Ernst Schwarz (politician)
Encyclopedia
Ernst Schwarz was a Communist politician
.
After attending high school, first in his hometown and then in Berlin
, Schawrz attended the University of Grenoble
, University of Bonn
and Berlin, graduating with a doctorate. During the First World War, he briefly served as a soldier. He became involved with the labour movement in Chemnitz
, following the November Revolution. He joined the SPD
and was there during the suppression of the Kapp Putsch
in 1920. Radicalised by the experience he moved to the USPD
, accepting the post of district secretary in Kiel
. By the end of the year he was with the KPD
.
In early 1921, he was District Secretary for Hesse-Cassel, but went underground
following the March Action
. He was arrested in Berlin at the end of 1921 and was held prisoner in Kassel
for several months. By October 1922, Schwarz was employed as a teacher in Berlin and served as a left-wing member of the party leadership for the district of Berlin-Brandenburg. When Ruth Fischer
and Arkadi Maslow
formed a left-wing party leadership, he became a full-time party functionary running the party organisation in Thuringia
. In May, and again in December 1924, Schwarz was elected Reichstag
deputy for the KPD.
In 1925, as the internal struggles of the KPD evolved, Schwarz belonged to the ultraleft wing. He started to criticise the Soviet Union
as a counter-revolutionary state. While the party was still under Maslow and Fischer he gave up his party duties and, by May 1926, with the rise of Ernst Thälmann
to party leadership, he left the KPD completely. Together with Karl Korsch
he formed the Entschiedene Linke
group. He remained a member of the Reichstag, despite joining the anti-parliamentarian KAPD.
After the loss of the Reichstag seat in 1928, Schwarz returned to teaching. Rather than having any party position, he concentrated on the promotion of German-French understanding. After the Nazi takeover, Schwarz initially fled to France and then to Cuba, Mexico and the U.S.. In 1944, he took U.S. citizenship. Two years before his death he moved back to Germany, where he lived in Bad Godesberg
.
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
.
After attending high school, first in his hometown and then in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Schawrz attended the University of Grenoble
University of Grenoble
University of Grenoble or Grenoble University was a university in Grenoble, France until 1970, when it was split into several different institutions:...
, University of Bonn
University of Bonn
The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...
and Berlin, graduating with a doctorate. During the First World War, he briefly served as a soldier. He became involved with the labour movement in Chemnitz
Chemnitz
Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
, following the November Revolution. He joined the SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
and was there during the suppression of the Kapp Putsch
Kapp Putsch
The Kapp Putsch — or more accurately the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch — was a 1920 coup attempt during the German Revolution of 1918–1919 aimed at overthrowing the Weimar Republic...
in 1920. Radicalised by the experience he moved to the USPD
Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany was a short-lived political party in Germany during the Second Reich and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of left wing members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany...
, accepting the post of district secretary in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
. By the end of the year he was with the KPD
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
.
In early 1921, he was District Secretary for Hesse-Cassel, but went underground
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
following the March Action
March Action
The March Action The March Action The March Action (German "März Aktion" or "Märzkämpfe in Mitteldeutschland" ("The March battles in Central Germany") was a 1921 workers revolt, led by the Communist Party of Germany, the Communist Workers' Party of Germany, and other radical left-wing...
. He was arrested in Berlin at the end of 1921 and was held prisoner in Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
for several months. By October 1922, Schwarz was employed as a teacher in Berlin and served as a left-wing member of the party leadership for the district of Berlin-Brandenburg. When Ruth Fischer
Ruth Fischer
Ruth Fischer was a German Communist, a co-founder of the Austrian Communist Party in 1918. According to secret information declassified in 2010, she was a key agent of the American intelligence service known as "The Pond."-Life and work:Born in Leipzig, Ruth Fischer was the daughter of the...
and Arkadi Maslow
Arkadi Maslow
Arkadi Maslow , born Isaak Jefimowitsch Tschemerinski was a communist politician.-Early life and education:...
formed a left-wing party leadership, he became a full-time party functionary running the party organisation in Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
. In May, and again in December 1924, Schwarz was elected Reichstag
Reichstag (Weimar Republic)
The Reichstag was the parliament of Weimar Republic .German constitution commentators consider only the Reichstag and now the Bundestag the German parliament. Another organ deals with legislation too: in 1867-1918 the Bundesrat, in 1919–1933 the Reichsrat and from 1949 on the Bundesrat...
deputy for the KPD.
In 1925, as the internal struggles of the KPD evolved, Schwarz belonged to the ultraleft wing. He started to criticise the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
as a counter-revolutionary state. While the party was still under Maslow and Fischer he gave up his party duties and, by May 1926, with the rise of Ernst Thälmann
Ernst Thälmann
Ernst Thälmann was the leader of the Communist Party of Germany 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...
to party leadership, he left the KPD completely. Together with Karl Korsch
Karl Korsch
-Biography:Korsch was born in Tostedt, near Hamburg, to Carl August Korsch, a secretary at the cantonal court and his wife Therese. In 1898 the family moved to Meiningen, Thuringia and Korsch senior attained the position of a managing clerk in a bank...
he formed the Entschiedene Linke
Entschiedene Linke
The Entschiedene Linke was communist political current formed by Karl Korsch and Ernst Schwarz in 1926. It initially attracted 7,000 members....
group. He remained a member of the Reichstag, despite joining the anti-parliamentarian KAPD.
After the loss of the Reichstag seat in 1928, Schwarz returned to teaching. Rather than having any party position, he concentrated on the promotion of German-French understanding. After the Nazi takeover, Schwarz initially fled to France and then to Cuba, Mexico and the U.S.. In 1944, he took U.S. citizenship. Two years before his death he moved back to Germany, where he lived in Bad Godesberg
Bad Godesberg
Bad Godesberg is a municipal district of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 till 1990 , the majority of foreign embassies to Germany were located in Bad Godesberg...
.
Works
- Deutsch-französischer Schüleraustausch (Echange interscolaire), LangensalzaBad LangensalzaBad Langensalza is a city in the County of Unstrut-Hainich, Thuringia, Germany, with a population of c. 18,500 .-History:...
1930