Walter Ulbricht

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Walter Ulbricht

Walter Ulbricht , 1893-1973, Communist leader in the German Democratic Republic. A founder of the German Communist party, he fled Germany in 1933 and went to Moscow, where he was a member of the politburo of the exiled German Communist party. Ulbricht entered Germany with the Russian troops in 1945. In 1949 he became deputy premier of the German Democratic Republic and in 1950 was named secretary-general of the Socialist Unity party, successor to the Communist party. Leader of East Germany from that time, he became chairman of the council of state in 1960. A hard-line Communist who was opposed to normalizing relations with West Germany, Ulbricht was responsible for the building (1961) of the Berlin Wall. He strongly supported close ties with the USSR and sent troops to join the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968. In 1971 he was replaced as secretary-general by Erich Honecker.

Bibliography: See biography by C. Stern (tr. 1965).

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Ulbricht, Walter

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Â© World Encyclopedia 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Ulbricht, Walter (1893–1973) East German statesman, leader of East Germany (1950–71). A founder of the German Communist Party, Ulbricht was forced into exile by the rise of fascism, and he spent World War 2 in the Soviet Union. In 1949, he became deputy premier of the newly created German Democratic Republic (East Germany). In 1950, he became general secretary of the Communist Party. Ulbricht established close links with the Soviet Union. The repressive nature of his regime led to a rebellion in 1953; the Berlin Wall was built (1961) to prevent further defections to the West. In 1971, he was replaced as general secretary by Erich Honecker.

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