Wilhelm Florin

Wilhelm Florin (16 March 1894 – 5 July 1944) was a German communist politician and trade unionist who served as a leading functionary in the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). An ally of party leader Ernst Thälmann, Florin belonged to the party's Central Committee from 1924 until his death in 1944, and its Politburo from 1929 until its dissolution in 1937. He led the party in several regions and was responsible for their adherance to the Stalinist party line.

Life

Early years Wilhelm Florin was born in Poll, already a suburb of Cologne, across the river and to the south-east of the city centre. His family was working-class and strongly Catholic; early on he became involved with the Catholic Young Men's Association. He qualified as a riveter and worked in several metal based factories making items such as wagons and boilers. By 1913 he was also a member both of the German Metal Workers' Union and of the Socialist Youth Organisation.

War In 1914 he was drafted into the infantry. During the war he was wounded and, for a period in 1917, sent to join a punishment unit. This was because he became opposed to the war and in 1917 joined the newly formed Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD), which had broken away from the mainstream Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) over the issue of support for the war.

Weimar years

When the USPD itself split in 1920 Florin was a part of the left-wing faction that joined Germany's fledgling Communist Party of Germany (KPD). Between 1918 and 1920 Florin was a member of the Works Council at a Cologne river-ship yard. He was also a Works Council leader at the gas-engine factory where he worked in the early 1920s, While a Reichstag deputy he was at the same time temporarily serving as the party's political leader for the Thuringia and Upper Silesia regions. just outside Berlin on its south-eastern side. This was the last meeting to be addressed by the party leader, Ernst Thälmann, before his arrest by the Gestapo.

The Reichstag fire took place at the end of February, and Wilhelm Florin went underground before emigrating to the Soviet Union via Paris, which at this time was a destination of choice for many KPD members fearful for their lives and liberty if they remained in Germany. In the intensive party disputes that followed Hitler's take over, Florin initially sided with what was defined as the "extreme left" wing of the KPD, along with Hermann Schubert, Franz Dahlem and Fritz Schulte, but Florin, like others, very soon realigned his position to that of Walter Ulbricht and Wilhelm Pieck. From 1943 till his death Wilhelm Florin was an active founding member of the Moscow-based National Committee for a Free Germany. and was initially buried in Moscow. However, in 1955 an urn containing his ashes was conveyed to Berlin and placed in the Socialists' Commemoration section of the Friedrichsfelde Central Cemetery

Family Wilhelm Florin's wife Therese Florin (born Therese Althammer) was for many years Deputy Chair of the Democratic Women's League of Germany. His son, Peter Florin, was a top East German diplomat.

Speeches and writings Gegen den Faschismus. Reden und Aufsätze. Mit einem biographischen Abriss. Berlin 1986,