People of the Revolution and the USSR
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Wilhelm Liebknecht Wilhelm Liebknecht
Co-founder of the Eisenach party and drafter of the Gotha Programme
Political and party leadership · Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
1826–1900
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August Bebel August Bebel
Co-founder of the SPD who led the German workers' movement for over 40 years, the 'shadow emperor' of the working class
Political and party leadership · Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
1840–1913
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Carl Legien Carl Legien
German trade-union leader who signed the 1918 agreement with Stinnes and met the Kapp Putsch of 1920 with a general strike
Social movements and organizing · Independent activity
1861–1920
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Hugo Haase Hugo Haase
Lawyer who founded the USPD against the war and co-chaired the Council of People’s Deputies with Ebert in 1918
Political and party leadership · Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
1863–1919
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Karl Liebknecht Karl Liebknecht
The lone vote against the war; the revolution's first martyr
Political and party leadership · Communist Party of Germany (KPD)
1871–1919
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Rosa Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg
“Freedom is always the freedom of the one who thinks differently”
Social movements and organizing · Communist Party of Germany (KPD)
1871–1919
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Friedrich Ebert Friedrich Ebert
SPD leader who headed the revolutionary government of 1918, steered the councils into parliamentary democracy and became the first president
Political and party leadership · Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
1871–1925
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Arthur Crispien Arthur Crispien
German social-democratic politician and co-chair of the Independent Social Democratic Party.
Political and party leadership · Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
1875–1946
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Hermann Müller Hermann Müller
A Social Democratic politician of the Weimar Republic who served twice as chancellor.
Government and administration · Germany state institutions
1876–1931
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Heinrich Brandler Heinrich Brandler
KPD chairman who called off a revolution; co-founder of the International Right Opposition
Political and party leadership · Communist Party of Germany (KPD)
1881–1967
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Paul Levi Paul Levi
From Rosa Luxemburg's lawyer to KPD leader, his 'anti-putschism' took on Comintern adventurism
Political and party leadership · Communist Party of Germany (KPD)
1883–1930
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August Thalheimer August Thalheimer
Main theorist of the KPD and Bonapartist analyst of fascism
Political and party leadership · Communist Party of Germany Opposition (KPO)
1884–1948
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Ernst Thälmann Ernst Thälmann
Hitler's personal prisoner, unbroken by eleven years in solitary
Political and party leadership · Communist Party of Germany (KPD)
1886–1944
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Hermann Matern Hermann Matern
SED Politburo member and chairman of the Central Party Control Commission who stood by Ulbricht in 1953
Political and party leadership · Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED)
1893–1971
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Walter Ulbricht Walter Ulbricht
German communist leader who built the GDR and erected the Berlin Wall
Political and party leadership · Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED)
1893–1973
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Otto Grotewohl Otto Grotewohl
The Social Democrat who led a divided state into being
Government and administration · East Germany
1894–1964
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Friedrich Ebert Jr. Friedrich Ebert junior
A social democrat who moved from municipal politics into state power amid Germany's division
Political and party leadership · Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED)
1894–1979
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Kurt Schumacher Kurt Schumacher
SPD leader who survived ten years in Nazi camps and, after the war, refused the merger with the Communists
Political and party leadership · Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
1895–1952
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Erich Ollenhauer Erich Ollenhauer
Exiled SPD functionary who succeeded Schumacher as SPD leader and leader of the West German opposition
Political and party leadership · Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
1901–1963
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Willy None Brandt Willy Brandt
A social democrat who made reconciliation a politics of divided cities
Government and administration · Germany state institutions
1913–1992