Max Reimann
Encyclopedia
Max Reimann was a German
communist Politician and member of the German Bundestag
.
(Elbląg), West Prussia
(today Poland
). He worked as a riveter at the Schichau yards
in 1912-16 and was drafted into the German Army in the First World War. In 1913, he became a member of the German Metal Workers Union and the Socialist Labourers Youth, in 1916 of the Spartakusbund.
In 1918 he was sentenced to 1 year imprisonment for his participation in an anti-war demonstration at Elbing throughout the German Revolution of 1918–19. After his release from prison Reimann moved to Ahlen
in 1920 to work as a miner, joined the German Coalminer Union and became a full-time official of the Communist Party of Germany
(KPD) in 1921. Reimann fought against the French Occupation of the Ruhr
in 1923 and was imprisoned for a short time. Throughout the 1920s, he held several positions within the Revolutionäre Gewerkschafts Opposition
(RGO), the Communist union in the Ruhr area
.
After the Nazis took over power in Germany in 1933 Reimann continued his work, now in illegal underground and became the head of the RGO in 1934. In 1935 Reimann was a delegate at the 7th Congress of the Comintern
in Moscow
and later worked for the KPD-Foreign office in Prague
. After Germany invaded Czechoslovakia
in March 1939 Reimann was arrested on 4 April 1939 and imprisoned at Hamm
Prison, Sachsenhausen concentration camp
and Falkensee
.
After the end of World War II
, Reimann was a candidate of the Western KPD organization for the executive committee of the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (SED) but had to quit as the SED activities were limited to East Germany. In 1948, Reimann became chairman of the West German Communist Party.
Reimann was a member of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia
in 1946-54, the advisory board of the British Occupation Zone in 1946/48 and the economical board of the Bizone
in 1947/49.
He was the head of the KPD group at the parliamentary council
and a member of the Bundestag
in 1949-53. In 1954, he moved to East Germany but continued to operate his position as the head of the West German KPD, which was illegalized in 1956.
Reimann returned to West Germany in 1968, became a member of the newfounded German Communist Party
in 1971 and its honorary chairman.
Reimann died in Düsseldorf
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
communist Politician and member of the German Bundestag
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
.
Biography
Reimann was born in ElbingElblag
Elbląg is a city in northern Poland with 127,892 inhabitants . It is the capital of Elbląg County and has been assigned to the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. Before then it was the capital of Elbląg Voivodeship and a county seat in Gdańsk Voivodeship...
(Elbląg), West Prussia
West Prussia
West Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish province of Royal Prussia...
(today Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
). He worked as a riveter at the Schichau yards
Schichau-Werke
The Schichau-Werke was a German engineering works and shipyard based in Elbing, formerly part of the German Empire, and which is today the town of Elbląg in northern Poland. It also had a subsidiary shipyard in Danzig .-Early years:...
in 1912-16 and was drafted into the German Army in the First World War. In 1913, he became a member of the German Metal Workers Union and the Socialist Labourers Youth, in 1916 of the Spartakusbund.
In 1918 he was sentenced to 1 year imprisonment for his participation in an anti-war demonstration at Elbing throughout the German Revolution of 1918–19. After his release from prison Reimann moved to Ahlen
Ahlen
Ahlen is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is part of the District of Warendorf and is economically the most important town in that district. Ahlen is part of the larger Münster region, and of the historic Münsterland area....
in 1920 to work as a miner, joined the German Coalminer Union and became a full-time official of the Communist Party of Germany
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...
(KPD) in 1921. Reimann fought against the French Occupation of the Ruhr
Occupation of the Ruhr
The Occupation of the Ruhr between 1923 and 1925, by troops from France and Belgium, was a response to the failure of the German Weimar Republic under Chancellor Cuno to pay reparations in the aftermath of World War I.-Background:...
in 1923 and was imprisoned for a short time. Throughout the 1920s, he held several positions within the Revolutionäre Gewerkschafts Opposition
Revolutionäre Gewerkschafts Opposition
The Revolutionäre Gewerkschafts Opposition was the communist union in Germany during the Weimar Republic. It went underground after the Nazi Party seized control of the government and continued operating until it was crushed by the Nazis in 1935.- Weimar era :The Communist International, and the...
(RGO), the Communist union in the Ruhr area
Ruhr Area
The Ruhr, by German-speaking geographers and historians more accurately called Ruhr district or Ruhr region , is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million , it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...
.
After the Nazis took over power in Germany in 1933 Reimann continued his work, now in illegal underground and became the head of the RGO in 1934. In 1935 Reimann was a delegate at the 7th Congress of the Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and later worked for the KPD-Foreign office in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. After Germany invaded Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
in March 1939 Reimann was arrested on 4 April 1939 and imprisoned at Hamm
Hamm
Hamm is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of December 2003 its population was 180,849. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway...
Prison, Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen concentration camp
Sachsenhausen or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used primarily for political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in May, 1945. After World War II, when Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an NKVD...
and Falkensee
Falkensee
Falkensee is a town in the Havelland district, Brandenburg, Germany. It is the most populated municipality of its district and it is situated at the western border of Berlin.-History:...
.
After the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Reimann was a candidate of the Western KPD organization for the executive committee of the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (SED) but had to quit as the SED activities were limited to East Germany. In 1948, Reimann became chairman of the West German Communist Party.
Reimann was a member of the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia
Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia
The Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia is the state diet of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It convenes in Düsseldorf and currently consists of 181 members of five Parties...
in 1946-54, the advisory board of the British Occupation Zone in 1946/48 and the economical board of the Bizone
Bizone
The Bizone, or Bizonia was the combination of the American and the British occupation zones in 1947 during the occupation of Germany after World War II. With the addition of the French occupation zone in March 1948, the entity became the Trizone...
in 1947/49.
He was the head of the KPD group at the parliamentary council
Parlamentarischer Rat
The Parlamentarischer Rat was the West German constitutional convention that created the current constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany...
and a member of the Bundestag
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
in 1949-53. In 1954, he moved to East Germany but continued to operate his position as the head of the West German KPD, which was illegalized in 1956.
Reimann returned to West Germany in 1968, became a member of the newfounded German Communist Party
German Communist Party
The German Communist Party is a Marxist-Leninist party in Germany.-History:The DKP was formed in West Germany in 1968, in order to fill the place of the Communist Party of Germany , which had been banned by the Federal Constitutional Court in 1956...
in 1971 and its honorary chairman.
Reimann died in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
.