Bundesarchiv Bild 102-13676, Albert Grzesinski

Albert Carl Grzesinski (28 July 1879 – 12 January 1948) was a German

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

politician and

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

from 1926 to 1930.

Biography

Grzesinski was born Albert Lehmann in Treptow an der Tollense,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, the illegitimate son of a maid, and grew up with grandparents. He assumed the name of his stepfather in 1892. He became a member of the SPD in 1897. In 1919, he became Under-Secretary of State in the Prussian War Ministry. He declined the position as Reichswehr Minister (Defense) in 1920. From 1922 to 1924, he was chief of the Prussian Police, and from 1925 to 1926, he was chief of the Berlin Police. Grzesinski's tenure as

was marked by his efforts to promote democracy, and by the political violence in Germany at the time, especially the violence committed by the communists and hostility between the communists and the social democrats. In 1929, he banned the Rotfrontkämpferbund (''Red Front Fighter's League'') in Prussia. In May 1929 he was involved in the violent police suppression of illegal open-air communist rallies in Berlin meant to celebrate

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. T ...

, which led to several days of rioting known as

Blutmai Blutmai (, ) refers to several days of police brutality against KPD supporters in early May 1929 that led to violence between the communist demonstrators and members of the Berlin Police which was under the control of the Social Democratic Party ...

. Over 30 civilians would be killed and over a thousand arrested, leading to widespread criticism over the government response. Grzesinski resigned on February 28, 1930, for personal reasons. From 1930 to 1932, he was again chief of police. In 1931, as Berlin's police chief, he tried to gag

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, ordering him deported as an undesirable alien, but Chancellor

Heinrich Brüning Heinrich Aloysius Maria Elisabeth Brüning (; 26 November 1885 – 30 March 1970) was a German Centre Party politician and academic, who served as the chancellor of Germany during the Weimar Republic from 1930 to 1932. A political scienti ...

did not sign the order.Time (magazine)
/ref> He was removed from his position following the 1932 Preußenschlag (''Prussian Coup''), when he was succeeded by the former police chief of Essen, Kurt Melcher. According to

Christopher Clark Sir Christopher Munro Clark (born 14 March 1960) is an Australian historian living in the United Kingdom and Germany. He is the twenty-second Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge. In 2015, he was knighted for his servi ...

, he referred to Hitler as 'the foreigner' and found it 'lamentable' that he should be negotiating with the government 'instead of being chased away with a dog whip'. Following the Nazi rise to power, and with his name appearing on the first list''Die Ausbürgerung deutscher Staatsangehöriger 1933–45 nach den im Reichsanzeiger veröffentlichten Listen = Expatriation lists as published in the 'Reichsanzeiger' 1933–45'':3 vol., Michael Hepp (ed.), Saur. Munich et al. 1985–88, vol. 1: Listen in chronologischer Reihenfolge (1985), Liste 1; ; of Germans who were arbitrarily officially denaturalised according to a new law, which also ensued the seizure of all his property in Germany, Grzesinski became stateless. He fled to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

in 1933. He then emigrated to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and in 1937, to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In exile, he was active in anti-Nazi organisations. He died in Queens, New York.

Literature

* Albert Grzesinski: ''Im Kampf um die deutsche Republik. Erinnerungen eines Sozialdemokraten.'' Herausgegeben von

Eberhard Kolb Professor Eberhard Kolb (born 8 August 1933, Stuttgart) is a German historian, best known for his research of the German history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Biography Eberhard Kolb studied at the universities of Tübingen and Bo ...

. München 2001 (Schriftenreihe der Stiftung Reichspräsident-Friedrich-Ebert-Gedenkstätte 9).

References

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,794164,00.html#ixzz0b9r5kBIw

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grzesinski, Albert 1879 births 1947 deaths People from Altentreptow People from the Province of Pomerania Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Members of the Landtag of Prussia Emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States German anti-communists Interior ministers of Prussia People of the German Revolution of 1918–1919 German police chiefs Political office-holders in Berlin Metalworkers