A list of notable politicians of the defunct Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany:

A

Lore Agnes Lore Agnes (4 June 1876, Bochum, Westphalia – 9 June 1953, Cologne) was a German politician. A house-wife from Düsseldorf, Agnes was a leading figure in the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the socialist women's movement in th ...

* Marie Ahlers *

Martha Arendsee Hulda Martha Arendsee (29 March 1885 – 22 May 1953) was a German politician (KPD) and women's rights activist. Life Early years Martha Arendsee was born in Wedding, a quarter to the northwest of central Berlin. Her father was a type-setter ...

* Karl Artelt *

Rosa Aschenbrenner Rosa Aschenbrenner (born ''Rosa Lierl'': 27 April 1885 – 9 February 1967) was a German politician (KPD / SPD). After the Second World War, she became increasingly marginalised from the political mainstream because of her opposition to rearmame ...

* Siegfried Aufhäuser * Elise Augustat

B

* Maria Backenecker * Bernhard Bästlein *

Johannes R. Becher Johannes Robert Becher (, 22 May 1891 – 11 October 1958) was a German politician, novelist, and poet. He was affiliated with the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) before World War II. At one time, he was part of the literary avant-garde, writin ...

Eduard Bernstein Eduard Bernstein (; 6 January 1850 – 18 December 1932) was a German social democratic Marxist theorist and politician. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), Bernstein had held close association to Karl Marx and Friedric ...

Rudolf Breitscheid Rudolf Breitscheid (2 November 1874 – 28 August 1944) was a German politician and leading member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) during the Weimar Republic. Once leader of the liberal Democratic Union, he joined the SPD in ...

* Hermann Brill *

Hans Brodmerkel Hans Brodmerkel (29 March 1887 – 2 February 1932) was a German politician and revolutionary activist. A co-founder of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), Brodmerkel was Chairman of the workers' and soldiers' council in the Bremen Soviet Republi ...

* James Broh *

Albert Buchmann Albert Buchmann (28 October 1894 – 17 May 1975) was a German politician. He was a member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and was Reichstag deputy of the party from 1924 to 1933. Life Buchmann was born in 1894 in Pirmasens. From 1914 ...

C

Arthur Crispien Arthur Crispien (4 November 1875 – 29 November 1946) was a German Social Democratic politician. Biography Crispien was born in Königsberg (modern Kaliningrad, Russia) to August and Franziska Crispien. He worked as a house and stage pa ...

D

Franz Dahlem Franz Dahlem (14 January 1892 – 17 December 1981) was a German politician. Dahlem was a leading official of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and, after 1945, of East Germany's ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED). By the early 1950s he had ...

Ernst Däumig Ernst Friedrich Däumig (25 November 1868, Merseburg – 4 July 1922, Berlin) was a German politician and newspaper editor who became co-chairman of both the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD) and Communist Party of Germany (KP ...

* Wilhelm Dittmann

E

* Hugo Eberlein * Emil Eichhorn * Kurt Eisner * August Enderle

F

Alfred Faust Alfred Faust (15 December 1883, Soultzmatt – 14 June 1961, Bremen) was a German advertising executive, journalist, editor, and left-wing politician. Biography Born in Alsace (today part of France) in 1883, Faust was the son of a master plumbe ...

Max Fechner Max Fechner (27 July 1892 – 13 September 1973) was a German politician who served as Minister of Justice of East Germany from 1949 to 1953 Life and career Fechner was born in Berlin and was a trained tool maker. He joined the SPD in 1910, was ...

Josef Felder Josef Felder (24 August 1900 – 28 October 2000) was a German politician. He was one of the 94 Social Democratic members of the Reichstag who voted against the Nazi Enabling Act of 1933 The Enabling Act (German: ') of 1933, officially title ...

Hermann Fleissner Hermann Fleissner (16 June 1865, Dresden – 20 April 1939, Berlin) was a German Social Democratic politician. Before the First World War After the Volksschule, Fleissner undertook an apprenticeship as a carpenter. He worked as a journeyman unt ...

* Wilhelm Florin *

Paul Franken Paul Franken (27 June 1894 – Autumn 1944) was a German Socialist politician. Following Nazi seizure of power in January 1933, his party was banned and he fled. He lived in various countries before settling in the Soviet Union, where in 1936 ...

