Wilhelm Kling
Encyclopedia
Wilhelm Kling was a Communist Party of Germany
(KPD) functionary, and later an associate in the Politburo
of the Central Committee
of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
(SED) in East Germany.
Kling was born in Bammental
. He completed his training as a salesman in 1916-1921, and was an employee in Dortmund
until 1924. He worked for various building companies until 1928, was unemployed until 1929, and was the editor of the newspaper Berlin am Morgen between 1929 and 1933.
From 1922 to 1924, Kling was a member of the Association for Defence against Anti-Semitism
in Germany
(Verein zur Abwehr des Antisemitismus in Deutschland). As of 1923, he was active in various capacities for the KPD in the subdistrict (Unterbezirk) of Dortmund, and later in the subdistrict of Berlin.
From March 1933, after Adolf Hitler
and the Nazis had taken power
, he was unlawfully engaged in the KPD's information service, which led to his arrest in July 1935. In October 1936, he was sentenced to six years in labour prison (Zuchthaus) in the Volksgerichtshof's last public proceedings. Until 1945, he was imprisoned in, among other places, Plötzensee
Prison in Berlin, Brandenburg
-Görden and Bayreuth, as well as in Aschendorfer Moor, Sachsenhausen
and Mauthausen concentration camps.
In 1945-1946, he joined the KPD-SED in Berlin and was a colleague in the SED Central Committee. As leader of the subdivision known as "Functionaries in State and Commerce", he was instrumental in the expropriation of business and war crimes enterprises. Between 1953 and 1961, he was the acting director of the German Economic Institute (Deutsches Wirtschaftsinstitut), and after that, until 1969, an associate of the Agitation Commission at the SED Central Committee's Politburo.
Kling received the Vaterländischer Verdienstorden ("Fatherland Order of Merit") i 1965, and the Karl-Marx-Orden
in 1967, both East German honours. He died in Berlin
.
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) functionary, and later an associate in the Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
of the 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...
of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
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...
(SED) in East Germany.
Kling was born in Bammental
Bammental
Bammental is a municipality in Rhein-Neckar Kreis of Baden-Württemberg.- Geography :Bammental is about 9 km southeast of Heidelberg and 13 km northeast of Sinsheim in the Elsenz valley, between Mauer and Neckargemünd...
. He completed his training as a salesman in 1916-1921, and was an employee in Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
until 1924. He worked for various building companies until 1928, was unemployed until 1929, and was the editor of the newspaper Berlin am Morgen between 1929 and 1933.
From 1922 to 1924, Kling was a member of the Association for Defence against Anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(Verein zur Abwehr des Antisemitismus in Deutschland). As of 1923, he was active in various capacities for the KPD in the subdistrict (Unterbezirk) of Dortmund, and later in the subdistrict of Berlin.
From March 1933, after Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and the Nazis had taken 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...
, he was unlawfully engaged in the KPD's information service, which led to his arrest in July 1935. In October 1936, he was sentenced to six years in labour prison (Zuchthaus) in the Volksgerichtshof's last public proceedings. Until 1945, he was imprisoned in, among other places, Plötzensee
Plötzensee
Plötzensee is a small glacial lake in Berlin. It is situated near the Rehberge public park in the former borough of Wedding, now a part of Mitte. The name stems from Plötze, one name for the roach in German, as the lake formerly teemed with it....
Prison in Berlin, Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
-Görden and Bayreuth, as well as in Aschendorfer Moor, Sachsenhausen
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
and Mauthausen concentration camps.
In 1945-1946, he joined the KPD-SED in Berlin and was a colleague in the SED Central Committee. As leader of the subdivision known as "Functionaries in State and Commerce", he was instrumental in the expropriation of business and war crimes enterprises. Between 1953 and 1961, he was the acting director of the German Economic Institute (Deutsches Wirtschaftsinstitut), and after that, until 1969, an associate of the Agitation Commission at the SED Central Committee's Politburo.
Kling received the Vaterländischer Verdienstorden ("Fatherland Order of Merit") i 1965, and the Karl-Marx-Orden
Order of Karl Marx
The Order of Karl Marx was the most important order in the German Democratic Republic . Award of the order also included a prize of 20,000 East German marks....
in 1967, both East German honours. He died in 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...
.
Works
- "Kleine Geschichte der IG Farben, der Großfabrikanten des Todes", Berlin 1957