Ted Kulongoski
American politician
Walter Ulbricht was a prominent German communist politician who played a key role in the establishment of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). He held significant power as the First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971, overseeing the suppression of civil and political rights in the communist-ruled dictatorship. Ulbricht’s tenure was marked by economic struggles and the construction of the infamous Berlin Wall.
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Walter Ernst Paul Ulbrichtwas a German communist politician. Ulbricht played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germanyand later in the early development and establishment of the German Democratic Republic. As the First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971, he was the chief decision-maker in East Germany. From President Wilhelm Pieck’s death in 1960 on, he was also the East German head of state until his own death in 1973. As the leader of a significant Communist satellite, Ulbricht had a degree of bargaining power with the Kremlin that he used effectively. For example, he demanded the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 when the Kremlin was reluctant.
Ulbricht began his political life during the German Empire, when he joined first the Social Democratic Party of Germanyin 1912 later joining the anti-World War I Independent Social Democratic Party of Germanyin 1917. The following year, he deserted the Imperial German Army and took part in the German Revolution of 1918. He joined the Communist Party of Germany in 1920 and became a leading party functionary, serving in its Central Committee from 1923 onward. After the Nazi takeover of Germany in 1933 and the Nazi-led investigation into his role in ordering the 1931 murder of police captains Paul Anlauf and Franz Lenck, Ulbricht lived in Paris and Prague from 1933 to 1937 and in the Soviet Union from 1937 to 1945.
After the end of World War II, Ulbricht re-organized the German Communist Party in the Soviet occupation zone along Stalinist lines. He played a key role in the forcible merger of the KPD and SPD into the Socialist Unity Party of Germanyin 1946. He became the First Secretary of the SED and effective leader of the recently established East Germany in 1950. The Soviet Army occupation force violently suppressed the uprising of 1953 in East Germany on 17 June 1953, while Ulbricht hid in the Soviet Army headquarters in Berlin-Karlshorst. East Germany joined the Soviet-controlled Warsaw Pact upon its founding in 1955. Ulbricht presided over the total suppression of civil and political rights in the East German state, which functioned as a communist-ruled dictatorship from its founding in 1949 onward.
The nationalization of East German industry under Ulbricht failed to raise the standard of living to a level comparable to that of West Germany. The result was massive emigration, with hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the country to the west every year in the 1950s. When Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev gave permission for a wall to stop the outflow in Berlin, Ulbricht had the Berlin Wall built in 1961, which triggered a diplomatic crisis but succeeded in curtailing emigration. The failures of Ulbricht’s New Economic System and Economic System of Socialism from 1963 to 1970 led to his forcible retirement for “health reasons” and replacement as First Secretary in 1971 by Erich Honecker with Soviet approval. Ulbricht suffered a stroke and died in 1973.
Walter Ulbricht was a German communist politician who was the chief decision-maker in East Germany as the First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971.
Ulbricht played a leading role in the early development and establishment of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), serving as the effective leader of the country from 1950 onward.
Ulbricht joined the Communist Party of Germany in 1920 and became a leading party functionary, serving in its Central Committee from 1923 onward.
The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 on Ulbricht’s demand, as a way to curtail the massive emigration of East Germans to the West, which had been undermining the communist regime in East Germany.
Ulbricht presided over the total suppression of civil and political rights in East Germany, which functioned as a communist-ruled dictatorship from its founding in 1949 onward.
The nationalization of East German industry under Ulbricht failed to raise the standard of living to a level comparable to that of West Germany, leading to massive emigration of East Germans to the West.
Ulbricht began his political life in the Social Democratic Party and Independent Social Democratic Party before joining the Communist Party of Germany in 1920, eventually becoming a key figure in the establishment of East Germany.
The victory of the working people over the exploiters and slave holders is at the same time the victorious struggle for liberation by the German people.
German communist politician and dictator
Gifts fall from heaven only in fairy tales.
German communist politician and dictator
The more you participate in our common endeavors, the more successful your work in the factory, mine, wharf or village, in an economic institute or in the arts, in commerce or administration, the sooner we will be where we all want to be.
German communist politician and dictator
May we soon enjoy the fruits of our labor in a peaceful and united Germany.
German communist politician and dictator
In the past, people worked together only when some great disaster threatened.
German communist politician and dictator
The government of the German Democratic Republic rejects secret policies. It works for the people, and only the people, so it does not need to keep secrets like the warmongers.
German communist politician and dictator
Any sensible family has a budget that lays out how much will be spent for household and other purposes. Without such planning, things would quickly go awry.
German communist politician and dictator
The plan shows that the twenty million people in the German democratic Republic and in the democratic sector of Berlin think only of peace, and that they are working for freedom and peaceful prosperity.
German communist politician and dictator
The West German population would protest passionately if it knew what secret meetings between the federal chancellor, McCoy, and foreign and Nazi generals are planning.
German communist politician and dictator
Let there be great enthusiasm for the plan throughout the entire republic that will overcome all obstacles. Let us join together to realize the Five Year Plan and bring our economy and our own living standards to previously unknown heights.
German communist politician and dictator
Something new has happened: For the first time in German history our fatherland is guided by a plan that considers only the needs of the people, and aims at building prosperity and reconstructing of our fatherland.
German communist politician and dictator
This hunger for profits causes great misery for the people.
German communist politician and dictator
Let us show our fellow countrymen and the entire world what the Germans can do when they work for peace.
German communist politician and dictator
The guiding principle is not to manufacture the goods everyone needs, rather to earn profits for a few capitalists.
German communist politician and dictator
It is the most important contribution we can make to speeding up reunification.
German communist politician and dictator
The success of each of us benefits us all, and the success of us all benefits each of us individually.
German communist politician and dictator
The nature of a democracy consists to an important degree in the right of the people to criticize problems and mistakes.
German communist politician and dictator
When has there ever been a government in German history that came to the people and revealed its detailed plans for the coming years? That could not happen before, since German governments planned war and conquest.
German communist politician and dictator