* Walter Freitag *

Philipp Fries Philipp Fries (9 August 1882 – 7 December 1950) was a German politician (SPD, USPD, KPD). He sat as a member of the national parliament (''"Reichstag"'') between 1920 and 1924. Life Philipp Fries was born in Roggendorf (Mechernich), then a ...

G

Herta Geffke Herta Geffke (married name, Herta Kaasch: 19 August 1893 – 29 December 1974) was a German activist and politician ( KPD, SED) who resisted Nazism. After 1945 she became a member of the Central Party Control Commission of the SED ( / ZPKK) in th ...

* Anna Geyer * Ernst Goldenbaum *

Arthur Goldstein Arthur Goldstein (18 March 1887 in Lipine, German Empire – 1943 in Auschwitz, German-occupied Poland) was a German Jewish journalist and communist politician. Life Goldstein joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in 1914, and was ...

* Hugo Gräf *

Gregor A. Gregorius Eugen Grosche (11 March 1888, in Leipzig – 5 January 1964), also known as Gregor A. Gregorius, was a German occultist and author. He was founder and Grandmaster of the lodge Fraternitas Saturni from 1926 till 1964. Life and work Most of his ...

* Otto Grotewohl *

Karl Grünberg Karl Grünberg (died 1921, in Rostock) was a German entomologist specialising in Lepidoptera. Karl Grünberg was a professor at the University of Rostock. He wrote the Palearctic Notodontidae section of Adalbert Seitz Friedrich Joseph Adalbert ...

Anton Grylewicz 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, where he finished school and was apprenticed as a locksmith. From 1907 to 1909 he did his m ...

* Ketty Guttmann

H

* Hugo Haase *

Georg Ulrich Handke Georg Ulrich Handke (born Hanau 22 April 1894: died Berlin 7 September 1962) was a German politician ( Communist party of Germany/Socialist Unity Party of Germany). In 1958 he became one of the 111 members of the Party Central Committee in the ...

* Fritz Heckert *

Alfred Henke Alfred Henke (1 March 1868 – 24 February 1946) was a German politician, serving as a member of a number of national and regional parliaments during the early 20th century who played a major role in the establishment of the Bremen Soviet Rep ...

Carl Herz Carl Herz (21 December 18318 May 1897, Aschaffenburg) was a German lawyer, and, between 1871 and 1883, Member of Parliament (''Reichstagsabgeordneter''). Life The lawyer Carl Herz was born into a catholic family in Würzburg, where he attended s ...

* Rudolf Hilferding * Max Hoelz * Adolf Hofer * Oskar Hoffmann *

Martin Hoop Martin Hoop (born ''Carl Martin Hoop''; 14 April 1892, in Lägerdorf, District of Steinburg, Schleswig-Holstein – 11 May 1933, in Zwickau) was a district leader in the Communist Party of Germany in Saxony and a supporter of the Weimar Republic p ...

J

Mathilde Jacob Mathilde Jacob (8 March 1873 – 14 April 1943) was a German typist and translator who during the First World War became politically involved, working with the anti-war Spartacus League and as a founder member of the German Communist Party. She ...

* Hans Jendretzky

K

* Karl Kautsky * Luise Kautsky *

Hans Kippenberger Hans Kippenberger (15 January 1898 – 3 October 1937) was a German politician ( KPD). Between 1928 and 1933 he sat as a member of the National Parliament (''Reichstag''). Like many Communist Party members at the time, he also operated under " ...

Erich Knauf Erich Knauf (21 February 1895 – 2 May 1944) was a German journalist, writer, and songwriter. He was executed for making jokes about the Nazism, Nazi regime. Biography Knauf was born in Meerane, Saxony, the son of a tailor and party secretary o ...

Bernard Koenen Bernard Johann Heinrich Koenen (17 February 1889 – 30 April 1964) was a German politician. Between 1953 and 1958 he was the East German ambassador to Czechoslovakia. Life Early years Koenen was born in Hamburg, the son of a carpenter-joine ...

Wilhelm Koenen Wilhelm Koenen (7 April 1886 – 19 October 1963) was a German communist activist and an East German politician. He was married to Emmy Damerius-Koenen and was the father of Heinrich Koenen and Johanna Koenen. Biographical details Koenen was ...

