Political Anti-Fascism in the German Democratic Republic

Political Anti-Fascism in the German Democratic Republic Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. !, "umber !, #on$on, April, %&&', pp !('%' by Jan Herman Brinks Festschrift for Prof. Paul Valkenburgh in honour of his retirement In 1961 the East German writer Hedda Zinner wrote her stage-play (the "ballad of Ra ensbr!"#$%(1%& 'his anti-fas"ist play was an homage to the appro(imately 1)*&+++ female prisoners who were interned in this "on"entration "amp and the more than ,+ o-ter "amps d-ring the se"ond world war&(*% Hedda Zinners$ play is ery a-thenti" and tells abo-t the res"-e of the prisoner. /era& 'he remar#able feat-re of this play is. that the sit-ation in the "on"entration "amp Ra ensbr!"# is des"ribed in a ery differentiated way& 0ne of the -n"ommon traits is that it tells abo-t the tensions between the so "alled ""riminal" and "politi"al" prisoners& 'he play was praised in East Germany not only by the media. b-t also by the general p-bli"& 1aybe the painf-l re"ognition of many s-r i ors was a reason for this appre"iation& In "onne"tion with the fo-rtieth anni ersary of the "apit-lation of the 'hird Rei"h in 1923. a ersion of was "reated for East German tele ision& 4-ddenly howe er. orders from politi"al s-periors were iss-ed to stop the prod-"tion& /hat had happened sin"e the first performan"e in 1961. that "o-ld 5-stify s-"h a s-ppression6 It be"ame e ident that 0tto 7-n#e. "hairman of the East German "8ommittee of anti-fas"ist resistan"e fighters". had -sed his infl-en"e to stop the '9-arrangement& 7-n#e arg-ed now. that the role of the "nonpoliti"al" and "antiso"ial" prisoners was emphasi:ed too m-"h& ;""ording to 7-n#e the play also displayed too prominently the fa"t that a politi"al prisoner "ollapsed -nder the press-re from the 44 and "ommitted treason. while an "anti-so"ial" prisoner beha ed heroi"ally& 7inally. there was tal# of a iew of the 44 that was. so 7-n#e. too differentiated& Hedda Zinner arg-ed in ain that she had resear"hed ery thoro-ghly. and that heroworship is the worst enemy of the heroi"& Zinner$s protest howe er appeared to be of no -se. the s-ppression of the play was -pheld& 'his "ensorship in 1923 of a an anti-fas"ist stage play that had been praised in 1961. refle"ts the East German e ol-tion from a legitimate to a legitimating anti-fas"ism& 'he idea of anti-fas"ism was sa"rified little by little on the altar of ideology& In East Germany the politi"al i"tims of <ational 4o"ialism= i&e& the party "omm-nists. had finally be"ome -nreproa"hable heros. who had the assignment of legitimating the "omm-nist party. the 4o:ialistis"he Einheitspartei >e-ts"hlands (4E>% and the G>R& 'he non party "omm-nist i"tims of the 'hird Rei"h. howe er. had to remain in the ba"#gro-nd& 0n the part of the go ernment. the G>R did not ma#e any attempt to deny this poli"y& 0n the "ontrary. on ;-g-st *?. 192) for e(ample. the 4E> p-t forward in a resol-tion with regard to a reorgani:ation of the 1ahn -nd

Geden#st@tten (i&e& the memorial pla"es% A-"henwald and Ra ensbr!"#. the following instr-"tionB "7ormer German women of Ra ensbr!"# are honored for the "o-operation d-ring the anti-fas"ist demo"rati" re ol-tion. and the b-ilding of so"ialism in the G>R. and also for their fight for the preser ation and safeg-arding of the pea"e& 'he anti-fas"ist basis of the G>R as a so"ialist state of the wor#ing men and farmers is emphasi:ed&"()% 'hat the East German a-thorities saw former "on"entration "amps abo e all in relation to their own politi"al do"trine and not for "non-politi"al" i"tims also be"ame e ident in 4eptember 192?