National Committee for a Free Germany
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The National Committee for a Free Germany (German: Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland, or NKFD) was a German anti-Nazi organization that operated in the Soviet Union during World War II.[1][2]
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[edit] History
The rise of the Nazi Party to power in Germany in 1933 led to the outlawing of the Communist Party of Germany and the persecutions against its members, many of whom fled to the Soviet Union.
With the German invasion of the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa, German prisoners of war began to fall into Soviet hands. Several attempts to establish an anti-Nazi organization from those POWs were made with little success since most of them still believed in the final victory of the Wehrmacht.
With the German defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad, the number of German POWs rose and their belief in a victorious Germany was damaged, hence they were more open to the idea of a membership in an anti-Nazi organization.
The National Committee for a Free Germany (NKFD) was founded at Moscow on 12 July 1943; its president was the exiled German writer Erich Weinert with his deputies Lieutenant Heinrich Graf von Einsiedel and Major Karl Hetz. Its leadership consisted of 38 members, including 28 Wehrmacht POWs and 10 exiled communists.
[edit] League of German Officers
After several failed attempts to recruit officers into the NKFD, it was suggested by Lieutenant-Colonel (German: Oberstleutnant) Alfred Brette that a special organization for officers be set up so that they would not have to come in contact with Communists and common soldiers.
Two months after the founding of the NKFD, the League of German Officers (German: Bund Deutscher Offiziere, or BDO) was founded; its leader was General Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach. The main task of the BDO was to deliver propaganda aimed at the German armed forces. A number of highly ranking officers joined the BDO, the most prominent of them being Field-Marshal (German: Generalfeldmarschall) Friedrich Paulus, the commander of the Sixth Army captured at the Battle of Stalingrad.
[edit] Ideology
Although the NKFD operated in the Soviet Union and consisted partly of communists, it used conservative symbols and ideology. For example, the old flag colours of Imperial Germany (Black - White - Red) were used instead of the Weimar German (Black - Red - Gold), as the Imperial colours were expected to be more popular among officers and soldiers of the conservative Heer. The NKFD's goal was a return to the pre-war borders of 1937[citation needed], the opening of negotiations for peace, and the deposing and punishment of the Nazi leadership. It also called for the preservation of the power of the Wehrmacht. The NKFD believed that German civilians and soldiers had to place the interests of the German nation above those of their Nazi leaders.
As the war progressed and it became increasingly clear than an anti-Nazi putsch would not occur, the NKFD's ideological line became more leftist until it became identical to that of the Stalinist Communist Party.
[edit] Activity
The NKFD and BDO activity focused on propaganda. They had their own newspaper and radio station. They sent leaflets to the German soldiers at the front and the POWs in the Soviet camps. As an example of such activities Soviet Major Lev Kopelev desribes the joint psychological warfare at Grudziądz in March 1945 by Soviet Red Army and members of the NKFD. General Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach offered to raise an anti-Hitler army from the NKFD and BDO members to fight against their own country, but the Soviets did not accept this offer.
Some NKFD members were attached to front line Soviets units to interrogate German POWs and spread propaganda to the Germans units that the Soviets were fighting against. Other NKFD members fought behind the German lines alongside Soviet partisan units.
As the Red Army entered Germany, some NKFD members were appointed as officials in the local government of the Soviet occupation zone replacing Nazi officials.
[edit] Post-War
After the defeat of Nazi Germany, NKFD members mostly returned to the Soviet occupation zone in Germany and had a key role in building the German Democratic Republic. Some BDO members had a key role in building the National People's Army, while others (like Seydlitz), were imprisoned as POW again.
[edit] Notable members
- Anton Ackermann
- Wilhelm Adam
- Karl Barth
- Johannes R. Becher
- Willi Bredel
- Heinrich Graf von Einsiedel
- Peter Gingold
- Alfred Kurella
- Wolfgang Leonhard
- Vincenz Müller
- Friedrich Paulus
- Wilhelm Pieck
- Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach
- Walter Ulbricht
- Erich Weinert
- Otto Winzer
- Friedrich Wolf
- Markus Wolf
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Political Affairs By Earl Browder, Trade Union Unity League (U.S.), Herbert Aptheker , Communist Party of the United States of America, Gus Hall Published 1927 New Century Publishers Communism Original from the University of California Digitized Feb 7, 2007
- ^ The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, By Norman M. Naimark Published 1995 Harvard University Press Communism and culture/ Germany (East) 586 pages ISBN:0674784057
[edit] Furher reading
- Lev Kopelev, To Be Preserved Forever ("Хранить вечно"), 1976
