Grete Groh-Kummerlöw
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Grete Groh-Kummerlöw (6 February 1909 – 16 February 1980) was a German politician. During the
Weimar period The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...
she was elected a Communist Party member in the regional legislative assembly of Saxony in 1930, thereby becoming the youngest legislative assembly member in Germany. For the twelve Nazi years she engaged in political resistance, spending much of the period in state detention. Under Germany's second one-party dictatorship she served for many years as a deputy president in the
Presidium of the People's Chamber The Presidium of the People's Chamber was a group of members of the People's Chamber responsible for conducting its activities. It consisted of representatives of parties and mass organizations, represented in the People's Chamber. The presidium ...
where she represented the country's Trades Union Federation.


Life


Early years

Grete Groh was born into a working-class family in
Plauen Plauen (; ; ) is a town in Saxony, Germany with a population of around 65,000. It is Saxony's 5th most populated city after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest cit ...
, a small town in western Saxony where the local economy boomed and slumped according to the state of the textiles industry which had fueled Plauen's rapid growth during the previous century. Grete was the seventh of her parents' nine recorded children. From an early age she supported the family by helping her mother with the housework. Aged 15 she left school and took a job in a textiles factory. The next year she joined the , which stood out among the major trades unions of the times on account of the high proportion of women in its membership. She joined the Young Communists in 1927, participating in administrative and leadership work. She briefly relocated to
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, possibly in connection with her political activities, but soon returned to her native
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
. On reaching the age of 21 lost no time in joining the Communist Party itself in 1930.


Politics

1930 was a year of regional elections. In
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
Grete Groh was included on the Communist Party list. Despite increasing their share of the vote the Communists still came in only a close third in Saxony, behind the SPD and the
NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...
. Nevertheless, the vote shares still entitled the Communists to 13 seats in the new Landtag (regional legislative assembly) and Grete Groh's name was high enough up the party list to for her to win one of those seats. She was at this stage the youngest member not merely in the Saxony Landtag, but in any of the regional legislative assemblies across Germany. One source states that Groh was a textile worker from 1925 till 1932 while other, possibly more left-wing sources, state that she was a textile worker from 1932 till 1945. Either way, it appears from the sources that after 1931 her party and political work took up more of her time and energy. 1931 was the year in which she became an organising director and instructor for the regional leaderships of the Young Communists in both
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
and
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
.


Regime change, marriage and war

Regime change came to Germany in January 1933 and the new government lost little time in imposing one-
party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...
government. Political party membership or work - other than for the Nazi Party - was banned. Grete Groh nevertheless continued with her party work. She was probably briefly detained by the authorities in February 1933. Then, on 28 June 1933 she was arrested at
Bitterfeld Bitterfeld () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2007 it has been part of the town of Bitterfeld-Wolfen. It is situated approximately 25 km south of Dessau, and 30 km northeast of Hall ...
and placed in "protective custody". Almost a year later, on 8 June 1934, she was convicted at the high court in
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
of "Conspiracy to commit High Treason" and sentenced to twenty months in prison. She spent her sentence at the Waldheim super-jail, and was in the event released in November 1935. She was then placed under police surveillance. On leaving prison she was initially unemployed, but later found farm work. Towards the end of 1936 she returned to work in the Plauen textile industry. In 1937 she married Heinrich Kummerlöw. Their son Fritz was born in 1940, after which the focus of her work was on her family for the next three years. However, after 1943 she again became closely connected with the (still illegal) Communist Party. Through she came into contact with the resistance group around Anton Saefkow. In the wake of the assassination plot of 20 July 1944 against The Leader, there was a rash of political arrests which included 280 members of the Safkow resistance group. On 10 August 1944 Grete Groh-Kummerlöw was again arrested, again facing a charge of "Conspiracy to commit High Treason". She was sent to
Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
on 9 February 1945 where she was scheduled to face trial in the People's Court which the government had created specially for political trials. However, by now Germany had been at
war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
for more than four years, and military defeat would follow in May 1945. In the chaos of the period, Groh-Kummerlöw's planned trial never took place: on 27 April 1945 she was released from prison by the advancing
Red army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
, by this time already fighting for control of nearby Berlin.


Soviet occupation zone

At the end of the war both her home region of
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
and
Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
, where she had been liberated by Soviet soldiers, found themselves in the
Soviet occupation zone The Soviet occupation zone in Germany ( or , ; ) was an area of Germany that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a communist area, established as a result of the Potsdam Agreement on 2 August 1945. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republ ...
of what had previously been
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. Grete Groh-Kummerlöw's first job involved working in
Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
for the Soviet commander as the occupiers established an administration structure, but in August 1945 she returned to the
Plauen Plauen (; ; ) is a town in Saxony, Germany with a population of around 65,000. It is Saxony's 5th most populated city after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest cit ...
area and immediately resumed her trades union activities. She worked as a secretary for the Plauen Party Leadership, taking on responsibility for training communist cells and extending trades union influence in the factories. In January 1946, as a member of the executive of the regional executive of the important Textile Workers' Union, she was mandated to take on the chair of the Third
Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union center, national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions that collectively represent most unionised workers in England and Wales. There are 48 affiliated unions with a total of ...
Executive for Saxony. Although individual trades unions continued to exist in the Soviet occupation zone, the highly centralised power structure being developed for the zone meant that union power was heavily centralised in the Trades Union Congress (FDGB / ''Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund''). This meant that from now on Groh-Kummerlöw's position within the FDGB would form the basis for a 25-year career in national politics. In February 1946, in addition to her existing duties, she became a member of the FDGB National Executive, a membership which she retained till 1963. She was particularly active in the Women's Committee of the National Executive Committee, promoting increased inclusion of women both in the country's paid work force and in trades union organisations.


