National Committee For A Free Germany
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The National Committee for a Free Germany (german: Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland, or NKFD) was a German
anti-Nazi Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...
organization that operated in the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, By Norman M. Naimark Published 1995 Harvard University Press Communism and culture/ Germany (East) 586 pages


History

The rise of the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
to power in
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 ...
in 1933 led to the outlawing of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and persecutions of its members, many of whom fled to the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. With the German invasion of the Soviet Union in
Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
, German prisoners of war began to fall into Soviet hands. Attempts to establish an anti-Nazi organization from these POWs met with little success, since most of them still believed in the final victory of the
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
. With the German defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad, the number of German POWs increased and their belief in a victorious Germany weakened, hence they were more open to the idea of membership of an anti-Nazi organization. At the beginning of June 1943, Alfred Kunella and Rudolf Herrnstadt began writing a Committee manifesto. This text praised historical figures from the
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...
who had allied with Imperial Russia against
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
in the
German Campaign of 1813 The German campaign (german: Befreiungskriege , lit=Wars of Liberation ) was fought in 1813. Members of the Sixth Coalition, including the German states of Austria and Prussia, plus Russia and Sweden, fought a series of battles in Germany ag ...
; figures such as Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein,
Carl von Clausewitz Carl Philipp Gottfried (or Gottlieb) von Clausewitz (; 1 June 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the "moral", in modern terms meaning psychological, and political aspects of waging war. His mo ...
and Graf Yorck were depicted as exemplary Germans. The National Committee for a Free Germany (NKFD) was founded in Krasnogorsk, near
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 millio ...
on 12 July 1943; its president was the exiled German communist writer
Erich Weinert Erich Bernhard Gustav Weinert (4 August 1890 in Magdeburg – 20 April 1953 in East Berlin) was a German Communist writer and a member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). Early life Weinert was born in 1890 in Magdeburg to a family supp ...
, with his deputies Lieutenant
Heinrich Graf von Einsiedel Heinrich Graf von Einsiedel (26 July 1921 – 18 July 2007) was a German journalist, politician and World War II Luftwaffe ace. Early life Einsiedel, a great-grandson of Otto von Bismarck, was born in Potsdam, Province of Brandenburg, as the you ...
and Major Karl Hetz. Its leadership consisted of 38 members, including 28 Wehrmacht POWs and 10 exiled communists including
Friedrich Wolf Friedrich Wolf may refer to: *Friedrich Wolf (writer) (1888–1953), German doctor and writer *Friedrich August Wolf Friedrich August Wolf (; 15 February 1759 – 8 August 1824) was a German classicist and is considered the founder of modern ...
.


League of German Officers

After several failed attempts to recruit officers into the NKFD, it was suggested by Lieutenant-Colonel
Alfred Brette Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...
that a special organization for officers be set up so that they would not have to come into contact with communists and common soldiers. Two months after the founding of the NKFD, the League of German Officers (''Bund Deutscher Offiziere'', or BDO) was founded; its leader was General
Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach Walther Kurt von Seydlitz-Kurzbach (; 22 August 1888 – 28 April 1976) was a German general during World War II who commanded the LI Army Corps during the Battle of Stalingrad. At the end of the battle, he gave his officers freedom of action ...
. The main task of the BDO was to deliver propaganda aimed at the German armed forces. A number of officers held as Soviet prisoners of war eventually joined the BDO, the most prominent of them being Field-Marshal
Friedrich Paulus Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 – 1 February 1957) was a German field marshal during World War II who is best known for commanding the 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad (August 1942 to February 1943). The battle ende ...
, commander of the Sixth Army captured at the Battle of Stalingrad. The BDO later merged with the NKFD.


Ideology

Although the NKFD operated in the Soviet Union and consisted partly of communists, it used conservative symbols and ideology. For example, the old flag colors of
Imperial Germany The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
(black, white and red) were used instead of the Weimar German (black, red and gold), as they were expected to be more popular among officers and soldiers of the conservative ''
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
''. The stated goal of the NKFD organisation was a return to the borders of 1937, the opening of negotiations for peace, and the deposing and punishment of the Nazi leadership. It also called for the preservation of the power of the ''Wehrmacht''. The NKFD believed that German civilians and soldiers had to place the interests of the German nation above those of their Nazi leaders. As the war progressed and it became increasingly clear that an anti-Nazi coup would not occur, the NKFD's ideological line became more leftist, and eventually identical to that of the KPD.