Olga Körner Olga Körner (born Olga Schubert: 3 June 1887 – 22 December 1969) was a German political activist and a co-founder of the proletarian women's movement in Dresden. Between 1930 and 1933 she sat as a member of the national parliament (''"Reich ...

Karl Korsch Karl Korsch (; August 15, 1886 – October 21, 1961) was a German Marxist theoretician and political philosopher. Along with György Lukács, Korsch is considered to be one of the major figures responsible for laying the groundwork for Western ...

* Hedwig Krüger * Marie Kunert *

Otto Kühne Otto Kühne (12 May 1893, in Berlin – 8 December 1955, in Brandenburg an der Havel) was a German communist militant, who led a maquis group of German antifascist fighters in the French region of Lozère in 1943 and 1944 during World War II. A ...

* Franz Künstler

L

* Fritz Lange *

Antonie Langendorf Antonie Langendorf (born Anette Glanzmann: 3 January 1894 – 23 June 1969) was a German political activist and politician (SPD, USPD, KPD). Life Anette Glanzmann was born in Leipzig. She attended junior and middle schools locally before obtain ...

* Georg Ledebour *

Rudolf Leonhard Rudolf Leonhard (27 October 1889, in Lissa, German Empire (today Leszno, Poland) – 19 December 1953, in East Berlin) was a German author and communist activist. Life Leonhard came from a family of lawyers and studied law and Philology in Berlin ...

Willy Leow Willy Leow (25 January 1887 – 3 October 1937) was a German communist politician and activist. Life and work Willy Leow attended elementary school in Brandenburg an der Havel. Then he learned the carpentry trade and was taught at the Workers' Ed ...

* Paul Levi *

Eugen Leviné Eugen Leviné (russian: Евгений Левине; 10 May 1883 – 5 June 1919), also known as Dr. Eugen Leviné, was a German communist revolutionary and one of the leaders of the short-lived Second Bavarian Soviet Republic. Background ...

* Alfred Levy *

Theodor Liebknecht Theodor Karl Ernst Adolf Liebknecht (19 April 1870 – 6 January 1948) was a German socialist politician and activist. Biography Born in Leipzig in 1870 as the son of Wilhelm Liebknecht and the brother of Karl Liebknecht, Theodor Liebknecht studie ...

* Hermann Liebmann *

Richard Lipinski Robert Richard Lipinski (6 February 1867 – 18 April 1936) was a German unionist, politician and writer, who was active in Germany's Social Democratic Party and the Independent Social Democratic Party. Early life and career Lipinski was bor ...

Kurt Löwenstein Kurt Löwenstein (18 May 1885 – 8 May 1939) was a German USPD/SPD politician, socialist reform pedagogue and one of the founders of Socialist Youth of Germany - Falcons. Family and education Löwenstein was born in Bleckede. His father Bernh ...

M

* Hans Marchwitza *

Herbert Marcuse Herbert Marcuse (; ; July 19, 1898 – July 29, 1979) was a German-American philosopher, social critic, and political theorist, associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. Born in Berlin, Marcuse studied at the Humboldt University ...

N

* Ernst Niekisch * Emmy Noether

P

Agnes Plum Agnes Plum (born Agnes Jansen: 9 April 1869 – 10 August 1951) was a German politician (SPD, KPD). Between 1925 and 1928 she sat as a Communist member of the national parliament (''Reichstag''). Life Agnes Jansen was born in Bardenberg, today ...

Lothar Popp Lothar Popp (7 February 1887 – 27 April 1980) was a German revolutionary and a leader of the sailors' revolt in Kiel in 1918. Education and party membership Lothar Popp was born 7 February 1887 in the small German town Furth im Wald as son o ...

R

Siegfried Rädel Siegfried Engelbert Martin Rädel (7 March 1893 – 10 May 1943) was a German politician, a member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and a resistance fighter against the Nazi régime. Biography Rädel was born in Pirna-Copitz, Saxony. At t ...

Heinrich Rau Heinrich Gottlob "Heiner" Rau (2 April 1899 – 23 March 1961) was a German communist politician during the time of the Weimar Republic; subsequently, during the Spanish Civil War, he was a leading member of the International Brigades and afte ...

Bernhard Reichenbach Bernhard Reichenbach (Berlin, 1888 – London, 1975) was a member of the Executive Committee of the Communist International. He was a member of the Communist Workers' Party of Germany and acted as their delegate to the Third Congress of the Third ...

