Otto Buchwitz

Otto Buchwitz (27 April 1879 – 9 July 1964) was a German resistance fighter against National Socialism, politician and party functionary of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Socialist Unity Party (SED).

A Social Democratic politician in the Weimar Republic, Buchwitz went into exile in Denmark until being arrested and imprisoned in 1940. After the war, he supported the forced merger of the SPD and KPD and subsequently co-chaired the SED in Saxony and, briefly, the powerful Central Party Control Commission (ZPKK).

His career was cut short in 1950, when former Social Democrats were largely purged from party functions.

Life and career Early career After attending elementary school from 1885 to 1893, Buchwitz completed an apprenticeship as a metal spinner and iron turner until 1896. He joined the German Metal Workers' Union in 1896 and became a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in 1898. Until 1907, Buchwitz worked in his trained profession, but also as a weaver. From 1908, he served as the secretary of the German Textile Workers' Association for the Chemnitz area.

Drafted for military service in 1914, he was stationed in East Prussia by the end of the war. From April 1946 to July 1964, he was a full member of the Party Executive Committee (PV), later Central Committee of the SED.

East Germany In the course of the Stalinization of the SED, former Social Democrats were gradually removed. In July 1950, the III. Party Congress of the SED eliminated the equal representation between former Social Democrats and former Communists in central party functions. As a result, Buchwitz had to step down from chairing the ZPPK.

Death and legacy

Buchwitz died on 9 July 1964, in Dresden and his grave is located at the Heidefriedhof there. most of which were renamed after German reunification.

In Glauchau, the Spinnstoffwerk in the GDR era bore the name "VEB Spinnstoffwerk Otto Buchwitz," as shown by company documents in the factory ruins (2023).

Currently, there are still Otto Buchwitz streets in Oderwitz, Bernsdorf (Oberlausitz), and Mülsen, Otto Buchwitz Square in Görlitz, and Otto Buchwitz Ring in Neukirch/Lausitz.

In 1961, the children's book publisher Berlin published "The Famous Great-Grandfather" (The Little Trumpeter Books 19), based on motifs from Buchwitz's published memoirs. The author, Gottfried Herold, did not mention Buchwitz's SPD membership.