Activity

NKFD and BDO activity focused on propaganda and had their own newspaper and radio station. They sent leaflets to German soldiers on the Eastern Front and to POWs in the Soviet camps.
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
Major
Lev Kopelev Lev Zalmanovich (Zinovyevich) Kopelev (russian: Лев Залма́нович (Зино́вьевич) Ко́пелев, German: Lew Sinowjewitsch Kopelew, 9 April 1912, Kyiv – 18 June 1997, Cologne) was a Soviet author and dissident. Early ...
described the joint
psychological warfare Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and Mi ...
at
Grudziądz Grudziądz ( la, Graudentum, Graudentium, german: Graudenz) is a city in northern Poland, with 92,552 inhabitants (2021). Located on the Vistula River, it lies within the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and is the fourth-largest city in its prov ...
in March 1945 by the Red Army and members of the NKFD. General Seydlitz-Kurzbach offered to raise an anti-Hitler army from NKFD and BDO members to fight against the Nazis, but the Soviet side rejected their offer. Some NKFD members were attached to front-line Soviet units to interrogate German POWs and for propaganda purposes. Others fought behind the German lines alongside Soviet partisan units. Towards the very end of the war so-called ''Seydlitz-Troops'' were sent to the German lines in uniform with orders to blend in with the defenders and spread confusion. Some rejoined their former comrades and others followed their orders. Many were caught and executed. As the Red Army entered Germany, some NKFD members were appointed as officials in the local government of the
Soviet occupation zone The Soviet Occupation Zone ( or german: Ostzone, label=none, "East Zone"; , ''Sovetskaya okkupatsionnaya zona Germanii'', "Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany") was an area of Germany in Central Europe that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a c ...
.


Publications

''Freies Deutschland'' was the weekly newspaper of the NKFD, published from 1943 to 1945.


Branch groups

Anti-Fascist Committee for a Free Germany The Anti-Fascist Committee for a Free Germany (German: ''Antifaschistische Komitee Freies Deutschland'', or AKFD) was an organization of former Wehrmacht soldiers modeled after the National Committee for a Free Germany. The organization was formed ...


Post-War

After the defeat of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, NKFD members mostly returned to the Soviet occupation zone in Germany and had a key role in building the
German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
. Some BDO members had a key role in building the
National People's Army The National People's Army (german: Nationale Volksarmee, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) a ...
, while others (like Seydlitz), were prosecuted as war criminals.