& 'wenty lesbians were on their way to isit the former "on"entration "amp Ra ensbr!"#& Howe er. they were he"#led by members of the East German se"ret ser i"e and. on their way from the railway station to the former "amp. they were arrested and p-t in tr-"#s on the a""-sation of $-nlawf-l assembly$(?%& 'he lawf-l interpretation of and asso"iation with antifas"ism in East Germany had be"ome an e("l-si e party affair& Howe er. shortly after the end of the 4e"ond /orld /ar. anti-fas"ism had a positi e meaning& It emphasi:ed the str-ggle of people. in"l-ding many German "omm-nist party members. against <ational 4o"ialism& Indeed. the German party-"omm-nists did ma#e h-ge sa"rifi"es in their fight against the <a:i-regime& In the eastern part of Germany. that was o""-pied by the Red ;rmy. anti-fas"ism was e en loo#ed -pon as one of the ma5or roots of the East German raison d$etat&(3% Immediately after 19?3 anti-fas"ism was not yet a loaded word& E en in the 7ederal Rep-bli" of Germany (7RG%. the "on"eption of anti-fas"ism was -sed by parliamentary parties&(6% ;t this time the idea of anti-fas"ism was ery m-"h ali eB not only with party-"omm-nists. b-t also in h-manist and liberal "ir"les. espe"ially in the gro-ps of German intelle"t-als that ret-rned to Germany and wanted to b-ild a better Germany in an effort to o er"ome the e ils of the past& Howe er. this positi e "onnotation of anti-fas"ism was politi"ally manip-lated by the 4E>. espe"ially after 19?2-19?9& A-t already in 1ay 19?3. at the beginning of the "anti-fas"ist-demo"rati" re ol-tion" (19?3?9C3+%. the f-t-re leader of the East German party-state. /alter Dlbri"ht. told /olfgang Eeonhard. one of his "ollaboratorsB "It is F-ite ob io-s& It has to loo# demo"rati". b-t we m-st ha e e erything firmly in o-r hands"(,%& 'his was the beginning of the end of legitimate anti-fas"ism= legitimating anti-fas"ism had beg-n& In the East German reasoning this meant for e(ampleB history tea"hes that the G>R is a praiseworthy and ne"essary res-lt of the war against <ational 4o"ialism& ;ltho-gh hardly one per"ent of the East German pop-lation "onsisted of eteran anti-fas"ist resistan"e fighters. this gro-p formed the leading ideologi"al elite& It was the same gro-p that pro"laimed itself 4ieger der Ges"hi"hte ( i"tors of history%& 'he memory of the resistan"e against <ational 4o"ialism in the G>R F-i"#ly stiffened to a rit-al. and this "-lt be"ame also a "omp-lsory part of ed-"ation& 'he anti-fas"ist ed-"ation was bro-ght into pra"ti"e in a sometimes rather rigoro-s way& In s"hool. for e(ample. yo-ng "hildren were more-or-less "stim-lated" to isit former "on"entration "amps& A-t also the "omp-lsory

meetings with anti-fas"ist eterans. and the massi e pro"essions of the G-nge Hioniere. also in former "on"entration "amps. were part of the anti-fas"ist "eremony& ;lso in 5- enile literat-re the heritage of anti-fas"ism was present& ;n e(ample of this was the boo# of >ieter <oll >ie ;bente-er des /erner Holt& (2% 'his boo# is a treatise abo-t the ad ent-res of a boy who stays in the Hitler G-gend and be"omes a soldier d-ring the last two years of the war& 'his wor# had to "ontrib-te to the "proletarian" and "anti-fas"ist" ed-"ation= the story had a politi"ally "orre"t moral& <ot s-rprisingly. some p-pils did rebel against this #ind of "omp-lsory literat-re and may ha e sympathi:ed. in protest against the pra"ti"e of "Real-E(isting 4o"ialism" in the G>R. with the s-pposed heroi" side of the 'hird Rei"h& 4ome p-pils may ha e been simply "-rio-s to #now how ;dolf Hitler loo#ed& ;s. photos of Hitler were -ndesirable in East German