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Alfred Kurella (2 May 1895 – 12 June 1975) was a German writer and functionary of the
Neue Deutsche Biographie 13 (1982). Retrieved December 7, 2011 In 1937, Kurella became Soviet citizen and in 1943 was involved in the activity of the antinazi Committee for Free Germany. His brother, Heinrich Kurella, also in exile in the
"'Moskauer-Kader der KPD in der SBZ"
in: Manfred Wilke (ed.), ''Die Anatomie der Parteizentrale: Die KPD/SED auf dem Weg zur Macht''. Berlin: Akademie Verlag (1998), p. 239, footnote 57. Retrieved December 6, 2011 In 1954, Kurella returned to East Germany and became a member of the ideological committee of the ruling
Alfred Kurella (2 May 1895 – 12 June 1975) was a German writer and functionary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (german: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, ; SED, ), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East German ...
(SED) in East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
.
Early years
Kurella was born in Brieg,Silesia
Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
.
Career
In 1918, he became a member of theGerman Communist Party
The German Communist Party (german: Deutsche Kommunistische Partei, ) is a communist party in Germany. The DKP supports left positions and was an observer member of the European Left. At the end of February 2016 it left the European party.
His ...
, met Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
in 1919 and became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
"Hymn of the Bolshevik Party"
, headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow
, general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
, founded =
, banned =
, founder = Vladimir Lenin
, newspaper ...
. Kurella began living in Moscow in spring 1934 and began writing for the ''Deutsche Zentral Zeitung
The ''Deutsche Zentral-Zeitung'' (DZZ; ''German Central Newspaper'') was the German-language newspaper published in Moscow by the German-speaking section of the Communist International. The newspaper's type was set in Fraktur (see image) and co ...
'' in 1935.Kurella, Alfred (Pseudonym Bernhard Ziegler, Viktor Röbig, A. Bernard)Neue Deutsche Biographie 13 (1982). Retrieved December 7, 2011 In 1937, Kurella became Soviet citizen and in 1943 was involved in the activity of the antinazi Committee for Free Germany. His brother, Heinrich Kurella, also in exile in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, was arrested by the NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union.
...
during the Great Purge
The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Nikolay Yezhov, Yezhov'), was General ...
and was executed.Peter Erler"'Moskauer-Kader der KPD in der SBZ"
in: Manfred Wilke (ed.), ''Die Anatomie der Parteizentrale: Die KPD/SED auf dem Weg zur Macht''. Berlin: Akademie Verlag (1998), p. 239, footnote 57. Retrieved December 6, 2011 In 1954, Kurella returned to East Germany and became a member of the ideological committee of the ruling
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (german: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, ; SED, ), often known in English as the East German Communist Party, was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East German ...
(SED).
Death
His ashes were interred in the Memorial of the Socialists in theFriedrichsfelde Central Cemetery
The Friedrichsfelde Central Cemetery (german: Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde) is a cemetery in the borough of Lichtenberg in Berlin. It was the cemetery used for many of Berlin's Socialists, Communists, and anti-fascist fighters.
History
W ...
in Berlin-Lichtenberg
Lichtenberg () is a quarter (''Ortsteil'') of Berlin in the homonymous borough (''Bezirk'') of Lichtenberg. Until 2001 it was an autonomous district with the localities of Fennpfuhl, Rummelsburg, Friedrichsfelde and Karlshorst.
History
The hi ...
.
Awards and decorations
*Order of Karl Marx
The Order of Karl Marx () was the most important order in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The award of the order also included a prize of 20,000 East German marks.
The order was founded on May 5, 1953 on the occasion of Karl Marx's 135th ...
(1961)
* National Prize of the German Democratic Republic
The National Prize of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) (german: Nationalpreis der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik) was an award of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) given out in three different classes for scientific, artistic, ...
(1969)
* Cultural Award of the Free German Trade Union Federation
The Free German Trade Union Federation (german: Freier Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund or ''FDGB'') was the sole national trade union centre of the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) which existed from 1946 and 1990. As a mass organisat ...
and Free German Youth
The Free German Youth (german: Freie Deutsche Jugend; FDJ) is a youth movement in Germany. Formerly, it was the official youth movement of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany.
The organization was meant ...
(1970)
* Honour Clasp to the Patriotic Order of Merit
The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...
References