwald concentration camp. It involved Communists, Social Democrats, and people affiliated with other political parties, unaffiliated people, and Christians. Because Buchenwald prisoners came from a number of countries, the...
at the camp. He often took a stand for Jewish prisoners and for the imprisoned children and he organized a class to teach bricklaying to Polish and Jewish children, an act that saved the lives of many.
In late August 1944, Siewert gave a speech at an illegal memorial organized by Willi Blecher for the 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...
, who had recently been executed by the Nazis. As a result, he was subjected to reprisals and was under growing threat of execution, when the camp was liberated in April 1945.
After 1945, political repression
After the war, Siewert rejoined the KPD and began in Halle (Saale) with the rebuilding of the KPD in the Province of SaxonyProvince of Saxony
The Province of Saxony was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1945. Its capital was Magdeburg.-History:The province was created in 1816 out of the following territories:...
. By July 1945, he was being rejected by the secretariat of the SED
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...
Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
because of his KPO activities and he was replaced as district party leader. Nonetheless, he was able to become the first vice president of the Province of Saxony and later, Minister of the Interior of Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
.
In 1950, the SED began launching campaigns against the one-time members of the KPO, initiating repressive measures against Siewert and others. Siewert was demoted as Minister and installed in a minor position within the Ministry. Furthermore, he was forced to write a self-critical article in Neuen Deutschland (New Germany), which was published on January 25, 1950. A month and a half later, on March 15, it was labeled "inadequate" and he was forced to write another, even more self-critical article. One issue was the Central Party Control Commission's view that the KPO had not become an agent of financial capitalism, but rather had been one from the beginning.
Rehabilitation
After Stalin's death and the revelation of his crimes, the SED was "destalinized" and Seiwert was rehabilitated. He was recognized with a number of national awards. He remained employed in the Ministry of Construction and was active in the leadership of the GDR's Union of Persecutees of the Nazi RegimeUnion of Persecutees of the Nazi Regime
The Society of People Persecuted by the Nazi Regime – Federation of Anti-Fascists is a political organization founded in 1947....
.
Siewert died on November 2, 1973 in Berlin and was laid to rest in the "Pergolenweg" of the Memorial to the Socialists at the Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde
Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde
The Friedrichsfelde Central Cemetery , also known as the Memorial to the Socialists , is a cemetery in the borough of Lichtenberg in Berlin. When the cemetery was founded in 1881 it was called the Freidrichsfelde Municipal Cemetery Berlin...
. The official SED obituary called him one of the "closest comrades of Ernst Thälmann," founder of the KPD. Three official memorial brochures omitted any mention of his leadership or activity in the KPO.
Legacy
There are streets in Berlin-Karlshorst and Chemnitz named after Siewert. In Beutha, SaxonySaxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, there is an elementary school named after Siewert. Siewert, who was the first Construction Minister in the GDR, was memorialized in 1976, three years after his death, when a road construction regiment of the National People's Army
National People's Army
The National People’s Army were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic .The NVA was established in 1956 and disestablished in 1990. There were frequent reports of East German advisors with Communist African countries during the Cold War...
, based in Neuseddin, near Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
was named for him.
There is a commemorative plaque
Commemorative plaque
A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other vertical surface, and bearing text in memory of an important figure or event...
for Siewert in Berlin in the area where he lived after the war (see photo).
Further reading
- Stiftung Archiv der Parteien und Massenorganisationen der DDR im Bundesarchiv (SAPMO): Zentrale Parteikontrollkommission der SED; DY 30, 1948–1971