Anton Grylewicz (8 January 1885 – 2 August 1971) was a German communist politician.

Early life

Grylewicz was born into a working-class family in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, where he finished school and was apprenticed as a locksmith.Biography of Grylewicz on trotskyana.net
/ref> From 1907 to 1909 he did his military service and in 1912 he married Anna-Maria Bräuer, the same year he joined the

Social Democratic Party of Germany 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 ...

(SPD).Broue, P. (2006) ''The German Revolution 1917-1923'' Chicago: Haymarket pg.969 He was recalled to active duty in the army in 1915 and served for two years on the Eastern front until being injured. He became a toolmaker in Berlin and joined the

Independent Social Democratic Party The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was establish ...

(USPD) as well as the

Revolutionary Stewards During the First World War (1914–1918), the Revolutionary Stewards (German: ''Revolutionäre Obleute'') were shop stewards who were independent from the official unions and freely chosen by workers in various German industries. They rejected t ...

. During the revolution, Grylewicz became a deputy to

Emil Eichhorn Robert Emil Eichhorn (9 October 1863 – 26 July 1925) was a German politician, journalist and Chief of the Berlin Police during the 1918–1919 German Revolution. Eichhorn was born in Röhrsdorf near Chemnitz in October 1863 and became apprenti ...

who had led an occupation of the Berlin police headquarters and become police chief.Broue, P. (2006) ''The German Revolution 1917-1923'' Chicago: Haymarket pg.768

Communist Party Years

Grylewicz had become the chairman of the USPD's Greater Berlin district and a leader of the party's left by the time of the fusion conference with the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West German ...

(KPD) and became secretary of the Berlin-Brandenburg organisation of the KPD. Grylewicz took part in the technical preparations in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

for the abortive 1923 uprising and was tried alongside

Arkadi Maslow Arkadi Maslow ; russian: Аркадий Маслов , born Isaak Yefimowich Chemerinsky ; russian: Исаак Ефимович Чемеринский (March 9, 1891 – November 20, 1941) was a communist politician in the German Republic, ...

but was granted an amnesty. During this period he was also elected onto the KPD Zentrale, and was a KPD member of the Reichstag from 4 May to 20 October. When Maslow and

Ruth Fischer Ruth Fischer (11 December 1895 – 13 March 1961) was an Austrian and German Communist, and a co-founder of the Austrian Communist Party (KPÖ) in 1918. Along with her partner Arkadi Maslow, she led the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) through b ...

were removed from the leadership of the KPD in 1926, he was removed from the Zentrale and was excluded from the party altogether after acting as a spokesman for the Left Opposition at 11th party conference.

Oppositionist

Grylewicz was a founder member of the Leninbund and became the leading figure of its

Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...

minority, eventually fusing with other groups to form the United Left Opposition of the KPD. During this time Grylewicz ran a publishing house for many of Trotsky's works. When the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

came to power in 1933, the SA destroyed Grylewicz's home and private library and he fled to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, first living in Reichenberg, then

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. His wife was under arrest in early 1933 and only joined him in July.

Later years

From 1937 Grylewicz dropped out of the Trotskyist movement without renouncing his views. He moved to France the same year where he was detained at the outbreak of World War II before receiving a visa from Cuba in 1941. In 1955 he returned to Berlin.

References

External links

Biography of Grylewicz on trotskyana.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grylewicz, Anton 1885 births 1971 deaths Politicians from Berlin Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Independent Social Democratic Party politicians Communist Party of Germany politicians Members of the Reichstag 1924 Members of the Landtag of Prussia German Trotskyists