* Minna Reichert *

Anna Reitler Anna Reitler (born Anna Schnitzler: 3 June 1894 - 23 June 1948) was a German politician (KPD). Life Anna Schnitzler was born into a working-class family in Liblar, a small town to the southwest of Cologne. She attended junior school locally aft ...

Hermann Remmele Hermann Remmele (15 November 1880 – 7 March 1939) was a German communist politician of the SPD, USPD and KPD. During exile in Moscow he carried the code name ''Herzen'' ( en, "Hearts"). Biography Early years Born in Ziegelhausen near H ...

Karl Retzlaw Karl Retzlaw (10 February 1896 – 20 June 1979) was a German politician, representative of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Social Democratic Party, Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany and Communist Party of Germany. Retz ...

Ernst Reuter Ernst Rudolf Johannes Reuter (29 July 1889 – 29 September 1953) was the mayor of West Berlin from 1948 to 1953, during the time of the Cold War. Biography Early years Reuter was born in Apenrade (Aabenraa), Province of Schleswig-Holstein ...

* Julius Rosemann *

Arthur Rosenberg Arthur Rosenberg (19 December 1889 – 7 February 1943) was a German Marxism, Marxist historian and writer. Biography Early years Arthur Rosenberg was born into a Germans, German Jewish people, Jewish middle-class family in Berlin on 19 December ...

Kurt Rosenfeld Kurt Rosenfeld (1 February 1877 – 25 September 1943) was a German lawyer and politician ( SPD). He was a member of the national parliament () between 1920 and 1932. Early life Kurt Samuel Rosenfeld was born at Marienwerder, a mid-sized town nea ...

* Katharina Roth

S

Willy Sachse Willy Sachse (7 January 1896 – 21 August 1944) was a German socialist and communist who took part in the Sailors' Revolt at the end of the First World War. He remained politically involved during the 1920s and later became a writer. Drawn b ...

* Willi Sänger *

Werner Scholem Werner Scholem (29 December 1895 – 17 July 1940) was a member of the German Reichstag in 1924 to 1928 and a leading member of the Communist Party of Germany. Scholem and his wife, Emmy, were portrayed in the 2014 documentary "Between Utopia and ...

* Hermann Schubert * Ernst Schwarz * Max Sievers * Max Silbermann * Gustav Sobottka * Fritz Soldmann *

Siegmund Sredzki Siegmund Sredzki (30 November 1892 – 11 October 1944) was a German Resistance fighter against the Nazi regime. Life Born in Berlin, Sredzki was a lathe operator and in 1918, he joined the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (US ...

Anna Stiegler Anna Stiegler (born Anna Behrend: 21 April 1881 – 23 June 1963) was a German politician (SPD). She is remembered, in particular, for her contributions on women's issues and social policy more generally. During the Nazi years she was involved ...

Karl Wilhelm Stolle Karl Wilhelm Stolle (19 December 1842 – 11 March 1918) was a German SPD politician and journalist. Life Karl Wilhelm Stolle was born into a Protestant family in the village of Frankenhausen, which today has become part of Crimmitschau, a short ...

Heinrich Ströbel Heinrich Ströbel (7 June 1869 – 1 September 1944) was a socialist German journalist, poet, publicist, SPD and later USPD politician who was the editor in chief of the newspaper ''Vorwärts'' from 1905 to 1907. Biography Ströbel came from a m ...

T

* Ernst Thälmann * Ernst Torgler * Kurt Tucholsky

U

* Walter Ulbricht

W

Walter Weidauer Walter Weidauer (28 July 1899 – 13 March 1986) was a German politician. He was the "lord mayor" (') of Dresden during the most intensive period of the city's rebuilding, between 1946 and 1958. Life Early years Arno Walter Weidauer was born ...

Mathilde Wurm Mathilde Wurm (30 September 1874, Frankfurt am Main – 31 March or 1 April 1935) was a German politician, social worker and journalist. She represented the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germa ...

Z

Clara Zetkin Clara Zetkin (; ; ''née'' Eißner ; 5 July 1857 – 20 June 1933) was a German Marxist theorist, communist activist, and advocate for women's rights. Until 1917, she was active in the Social Democratic Party of Germany. She then joined the ...

* Anna Ziegler * Luise Zietz * Fritz Zubeil {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Independent Social Democratic Party Politicians Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany