Karl Schirdewan

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	Luise Bäuml;
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	Gerda Meschter;
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	Youth
1953-1958	Woman
1952-1956	Party Organs
Personal details
Born	14 May 1907; Stettin, Province of Silesia, 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	Martin Schirdewan; (grandson);
Occupation	Politician; Civil Servant; Party Clerk;
Awards	Patriotic Order of Merit, 1st class
	Central institution membership 1953–1958: Full member,; Politburo of the Central Committee ; 1953–1958: Full member,; Central Committee ; Other offices held 1958–1965: Director,; State Archives Administration ; 1954–1957: Member,; Security Commission at the Politburo ; 1950–1952: Head,; West Department of the Central Committee ;

Karl Schirdewan (14 May 1907 – 14 July 1998) was a German Communist activist who after World War II became a top East German politician.^[1]^[2]

During the mid 1950s, Schirdewan was seen as a potential successor to Walter Ulbricht but fell out of favour in 1958.^[3] Ulbricht continued to lead the government until 1971, while 1958 was the year in which Schirdewan was thrown out of the Politburo^[4] and placed in charge of the National Archives at Potsdam,^[2] a position from which he retired in 1964^[4] or 1965.^[1]

^ ^a ^b Bernd-Rainer Barth; Helmut Müller-Enbergs. "Schirdewan, Karl (eigtl.: Aretz) * 14.5.1907, † 14.7.1998 Mitglied des Politbüros des ZK der SED". Wer war wer in der DDR?. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin & Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur, Berlin. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
^ ^a ^b David Childs (10 August 1998). "Parteifeinde und Philosophen: Im Brandt-Bericht erwähnte DDR-Prominente". The Independent. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
^ "Gestorben - Karl Schirdewan .... das seltene Beispiel eines lernfähigen Kommunisten in der DDR-Führung.". Der Spiegel (online). 20 July 1998. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Parteifeinde und Philosophen: Im Brandt-Bericht erwähnte DDR-Prominente". Der Spiegel. Der Spiegel (online). 2 February 1967. Retrieved 16 December 2015.

[werwarwerKS-1] Bernd-Rainer Barth; Helmut Müller-Enbergs. "Schirdewan, Karl (eigtl.: Aretz) * 14.5.1907, † 14.7.1998 Mitglied des Politbüros des ZK der SED". Wer war wer in der DDR?. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin & Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur, Berlin. Retrieved 15 December 2015.

[KSindyobit-2] David Childs (10 August 1998). "Parteifeinde und Philosophen: Im Brandt-Bericht erwähnte DDR-Prominente". The Independent. Retrieved 15 December 2015.

[spiegelnachlassKS-3] "Gestorben - Karl Schirdewan .... das seltene Beispiel eines lernfähigen Kommunisten in der DDR-Führung.". Der Spiegel (online). 20 July 1998. Retrieved 15 December 2015.

[spiegel091967KS-4] "Parteifeinde und Philosophen: Im Brandt-Bericht erwähnte DDR-Prominente". Der Spiegel. Der Spiegel (online). 2 February 1967. Retrieved 16 December 2015.

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Karl Schirdewan
Schirdewan in 1952

First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party in Bezirk Leipzig
In office 26 July 1952 – December 1952
Second Secretary	Luise Bäuml
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	Gerda Meschter
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	Youth
1953-1958	Woman
1952-1956	Party Organs

Personal details
Born	(1907-05-14)14 May 1907 Stettin, Province of Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire (now Szczecin, Poland)
Died	14 July 1998(1998-07-14) (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	Martin Schirdewan (grandson)
Occupation	Politician Civil Servant Party Clerk
Awards	Patriotic Order of Merit, 1st class
Central institution membership 1953–1958: Full member, Politburo of the Central Committee 1953–1958: Full member, Central Committee Other offices held 1958–1965: Director, State Archives Administration 1954–1957: Member, Security Commission at the Politburo 1950–1952: Head, West Department of the Central Committee