Ernst Thälmann

Ernst Thälmann (16 April 1886 – 18 August 1944) was the leader of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) 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.

The father of Ernst Thälmann was Johannes Thälmann (called 'Jan' * April 11, 1857; † October 31, 1933), born in Weddern in Holstein and worked there as a farmworker. The mother of Thälmann, Mary-Magdalene (née Kohpeiss ; * November 8, 1857; † 9 March 1927), was born in Kirchwerder. The wedding took place in 1884 in Hamburg. There, Johannes Thälmann earned his first money as a coachman. Ernst's parents had no party affiliation; in contrast to his father, his mother was deeply religious.

Ernst Thälmann was born in Hamburg. After his birth, his parents took a pub near the Port of Hamburg. On April 4, 1887 his sister Frieda was born († 8 July 1967 Hamburg). In March 1892, Thälmann's parents were convicted and sentenced to two years in prison, because they had bought stolen goods or had taken them for debt payment. Thälmann and his younger sister Frieda were separated and placed for care in different families. Thälmann's parents were released early; his mother in May, and his father in October 1893. The offense of his parents would be used 36 years later in the campaign against Ernst Thälmann.

From 1893–1900 Thälmann attended elementary school. He later described history, Natural History, folklore, mathematics, gymnastics and sports as his favorite subjects. However, he did not like religion. In the mid-1890s, his parents opened a vegetable, coal and wagon shop in Eilbek, a suburb of Hamburg. In this business, he had to help after school. Thälmann did his schoolwork in the morning before classes started. Despite this burden, Thälmann was a good student who enjoyed learning. His desire to become a teacher or to learn a trade was not fulfilled because his parents refused to give him the necessary money. He had to continue working in his parents' business, causing much sorrow and conflict with his parents. Therefore, he sought a job as an unskilled worker in the port. Here the ten-year-old Thälmann came in contact with the port workers on strike from November 1896 till February 1897, the bitter labor dispute known as the Hamburg dockworkers strike 1896/97.

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