21 Facts About Karl Schirdewan

Karl Schirdewan was a German Communist activist who after World War II became a top East German politician.

Ulbricht continued to lead the government until 1971, while 1958 was the year in which Karl Schirdewan was thrown out of the Politburo and placed in charge of the National Archives at Potsdam, a position from which he retired in 1964 or 1965.

Karl Schirdewan was born in Stettin, an industrial port city which at that time was the capital of the Prussian Province of Pomerania.

Karl Schirdewan spent time living in an orphanage and then moved through a succession of foster families.

Karl Schirdewan acquired the name by which he was identified when he was adopted by Robert and Martha Schirdewan in 1914.

Karl Schirdewan left school when he was 16 and looked, without success, for work in a book shop.

Karl Schirdewan nevertheless continued with his party activities in Saxony and in the north of Germany.

Karl Schirdewan resumed his work for the Communist Party, in June 1945 re-establishing and starting to build up the party branch in northern Bavaria.

In practice, as Karl Schirdewan later recalled, the group's work involved combing through Gestapo files to gather information on anti-fascists - Communists and Socialists - who had been targets for government information gathering during the twelve Nazi years.

Karl Schirdewan was the man entrusted with liaison in the British zone.

Nationally, although he had been working closely with the Party Central Committee since the party's foundation, it was only in May 1953 that Karl Schirdewan was himself co-opted as a member, following the disgrace and expulsion from it of Wilhelm Zaisser and Rudolf Herrnstadt, on 17 June 1953 taking Zaisser's place in the Politburo.

Karl Schirdewan now acquired various further powers and responsibilities, serving from 26 July 1953 as head of the Central Committee's newly created "Chief Organ of the Party and of Mass Movements", and from 1954 as a member of the Central Committee's "Security Commission".

Karl Schirdewan described Ulbricht as a "happy intriguer" and was known to have been close to senior East German politicians, such as Anton Ackermann and Paul Merker, who had experienced enforced career-breaks or worse, after falling out with Ulbricht.

Karl Schirdewan was a member of the four man delegation sent by the East German SED to the 20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party, held in Moscow, starting during the third week of February 1956.

Back in 1956 congress delegates were permitted to view copies, and Karl Schirdewan was entrusted by his fellow delegates with the task of creating a note of it, using the German translation which Kremlin officials had helpfully prepared.

Karl Schirdewan had already taken his holiday entitlement for 1957 and explained that a second holiday would need to be cleared with his boss.

The climax of the downfall came on 5 February 1958, when Karl Schirdewan was expelled from the Party Central Committee.

Karl Schirdewan was placed in charge of the National Archives at Potsdam, which, from the perspective of the national leadership team, was seen as a "punishment job".

Karl Schirdewan retired from the national archives in 1964 or 1965.

Karl Schirdewan lived long enough to contribute to the historiography of East Germany, giving at least one substantial interview.

Karl Schirdewan had already been married for some time to his wife, Gisela, at the time in February 1956 when she collected him from the airport on his return from hearing Khrushchev delivering his Moscow speech, "On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences".