The Communist deputy acquitted in the Reichstag fire trial
Leader of the KPD’s Reichstag parliamentary group. Acquitted in the 1933 Reichstag fire trial, he nevertheless remained in protective custody. Expelled from the KPD in 1935, he later worked for Nazi propaganda agencies and joined the SPD in 1949.
Activities and affiliations
-
1911–1919
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
Legislature and state representation -
1919–1920
Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD)
Legislature and state representation -
1920–1935
Communist Party of Germany (KPD)Main
Legislature and state representation- Legislature and state representation1924–1933
-
1949–
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
Legislature and state representation
Career Timeline
- 1933Acquittal and continued detention
- 1935Expulsion, Nazi collaboration and the postwar years
Acquittal and continued detention
A KPD Reichstag deputy from 1924 to 1933 and parliamentary leader from 1929, Torgler surrendered to police after the fire but was prosecuted. On 23 December 1933 he was acquitted with Dimitrov, Popov and Tanev for lack of evidence. The Nazis immediately placed him in protective custody; release came only in 1935.
Expulsion, Nazi collaboration and the postwar years
The KPD expelled Torgler in 1935. From 1940 he worked on covert broadcasting for Nazi propaganda agencies. The German Historical Museum suggests that his son may have been used as leverage, without establishing this as certain. After the war he worked in Bückeburg and joined the SPD in 1949.