Paula Acker

Paula Acker (born Paula Löffler: 3 February 1913 – 7 November 1989) was a German correspondent, journalist and newspaper editor. She was also an activist and officer of the Communist Party and of its East German successor, the Socialist Unity Party ("Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands" / SED).

Life Paula Löffler was born in Tübingen. Her father was a building worker. She attended junior and middle schools in Schwenningen, a short distance to the south. In 1928, she joined the youth wing of the left-leaning international Friends of Nature movement. Between 1928 and 1930, her secondary schooling took place at a business oriented "commercial school" and she trained for a commercial position in industry. Between 1930 and 1936, she was employed in Schwenningen as a correspondence clerk, specialising in foreign languages, primarily French and English. In January 1933, the political context changed dramatically when the Nazi Party took power and converted Germany into a one-party dictatorship. Work for a political party – except for the Nazi Party – was now illegal. It is known that from 1934 Paula Acker was engaging in illegal work for the regional Communist party in Stuttgart. Party code names used for her included "Trudi" and "Erika". She was arrested in 1936, and held in detention till 1939. The charge was the usual one of preparing to commit high treason : on conviction she was sentenced to a 30-month jail term. There is not unanimity between the sources over where she was held initially, but it appears that she was initially held in a women's prison in Upper Bavaria before being transferred for the final part of her term to a Gestapo detention centre in Stuttgart.

Her husband bad been arrested in 1933, but then, on his release in 1935, fled to Zürich.

Between 1958 and 1971, she worked with the Agitation Commission of the politburo of the powerful party central committee, at times working closely with Walter Ulbricht. Acker was closely involved in various propaganda campaigns targeting West Germany. She was also active between 1958 and 1989 as a member of the National Front, from 1962 as leader of the secretariat of its national council. The National Front was the structure used by the ruling SED (party) to control the other political parties and mass organisations that supplied the element of inclusivity deemed necessary. Between 1963 and 1978, she was also a member of the Party Central Committee's Women's Commission.

Awards and honours

1961 Ernst Moritz Arndt Medal 1963 Clara Zetkin Medal 1963 Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze 1968 Patriotic Order of Merit in silver 1973 Patriotic Order of Merit in gold 1978 Patriotic Order of Merit gold clasp 1988 Star of People's Friendship