From the Spartacus League to GDR head of state, the sole founding member who lived the full arc of German communism
On the night of 15 January 1919, Pieck was arrested alongside Luxemburg and Liebknecht and taken to the Eden Hotel. He became the sole survivor — the last to witness his comrades alive.
A coachman's son turned carpenter, he joined the SPD in 1895 and was radicalized under Rosa Luxemburg's influence. Court-martialed for anti-war agitation, he co-founded the Spartacus League and the KPD. Arrested with Luxemburg and Liebknecht in January 1919, he alone survived. He served on the ECCI (1921) and its Presidium (1931), then led the KPD in Moscow exile as Comintern secretary. Returning after the war, he drove the SPD-KPD merger that created the SED and became the first President of the GDR in 1949, holding that office until his death.
Career timeline
- 1895Joins the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)
- 1915Conscripted; court-martialed for anti-war agitation; flees to Amsterdam
- 1918–1919Co-founds Spartacus League and KPD; Central Committee member
- 1921ECCI member; elected to the Prussian Landtag
- 1928–1933Reichstag deputy
- 1931Elected to the ECCI Presidium
- 1934–1946KPD chairman (exile leadership)
- 1935–1943Secretary of the Comintern
- 1943Co-founds the National Committee for a Free Germany
- 1946–1950Co-chairman of the Socialist Unity Party (SED)
- 1949–1960President of the German Democratic Republic
The long-serving East German leader of the walled republic
His removal in October 1989 showed that the GDR's collapse could no longer be contained even within its leadership.
A German communist trained at Moscow's International Lenin School, he rose through East Germany's youth organization and party leadership. He led the Socialist Unity Party from 1971 to 1989 as the GDR's long-serving ruler.
Career timeline
- 1930–1931Studies at Moscow's International Lenin School
- 1971–1989First, then general secretary of the SED
- 1976–1989Chairman of the GDR State Council
- 1989Removed amid mass protests
The last communist leader of East Germany, who succeeded Honecker, opened the Wall, and fell in 50 days
On 9 November 1989, Krenz read the travel regulation draft to the Central Committee, handed the note to Schabowski saying "Here, explain this to the journalists," and hours later the Berlin Wall was open.
Designated as Erich Honecker's successor, Egon Krenz was the last communist leader of East Germany, becoming SED General Secretary after Honecker was ousted in October 1989. Just three weeks into his tenure, he approved the draft travel regulations, read them to the Central Committee on 9 November, and handed the note to Günter Schabowski for announcement at a press conference; that night the Berlin Wall was opened. He promised reforms but never gained public trust, and resigned all his posts by early December. After reunification, he was convicted of manslaughter for the border deaths and served nearly four years of a six-and-a-half-year sentence.
Career timeline
- 1955Joined the Socialist Unity Party (SED)
- 1971–1974Chairman of the Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation
- 1974–1983First Secretary of the FDJ Central Council
- 1983–1989SED Politburo member, CC Secretary for Security, Youth and Sport
- 1984–1989Deputy Chairman of the State Council
- 1989.10–12SED General Secretary
- 1989.10–12Chairman of the State Council and National Defence Council
- 1997Sentenced to 6.5 years for border deaths
