The social democrat who became the voice of divided Berlin
“People of the world, look upon this city! You cannot, you must not, forsake us!”
Ernst Reuter was a German politician whose path from social democracy through communism and back reflected the upheavals of twentieth-century Europe. After Nazi persecution and exile in Turkey, he returned to Berlin and joined municipal administration to a practical social-democratic politics. During the Berlin Blockade, he gave West Berliners’ resolve an international voice and helped make the divided city a symbol of freedom and self-government. His career also reveals the tensions of a generation that moved from revolutionary radicalism toward democratic local government.
Career Timeline
- 1912Joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany
- 1918–1919First chairman of the Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic
- 1921First secretary of the Berlin district of the Communist Party of Germany
- 1926–1931Berlin city councillor for transport
- 1931–1933Mayor of Magdeburg
- 1935–1946Lecturer in urban planning at Ankara University and adviser to the Turkish government
- 1947Elected mayor of Berlin, without Soviet consent
- 1948–1953Mayor of West Berlin, Governing Mayor from 1951