First East German Minister for State Security, purged in 1953 after trying to replace Ulbricht
Born in Gelsenkirchen to a gendarmerie sergeant’s family, he trained as a teacher and was a military leader of the Red Ruhr Army during the Kapp Putsch of 1920. As a GRU agent and Comintern military adviser he co-organised the Guangzhou Uprising in China, and in the Spanish Civil War, as “Gomez”, he led the International Brigades. He returned to Germany in 1947, joined the SED, and in 1950 became the first Minister for State Security and a Politburo member, building up the Stasi. After the uprising of June 1953 he moved to replace Ulbricht with Herrnstadt, but once Ulbricht had Khrushchev’s backing he lost his ministry and all his posts in July and was expelled from the party. He worked as a translator, died in East Berlin in 1958 and was rehabilitated after 1990.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1920Red Ruhr Army leader during the Kapp Putsch
- 1927–1930Comintern military adviser in China
- 1936–1938International Brigades commander in Spain (“Gomez”)
- 1950–1953GDR Minister for State Security; Politburo member
- 1953Stripped of all posts and expelled from the SED
Related historical events
- 1953–1956Eastern Europe after Stalin: the crises of 1953–1956East German Minister of State SecurityExpelled from the Politburo with Herrnstadt at the end of July 1953.
- 1952.07–1953.07The East German uprising of 1953Minister of State SecurityPressed with Herrnstadt for a reorganisation of the party, then lost his ministry and his Politburo seat in July.