Notable members

*
Anton Ackermann Anton Ackermann (real name: Eugen Hanisch, 25 November 1905 Thalheim, Saxony – 4 May 1973 East Berlin) was an East German politician. In 1953, he briefly served as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Dieter K. Buse, and Juergen C. Doerr, eds., ''Mo ...
*
Wilhelm Adam Wilhelm Adam (28 March 1893 – 24 November 1978) was an officer in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Following the German surrender after the Battle of Stalingrad, he became a member of the National Committee for a Free German ...
* Johannes R. Becher * Gerhard Bechly *
Willi Bredel Willi Bredel (2 May 1901 in Hamburg – 27 October 1964 in East Berlin) was a German writer and president of the DDR Academy of Arts, Berlin. Born in Hamburg, he was a pioneer of socialist realist literature. Life and career Born in to the f ...
*
Heinrich Graf von Einsiedel Heinrich Graf von Einsiedel (26 July 1921 – 18 July 2007) was a German journalist, politician and World War II Luftwaffe ace. Early life Einsiedel, a great-grandson of Otto von Bismarck, was born in Potsdam, Province of Brandenburg, as the you ...
*
Wilhelm Florin Wilhelm Florin (16 March 1894 – 5 July 1944) was a German Communist Party (KPD) politician and a campaigner in opposition to National Socialism. Life Early years Wilhelm Florin was born in Poll, already a suburb of Cologne, across the river ...
*
Peter Gingold Peter Gingold (8 March 1916 – 29 October 2006) was a figure in the German Resistance and the National Committee for a Free Germany. He was born in a Jewish family in Aschaffenburg, Bavaria. He was a member of the Communist Party of Germany ( ...
*
Heinz Kessler Heinz Kessler or Heinz Keßler (26 January 1920 – 2 May 2017) was a German communist politician and military officer in East Germany. His career in the military started when he was conscripted into the Wehrmacht, the armed forces of Nazi Ger ...
* Alfred Kurella *
Arno von Lenski Arno Ernst Max von Lenski (20 July 1893 – 4 October 1986) was a German military officer and general who served in the Imperial German army, the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany, and after the war in the National People's Army of the German Democra ...
*
Wolfgang Leonhard Wolfgang Leonhard (16 April 1921 – 17 August 2014) was a German political author and historian of the Soviet Union, the German Democratic Republic and Communism. A German Communist whose family had fled Hitler's Germany and who was educated i ...
*
Vincenz Müller Vincenz Müller (5 November 1894 – 12 May 1961) was a military officer and general who served in the Imperial German army, the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany, and after the war in the National People's Army of the (East) German Democratic Republic, ...
*
Friedrich Paulus Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 – 1 February 1957) was a German field marshal during World War II who is best known for commanding the 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad (August 1942 to February 1943). The battle ende ...
*
Wilhelm Pieck Friedrich Wilhelm Reinhold Pieck (; 3 January 1876 – 7 September 1960) was a German communist politician who served as the chairman of the Socialist Unity Party from 1946 to 1950 and as president of the German Democratic Republic from 1949 to ...
*
Theodor Plievier Theodor Otto Richard Plievier (Plivier, until 1933) (12 February 1892, Berlin – 12 March 1955, Avegno, Switzerland) was a German writer and communist, best known for his 1948 anti-war novel . During World War I, he served on the '' SMS Wolf'' ...
* Hermann Rentzsch * Willy Riedel *
Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach Walther Kurt von Seydlitz-Kurzbach (; 22 August 1888 – 28 April 1976) was a German general during World War II who commanded the LI Army Corps during the Battle of Stalingrad. At the end of the battle, he gave his officers freedom of action ...
*
Walter Ulbricht Walter Ernst Paul Ulbricht (; 30 June 18931 August 1973) was a German communist politician. Ulbricht played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and later (after spending the years of Nazi rule in ...
*
Gustav von Wangenheim Gustav von Wangenheim (born Ingo Clemens Gustav Adolf Freiherr von Wangenheim; 18 February 1895 – 5 August 1975) was a German nobleman, actor, screenwriter and director. Life Wangenheim was born Ingo Clemens Gustav Adolf Freiherr von W ...
*
Erich Weinert Erich Bernhard Gustav Weinert (4 August 1890 in Magdeburg – 20 April 1953 in East Berlin) was a German Communist writer and a member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). Early life Weinert was born in 1890 in Magdeburg to a family supp ...
* Otto Winzer *
Friedrich Wolf Friedrich Wolf may refer to: *Friedrich Wolf (writer) (1888–1953), German doctor and writer *Friedrich August Wolf Friedrich August Wolf (; 15 February 1759 – 8 August 1824) was a German classicist and is considered the founder of modern ...
* Markus Wolf


See also

*
National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia The National Committee for the Liberation of Yugoslavia ( sh, Nacionalni komitet oslobođenja Jugoslavije, sl, Nacionalni komite osvoboditve Jugoslavije, NKOJ), also known as the Yugoslav Committee of National Liberation, was the World War II pr ...
*
National Committee of the Republic of Estonia The National Committee of the Republic of Estonia (, EVRK) was a deliberative and legislative body, formed by the government of Republic of Estonia (the last government of Estonia before the Soviet occupation) to control the resistance movement in ...
*
Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania The Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania or VLIK ( lt, Vyriausiasis Lietuvos išlaisvinimo komitetas) was an organization seeking independence of Lithuania. It was established on November 25, 1943, during the Nazi occupation. After Wor ...
*
Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia The Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (russian: Комитет освобождения народов России, ', abbreviated as russian: КОНР, ') was a committee composed of military and civilian Nazi collaborator ...
*
Japanese People's Emancipation League The was a Japanese resistance organization that operated in communist China during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and World War II.Roth, Andrew (1945). Dilemma in Japan. Little, Brown. pp. 162-188 In 1944, the Japanese People's Emancipation Leag ...
* Italian resistance movement *
Lev Kopelev Lev Zalmanovich (Zinovyevich) Kopelev (russian: Лев Залма́нович (Зино́вьевич) Ко́пелев, German: Lew Sinowjewitsch Kopelew, 9 April 1912, Kyiv – 18 June 1997, Cologne) was a Soviet author and dissident. Early ...
*
Free Albania National Committee "Free Albania" National Committee ( sq, Komiteti Kombëtar "Shqipëria e Lirë"), also known as "Free Albania" National-Democratic Committee, also National Committee for a Free Albania or NCFA, was a political organization of post-World War II Alb ...


Notes and references


Further reading

*Lev Kopelev, To Be Preserved Forever ("Хранить вечно"), 1976 {{Authority control Organizations disestablished in 1943 German resistance to Nazism Communist Party of Germany Organizations based in Moscow Wehrmacht Psychological warfare Soviet propaganda organizations Politics of East Germany