Max Opitz

Max Ernst Opitz (September 11, 1890 – January 7, 1982) was a German communist politician and functionary who served in several legislative positions in the Weimar Republic and East Germany between 1926 and 1963. In the latter state, he also served as mayor of Leipzig from 1949 to 1951.

Life Opitz was born on September 11, 1890, in Bernsdorf, Zwickau, the son of a miner. After attending elementary school, he completed an apprenticeship as a carpenter from 1905 to 1908. In 1911 he was drafted into military service, served seven years in the Uhlan Regiment No. 21. He was wounded several times in the First World War. In 1915 he married for the first time. During the German Revolution, he was elected to his regiment's soldiers' council. After his discharge from the army, he became a founding member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) in 1919. In 1920 he moved to Chemnitz.

From 1923, Opitz held a succession of regional leadership roles in the KPD. From 1926 to 1930 he was a member of the Landtag of the Free State of Saxony. In 1932, Opitz was elected to the Landtag of Prussia, where he would remain until the Nazi Party seized power in 1933.

On February 7, 1933, Opitz took part in in Berlin. On March 5, 1933, he was elected to the Reichstag, but like all KPD representatives he was unable to exercise his mandate due to the Nazi ban on the KPD. Opitz then took part in anti-Nazi resistance activities in Dortmund and Stuttgart. On November 2, 1933, he was arrested in Stuttgart and sentenced to three years and one month in prison in 1934 for "preparing to commit high treason". In November 1937, he was put on trial for alleged involvement in the shooting of a police officer. He was initially sentenced to four years in prison for manslaughter, but his conviction was overturned on appeal. In 1938, Opitz was again put on trial for treason, and subsequently sentenced to four years in prison. He served both of his sentences in the Ludwigsburg Prison. After serving his prison sentence, he was transferred to Sachsenhausen concentration camp by the Gestapo in October 1941. On May 1, 1945, he was liberated by the Red Army near Flecken Zechlin. In 1950 he was elected to the Volkskammer, where he would remain until 1963. After his retirement he worked in the leadership of the Committee of Antifascist Resistance Fighters.

Awards 1975 Patriotic Order of Merit, honour clasp 1970 & 1965 Patriotic Order of Merit, in gold 1960 Order of Karl Marx 1959 & 1954 Patriotic Order of Merit, in silver 1958 Medal for Fighters Against Fascism 1955 Medal of Honor of the Volkspolizei