history-tea"hing& 0f "o-rse. in many "ases this ed-"ation had the desired res-lts= not in the ideologi"al. b-t in the ethi"al senseB yo-ngsters -nderstood that the 'hird Rei"h had been an e il power& Howe er. some effe"ts of this anti-fas"ist agitation and propaganda were probably also partly "o-nterprod-"ti e& It was self-e ident in a way. that one "o-ld oppose the party and the state thro-gh "sabotage" of the anti-fas"ist "-lt& 4o. some yo-ngsters be"ame latent "anti-anti-fas"ists"& 8losely "onne"ted with the "anti-fas"ist battle" was the permanent la-datio of the 4o iet Dnion& Indeed. the 4o iet Dnion had liberated the German people from the "fas"ist" yo#e& A-t this new freedom was settled in East Germany in the shape of a di"tatorship that was present e erywhere& 7or many this #ind of anti-fas"ism be"ame a gift from the "onF-eror& 'he G>R presented itself from the ery beginning as the only and tr-e anti-fas"ist state on German soil& 'he East German state as well as the pop-lation were more or less offi"ially de"lared as "o- i"tors of the 4e"ond /orld /ar& In the East-German sit-ation yo- "o-ld not spea# of an "in"apa"ity to mo-rn". as ;le(ander and 1argarete 1its"herli"h (9% on"e had fi(ed for the /est German sit-ation. b-t rather of an offi"ial prohibition to do so& 4in"ere East German anti-fas"ists. who. for e(ample. "ared abo-t right wing iolen"e of yo-ngsters in the G>R. were sometimes wat"hed by the se"ret ser i"e. the 1inisteri-m f!r 4taatssi"herheit (174%& 'he 4E>-reasoning was ery simple and logi"alB "He who gets e("ited abo-t this. worries also abo-t other things". a "o-wor#er of <e-es 7or-m on"e e(plained to me& 0ffi"ially. fas"ism did not e(ist in East Germany. and the term "<ational 4o"ialism" was not heard ery often& Ds-ally. for e(ample in literat-re. there was tal# of "fas"ism" or of "German fas"ism" rather than referen"e to the term "so"ialism" whi"h might ha e dis"redited state-"so"ialism"& 'he nat-re of <ational 4o"ialism had ne er really been fathomed by the 4E>-a-thorities. be"a-se it had prin"ipally been defined as an e"onomi" phenomenon& It was the party-"omm-nist Georgi >imitroff who had defined <ational 4o"ialism in 19)3 in the following wordsB 7as"ism if it "omes to power. >imitroff arg-ed. was "the open terroristi" di"tatorship of the most rea"tionary. most "ha- inisti". most imperialisti" elements of the monetary "apital"(1+%& 'his p-re materialisti" definition by the 8omintern remained the offi"ial paraphrase of <ational 4o"ialism -ntil 1929&

'he East German party-"omm-nists held the iew that the e"onomi" organi:ation of a so"iety. its s-bstr-"t-re. determines its s-perstr-"t-re. or the immaterial aspe"ts of a so"iety& 'he 4E> started from the prin"iple that <ational 4o"ialism wo-ld disappear by itself when. and if. the e"onomy was organi:ed in a party-"omm-nist way& A-t. by doing so. they by-passed for the greater part the immaterial aspe"ts of the <ational 4o"ialist heritage& <e ertheless. in the beginning the 8omm-nist Harty. the Iomm-nistis"he Hartei >e-ts"hlands (IH>%. was f-lly aware of the immaterial "onseF-en"es of the 'hird Rei"h& 'he elimination of <a:i-ra"ism had e en been a parti"-larly important agenda item for the German party-"omm-nists& ;lready in the s-mmons of the 8entral 8ommittee of the IH> in 19?3 the following reg-lation had been in"orporatedB "G-ridi"al eF-ality for all "iti:ens witho-t e("eption of ra"e. and the most se ere p-nishment for all -tteran"es of ra"e-hatred"&(11% 0n G-ly 1. 