Ernst Wollweber
| Ernst Wollweber | |
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Minister of State Security of the German Democratic Republic |
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In office 18 July 1953 – 11 December 1957 |
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| President | Wilhelm Pieck |
| Prime Minister | Otto Grotewohl |
| Deputy | Erich Mielke |
| Preceded by | Wilhelm Zaisser |
| Succeeded by | Erich Mielke |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Ernst Friedrich Wollweber 29 October 1898 Hann. Münden, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire |
| Died | 3 May 1967 (aged 68) East Berlin, East Germany |
| Political party |
Communist Party of Germany 1919-1946) Socialist Unity Party of Germany (1946-1958) |
| Occupation | Naval Officer, Politician |
Ernst Friedrich Wollweber (29 October 1898 – 3 May 1967) was Minister of State Security of the German Democratic Republic from 1953 to 1957.
Born in Hann. Münden, Province of Hanover in 1898, Wollweber joined the Imperial Germany's navy, the Kaiserliche Marine, at a young age and served in the submarine department during World War I. In November 1918, Wollweber participated in the Wilhelmshaven mutiny, a high-profile sailor rebellion in Kiel, and, following the end of the German Revolution, joined the Communist Party of Germany in 1919.
Wollweber rose quickly through the party ranks and by 1921 had become a member of the KPD’s Central Committee and Political Secretary of Hesse-Waldeck. Two years later, Wollweber became a leader of the militant wings of the KPD in Hesse-Waldeck, Thuringia, and Silesia. Wollweber’s activities led to his arrest in 1924, after which time he was charged with high treason. Wollweber was released in 1926, and in 1928 he was elected a representative of the Prussian Federal State Parliament, a position he held until 1932. In 1929, he was elected to the Federal State Parliament of Lower Silesia and from 1932 to 1933 was a representative of the Reichstag. In 1931 was he elected to the leadership of the International Union of Seamen and Harbour Workers (ISH).
When the KPD was outlawed in Germany after the Reichstag fire of February 1933, Wollweber was forced to flee to Copenhagen and later to Leningrad. From 1936 to 1940, Wollweber organized the "Organisation Against Fascism and in Support of the USSR", better known as the Wollweber League which conducted 21 known acts of sabotage against the ships of Fascist nations sailing from Scandinavian and other northern European ports. In 1937, Wollweber became a weapons supplier to the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War. A worldwide fugitive, Wollweber was finally apprehended in Sweden in 1940 when he was very nearly deported to certain death in Germany. Eventually he was sentenced to three years of imprisonment. Because he had received Soviet citizenship while in custody, the Swedish Government in 1944 finally gave in to Soviet pressure and allowed Wollweber to leave for the USSR.
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