Willi Bredel (2 May 1901 in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

– 27 October 1964 in

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

) was a German writer and president of the DDR

Academy of Arts, Berlin The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The Academy's predecessor organization was fo ...

. Born in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, he was a pioneer of

socialist realist Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

literature.

Life and career

Born in to the family of a cigar maker, after graduating from primary school he became a metal worker. From 1916 to 1917 he was a member of the Socialist Workers' Youth, from 1917 to 1920 of the

Spartakusbund The Spartacus League (German: ''Spartakusbund'') was a Marxist revolutionary movement organized in Germany during World War I. It was founded in August 1914 as the "International Group" by Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht, Clara Zetkin, and other ...

and from 1919 of 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 ...

. In 1923 he took part in the

Hamburg Uprising The Hamburg Uprising (german: Hamburger Aufstand) was an insurrection during the Weimar Republic in Germany as part of the so-called German October communist revolution attempt. It was started on 23 October 1923 by one of the most militant sec ...

and was sentenced to two years in prison. After his amnesty in 1925, he worked as a lathe operator in the

Kampnagel Kampnagel is a theatre in Hamburg, Germany. It is Germany's biggest independent production venue for the performing arts. It is based on the premises of a former mechanical engineering factory in Winterhude, founded in 1865. History Since 198 ...

factory while being the editor of various communist news outlets. Due to "Preparing literary treason and high treason", he was in 1930 sentence to two years imprisonment. He wrote his first novels while in custody. Soon after the Nazis seized power in 1933, Bredel was imprisoned at

Fuhlsbüttel concentration camp is an urban quarter in the north of Hamburg, Germany in the Hamburg-Nord district. It is known as the site of Hamburg's international airport, and as the location of a prison which served as a concentration camp in the Nazi system of repression. ...

. He was released in spring 1934.Klaus Drobisch, Günther Wieland
''System der NS-Konzentrationslager: 1933-1939''
Akademie Verlag (1993), pp. 243–244. . Retrieved December 21, 2011 Fleeing from

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 ...

, he went to

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

and then

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 ...

, where he lived at the

Hotel Lux The former Hotel Lux in Moscow Hotel Lux (Люксъ) was a hotel in Moscow during the Soviet Union, housing many leading exiled and visiting Communists. During the Nazi era, exiles from all over Europe went there, particularly from Germany. A n ...

. He published ''Die Prüfung'' (1934), a novel describing the

Nazi concentration camp From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps, (officially) or (more commonly). The Nazi concentration camps are distinguished from other types of Nazi camps such as forced-labor camps, as well as concen ...

, which was reprinted several times and translated into other languages. He also published accounts of his experiences in 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 ...

'', a German-language newspaper published in Moscow. Bredel took part in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

commissar Commissar (or sometimes ''Kommissar'') is an English transliteration of the Russian (''komissar''), which means 'commissary'. In English, the transliteration ''commissar'' often refers specifically to the political commissars of Soviet and Eas ...

of the

Thälmann Battalion The Thälmann Battalion was a battalion of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. It was named after the imprisoned German communist leader Ernst Thälmann (born 16 April 1886, executed 18 August 1944) and included approximately 1,50 ...

Antifascism and Memory in East Germany - Remembering the International Brigades 1945-1989
- McLellan, Josie; Oxford Historical Monographs, Page 31 as well as the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

, in which he fought on the

Soviet 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, ...

side. His propaganda material, along with those of

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 ...

and

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 ...

was used in an attempt to lure the 6th Army into surrendering at the

Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...

. After the war, he returned to Germany as part of the Sobottka Group,"Namensliste der drei KPD-Einsatzgruppen vom 27. April 1945"
German Federal Archives. BArch NY 4036/517. Retrieved November 22, 2011 sent to lay the groundwork for the Soviet occupation of

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

. He later lived 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 ...

and died in

Awards and decorations

* 1955

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 ...

in silver * 1956

Hans Beimler Medal The Hans Beimler Medal (german: Hans Beimler Medaille) was a German Democratic Republic, GDR decoration. The medal was instituted on 17 May 1956 and was awarded to East Germans who fought in the Spanish civil war on the side of the republicans. The ...

* 1960

Banner of Labor The Banner of Labor () was an order issued in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was given for "excellent and long-standing service in strengthening and consolidating the GDR, especially for achieving outstanding results for the national e ...

* 1961

in gold * 1964 Burial at the Memorial of the Socialists (

Friedrichsfelde 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 ...

)

Selected works

* ''Die Prüfung'' * ''The Death of General Moreau and other stories'' * ''Verwandte und Bekannte'' Trilogy

References

External links

Willi Bredel Gesellschaft
Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Bredel, Willi 1901 births 1964 deaths Writers from Hamburg Communist Party of Germany politicians Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Members of the Provisional Volkskammer Cultural Association of the GDR members East German writers 20th-century German novelists German Anti-Francoists German male novelists Refugees from Nazi Germany in the Soviet Union International Brigades personnel German people of the Spanish Civil War German people of World War II Nazi concentration camp survivors National Committee for a Free Germany members Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Recipients of the Banner of Labor Communist writers Socialist realism writers

Life and career

Awards and decorations

Selected works

See also

References

External links