19?6. the 4ow5etis"he Aesat:-ngs:one (4AZ%. (the 4o iet 0""-pation Zone% iss-ed a pro"lamation for the tea"hing of history& In this pro"lamation it was de"ided to tea"h p-pils "the "a-ses for the most re"ent "atastrophe that are rooted deeply in o-r history"& 'he first "ommandment for the tea"hing of history was to "safeg-ard" the s-b5e"t against "e ery deformation. falsifi"ation. and abo e all mystifi"ation of the <ational 4o"ialist historiography and ra"e-ideology"(1*%& 'his reasoning followed nat-rally from a stip-lation of the Hotsdam 'reaty& 7or. in the treaty. the ;llies had settled that the <4>;H and its bran"hes sho-ld be destroyed& 7-rther. there sho-ld "ome g-arantees "in order that it "o-ld not be res-rre"ted in any shape or in any manner= one sho-ld g-ard against e ery <a:i and militaristi" a"tion and propaganda"&(1)% In the 4AZ and later on in the G>R war "riminals were treated firmly in the first years after the 4e"ond /orld /ar& In this poli"y the 4ow5etis"he 1ilit@radministration in >e-ts"hland (41;>%. the 4o iet 1ilitary ;dministration in Germany. adhered "losely to the "onditions of the 'reaty of Hotsdam& In so doing. they drew -pon the pro"lamation thatB "/ar "riminals and those who too# part in the planning or the reali:ation of <a:i meas-res that res-lted in atro"ities or war "rimes. m-st be arrested and bro-ght before a "o-rt of 5-sti"e& <a:i leaders. infl-ential <a:i followers and the leading e(e"-ti es of <a:i organs and organi:ations. who are dangero-s to the o""-pation and its aims. sho-ld be arrested and interned& ;ll members of the <a:i party. who too# part more than nominally in its operations. and all other persons who are hostile to allied aims. m-st be remo ed o-t of p-bli" and semi-p-bli" offi"es and o-t of responsible positions in important pri ate enterprises"(1?%& In the anti-fas"ist demo"rati" re ol-tion and thereafter. on the territory of the G>R -ntil 1963. 1*&2+, persons were senten"ed as the res-lt of <a:i- and war "rimes& 112 persons were senten"ed to death= *)1 were senten"ed to imprisonment for life in prison and )&1,1 persons were senten"ed to imprisonment for more than ten years&(13% Dntil the offi"ial end of dena:ifi"ation on 1ar"h 1+. 19?2. 3*+&,)? former members of the <4>;H were remo ed from their professions&(16% 'hese fig-res are impressi e. indeed& Howe er. there was no tal# of an offi"ial

5oint responsibility of the se"ond German state for what happened d-ring the 'hird Rei"h& 'he responsible persons were - a""ording to the form-la "0-r Goethe. yo-r 1engele" - e("l-si ely to be fo-nd in the 7RG& Indeed. it was not so diffi"-lt to point o-t personal "ontin-ities between <a:i-Germany and the 7RG& 'he G>R "onfronted ;dena-er permanently with this& A-t on 1ay 1*. 196+. the /est German "han"ellor str-"# ba"# in a way painf-l to the G>R& 'he ;dena-er administration iss-ed a b-lletin entitled "'he man witho-t "ons"ien"e"& Dlbri"ht as an -nF-alified 5-dge - 0nly a red di"tatorship in the pla"e of the brown& ; remar#able past"(1,%& In this b-lletin the ;dena-er administration made "lear that many former <a:i$s had made "areers in the G>R& 'his was espe"ially tr-e in o""-pations where there was a labo-r shortage. b-t also. it pointed o-t that se eral former <ational 4o"ialist s"holars and artists had fo-nd safety in flight to East Germany& Howe er. it was espe"ially remar#able that some "omm-nist party-members. in"l-ding e(e"-ti es of the senior staff. had a F-estionable <ational 4o"ialist past& 'he b-lletin mentioned among others 36 former <4>;H-members who were in session of the East German 9ol#s#ammer. the parliament. that was ele"ted on <o ember 16. 