German Democratic Republic

In April 1946 the way was prepared for a return to one-
party dictatorship A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...
with the contentious merger, in the Soviet zone, of the Communist Party (KPD) and the more moderately left-wing Social Democratic Party (SPD). Grete Groh-Kummerlöw was one of many thousands of Communist Party members who lost little time in signing their party membership across to the new Socialist Unity Party (SED). By the time the occupation zone was re-founded, in October 1949, as the Soviet sponsored
German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
, the SED was in place, ready to become the new country's ruling political party, while the systematic removal from positions of party influence of former SPD members meant that in respect of party structure and policies it resembled the old pro-Soviet Communist Party with a new name. 1949 was also the year in which, in May, Grete Groh-Kummerlöw relocated from Saxony to Berlin. She took a position as head of the Social Policy Department on the National Executive of the Trades Union Congress (FDGB). From now on her union and political career would become a national one. In 1950 her marriage ended in divorce. The FDGB was closely integrated into the country's power structure, and after the 3rd FDGB Congress, which took place in 1950, Groh-Kummerlöw became responsible for the organisation's Worker Supply Department. The issue of worker supply was important nationally in the context of a desperate shortage of workers, following the large-scale slaughter of the
war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
and the continuing haemorrhage of working age citizens across the still relatively porous
border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...
to
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
. For the Trades Union organisation improvements in social policy were central to the Worker Supply Department. In 1952 the departments at the FDGB were reconfigured and she also took over from responsibility for Social Security matters. In 1957 Groh-Kummerlöw switched, becoming Secretary of the Central Committee for Industrial Unions in the local economy, before further promotion in 1958 which was when she became Secretary of the FDGB group in the national
People's Chamber The Volkskammer (, "People's Chamber") was the supreme power organ of East Germany. It was the only branch of government in the state, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it. The Volkskammer was initial ...
. Grete Groh-Kummerlöw took part in the KPD/SPD Party Congresses that voted through the merger of the parties in April 1946, and became a member of the reconstituted for
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
, where she was one of 59 members (in a 120 seat assembly) representing the new Socialist Unity Party (SED). She was also a member of the Party Presidium in the regional assembly. However, she resigned in December 1949 from the Saxony assembly, responding to the call of national politics. She had already relocated to Berlin seven months earlier. By this time she had also already found time for a period of study at the regional party academy in Ottendorf. The move to Berlin marked the start of her time as a member of the "People's Council", which a few months after she joined it became the People's Chamber (''Volkskammer'' / National Legislative Assembly). The legislature was controlled by the ruling SED (party) not because all the other political parties had been banned, but because a structure had been constructed that enabled SED party to specify the other parties' (fixed) quotas of seats and, increasingly, to control what they did. In addition to these so-called Bloc parties, certain approved Mass Organisations also received quotas of seats in the Volkskammer. East Germany's constitutional arrangements closely followed those of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, which had been devised by
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
. The presence of mass movements in the legislature was intended to indicate a broadening of popular support for the legislative programme of the
ruling party The ruling party or governing party in a democratic parliamentary or presidential system is the political party or coalition holding a majority of elected positions in a parliament, in the case of parliamentary systems, or holding the executive ...
, and it diluted the presence of other political parties which, especially in the early 1950s, were not always quite as firmly under the control of the SED power structure as they later became. One of the Mass Organisations represented in the Volkskammer was the Trades Union Congress (FDGB / ''Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund''). For the 1949 legislative period the FDGB's had a quota of 30 seats in the 330 seat Volkskammer. Grete Groh-Kummerlöw occupied one of the FDGB seats. Both the FDGB quota and the total number of seats would increase during the next 25 years, but Groh-Kummerlöw continued to represent the FDGB in the chamber until 1971. Within the FDGB group, she played a leading role and, in respect of the overall assembly, she also served as a member of the
Presidium of the People's Chamber The Presidium of the People's Chamber was a group of members of the People's Chamber responsible for conducting its activities. It consisted of representatives of parties and mass organizations, represented in the People's Chamber. The presidium ...
from 1950 till 1971 and as of its deputy presidents from 1950 till 1963. In 1967 Grete Groh-Kummerlöw, now aged 58, resigned from her various political and trades union functions on health grounds. An exception was the People's Chamber where she continued to represent the FDGB and to be listed as a
Presidium A presidium or praesidium is a council of executive officers in some countries' political assemblies that collectively administers its business, either alongside an individual president or in place of one. The term is also sometimes used for the ...
member till 1971.


Awards and honours

*1954
Clara Zetkin Medal The Clara Zetkin Medal was a national award in the German Democratic Republic. It was created by the country's Council of Ministers on 18 February 1954 in order to honour the life and work of Clara Zetkin, whom the Marxist establishment regarded ...
*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 Bronze *1959
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 *1959 *1965
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 ec ...
*1975
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 Gold *1979
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 ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groh-Kummerlow, Grete 1909 births 1980 deaths People from Plauen Politicians from the Kingdom of Saxony Communist Party of Germany politicians Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Members of the Provisional Volkskammer Members of the 1st Volkskammer Members of the 2nd Volkskammer Members of the 3rd Volkskammer Members of the 4th Volkskammer Members of the 5th Volkskammer Members of the Landtag of Saxony Free German Trade Union Federation members Female members of the Volkskammer Communists in the German Resistance Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Recipients of the Banner of Labor Saefkow-Jacob-Bästlein Organization German women trade unionists People convicted of treason against Nazi Germany