Karl Schirdewan
Karl Schirdewan | |
|---|---|
Schirdewan in 1952 | |
| First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party in Bezirk Leipzig | |
| In office 26 July 1952 – December 1952 | |
| Second Secretary |
|
| Preceded by | himself (Saxony) |
| Succeeded by | Paul Fröhlich (1953) |
| First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party in Saxony | |
| In office February 1952 – 26 July 1952 | |
| Second Secretary |
|
| Preceded by | Ernst Lohagen |
| Succeeded by | himself (Bezirk Leipzig) Hans Riesner (Bezirk Dresden) Walter Buchheim (Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt) |
| Member of the Volkskammer | |
| In office 23 July 1952 – 24 February 1958 | |
| Preceded by | Ernst Lohagen |
| Succeeded by | Harry Bachmann |
| Central Committee Secretariat responsibilities | |
| 1956-1958 | Cadre Affairs |
| 1953-1958 | KPD Work Office |
| 1953-1958 | West |
| 1953-1958 | Women |
| 1953-1958 | Youth |
| 1953-1955 | Neuer Weg editorial team |
| 1952-1956 | Leading Party Organs and Mass Organizations |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 May 1907 Stettin, Province of Pomerania, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (now Szczecin, Poland) |
| Died | 14 July 1998 (aged 91) Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany |
| Political party | Party of Democratic Socialism (1989–1998) |
| Other political affiliations | Socialist Unity Party (1952–1989) Communist Party of Germany (1925–1946) |
| Spouse | Gisela Schirdewan |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives |
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| Occupation |
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| Awards | Patriotic Order of Merit, 1st class |
Central institution membership
Other offices held
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Karl Schirdewan (14 May 1907 – 14 July 1998) was a German Communist activist who after World War II became a top East German politician.
During the mid 1950s, Schirdewan was seen as a potential successor to Walter Ulbricht but fell out of favour in 1958. Ulbricht continued to lead the government until 1971, while 1958 was the year in which 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.