1932& 'he so "alled "resear"h "ommission of free lawyers" en-merated in a p-bli"ation the names of **+ former <ational 4o"ialists who filled a politi"al or p-bli" pla"e in the G>R& ;mong them were persons who had be"ome members of the <4>;H in the years before Hitler "ame to power in 19))& 'his still in"omplete list in"l-ded the names of 13 re"tors. * prore"tors and *6 professors of -ni ersities and high-s"hools& A-t also in the diplomati" ser i"e and in the press former <ational 4o"ialists were represented& ;""ording to the ;dena-er-b-lletin there was the "ase of ;rno on Eens#i. a rather embarrassing matter& In the G>R he was a general and dep-ty of the 9ol#s#ammer& In the 'hird Rei"h he had been an assessor of the 9ol#sgeri"htshof. the highest legal a-thority of <ational 4o"ialism& 4e eral times he had appended his signat-re to death-senten"es& Eens#i. who had also been general -nder Hitler. was "apt-red by the 4o iets d-ring the war& In "apti ity he be"ame a member of the <ational#omitee JJ7reies >e-ts"hlandKK. the "<ational 8ommittee 7ree Germany". that was a politi"al tool of the Red ;rmy& Dlbri"ht "onferred se eral high orders -pon 9on Eens#i. in"l-ding the "1edal for fighters against fas"ism 19))C?3"& ;nother "ase was that of Ernst Grossmann who was de"orated in the G>R as "Hero of wor#"& Dntil 1939. a""ording to the ;dena-er-b-lletin. Grossmann was member of the "entral "ommittee of the 4E>& In the 'hird Rei"h he was a 44 Dnters"harf!hrer and g-ard in the "on"entration "amp 4a"hsenha-sen& A-t there were also other important p-bli"ations that showed that there were personal "ontin-ities between the G>R and the 'hird Rei"h& 0n 4eptember 6. 1962 4imon /iesenthal. for e(ample. p-blished a report entitled "'he same lang-ageB 7irst for Hitler - now for Dlbri"ht"& (12% /iesenthal p-blished his findings in "onne"tion with the o-tbrea# of the ;rab-Israel war of 196,& 'he offi"ial stand of the Eastern blo" d-ring this 4i( >ays /ar was a prono-n"ed pro-;rab and anti-Israel poli"y& Howe er. it str-"# /iesenthal that the news ser i"e of the G>R was parti"-larly partial and anti-Israeli& /iesenthal noti"ed

that the -se of words in the press and propaganda of the G>R de iated from the "ommentary of other so"ialist "o-ntries& 4ome -tteran"es "orresponded e en literally with remar#s in former <ational 4o"ialist newspapers and 5o-rnals& 9ery soon it be"ame e ident that the anti-Israel arti"les in the East German press had reg-larly been written by the same persons who. d-ring the 'hird Rei"h. had p-blished abo-t the "Gewish peril"& 0n G-ly 1?. 196,. for e(ample. a "artoon appeared in the Aerliner Zeit-ng. depi"ting a flying 1oshe >ayan. with his hands stret"hed o-t toward Ga:a and Ger-salem& <e(t to him stood ;dolf Hitler who was in an ad an"ed state of de"omposition& He en"o-raged >ayan with the wordsB "8arry on. "olleag-e >ayanL" ;""ording to /iesenthal it appeared. that there were e en gro-ps of <a:is in the editorial staff of newspapers li#e <e-es >e-ts"hland and >e-ts"he ;-ssenpoliti#& /iesenthals$ list gi es se eral e(amplesB >r& Ri"hard ;rnold was in 1962 general editor of >er nationale >emo#rat. the newspaper of the <ational>emo#ratis"he Hartei >e-ts"hlands. the <ational >emo"rati" Harty of Germany& In the G>R he was a well-to-do man. who re"ei ed a high and prestigio-s de"oration. the 9aterl@ndis"her 9erdienstorden. the "0rder of 1erit for the 7atherland"& ;rnold be"ame member of the <4>;H on ;pril 1. 19))& 7rom 19)9 to 19?3 he wor#ed for the Rei"hsministeri-m f!r /issens"haft. Er:ieh-ng -nd 9ol#sbild-ng (1inistry for 4"ien"e and (H-bli"% Ed-"ation% in Aerlin& ;""ording to himself. as he stated in a "-rri"-l-m itae for the <4>;H. he was "responsible for the total Ent5-d-ng (the e(p-lsion of Gews% o-t of the German "-lt-ral life& 'his Ent5-d-ng". so ;rnold. "has to be e(e"-ted not only in regard to the personnel - i&e& the e(p-lsion of all Gews and ser ants of the Gews from the s"ien"es and p-bli" ed-"ation& Rather it is a matter of e(termination of e ery tra"e of G-dengeist (Gewish spirit% o-t of the German "-lt-re"& I-rt Herwart Aall as well was a 5o-rnalist of the East German <>H>-press& In 1962 he also was "o-operator of the b-rea- of propaganda of the G>R& Aall be"ame a member of the <4>;H in 1ay 1. 19)). and had been general editor of the 44-5o-rnal Hammer (Hammer% for a long time& His boo#s were praised in 19)6 as "fighting pamphlets of the northern spirit"& Gohannes 8aspar was editor of the G>R-newspaper 1ittelde-ts"he <e-este <a"hri"hten. the "Eatest <ews of 1iddle Germany"& ;s an editor of the /aldheimer 'agblatt 8aspar had defended the ra"ial laws of <-remberg as a "ne"essary s-rgi"al mode of treatment"& >r& Iarlhein: Gerstner wor#ed in 1962 as head of the se"tion reporting& In 196) he re"ei ed the 9erdienstmedaille der >>R. the "0rder of 1erit of the G>R"& Gerstner. also. be"ame a member of the <4>;H on 1ay 1. 19))& >-ring the war he wrote. among other things. a bro"h-re entitled 9erniggertes 7ran#rei"h& ;nother p-bli"ation "on"erning personal "ontin-ities between <a:i-Germany and the G>R that deser es attention is the boo# Ara-nb-"h >>R. p-blished in 1921 by 0laf Iappelt& 'his boo# "ontains a list of 9++ former <ational 4o"ialists who had "areers in the G>R&(19% 'he integration of some former "hief e(e"-ti es with a <4>;H-past d-ring the fifties was probably fa"ilitated by the anti-Zionism that was inserted into the offi"ial East German party-do"trine at the beginning of the 193+s& ;""ording to

the East German translation of the "omplete wor#s of 4talin. 4talin /er#e. p-blished in East Aerlin in 193+. Zionism was a "rea"tionary nationalisti" mo ement that had its followers among the Gewish bo-rgeoisie. the intelle"t-al elite and the ba"#ward strata of the Gewish masses of wor#ers& 'he Zionists stro e for the isolation of the Gewish masses of wor#ers from the "olle"ti e str-ggle of the proletariat"&(*+% A-t there was also another. more international immediate "a-se for the antiZionist "o-rse of the East German go ernment in the beginning of the fifties& 'hat was the a""-sations against the leading 8:e"h-4lo a# party-f-n"tionary 4lans#y& 4lans#y and his so "alled "gro-p" were a""-sed in 193* of a "Zionist "onspira"y"& 0n >e"ember *+. 193*. the 8entral 8ommittee of the 4E> pro"laimed the "lessons from the trial against the gro-p of plotters aro-nd 4lans#y"& In this pro"lamation. the 8entral 8ommittee of the 4E> iss-ed the following statementB "4ailing -nder the Gewish-nationalisti" flag. and disg-ised as a Zionist organi:ation and as diplomats of the ;meri"an assal-go ernment of Israel. these ;meri"an agents pra"ti"ed their trade& 7rom the 1orgentha-;"heson-plan that was re ealed d-ring the trial in Hrag-e it appears -nmista#ably that ;meri"an imperialism organi:es and s-pports its espionage and sabotage a"ti ities in the Heople$s rep-bli"s ia the state of Israel with the assistan"e of Zionist organi:ations&"(*1% 'here was. ne(t to anti-Zionism. another reason whi"h may ha e fa"ilitated the integration of some former <4>;H-members in the East German so"iety& In fa"t. 8omm-nist party members and <ational 4o"ialists on"e had been allies& 'he ;dena-er-b-lletin refers not -n5-stly to this monstro-s allian"e& Dlbri"ht. the man to whom ;dena-er had dedi"ated his b-lletin. was typified already early by many "omm-nists. in"l-ding the pre-war leader of the IH>. Ernst 'h@lmann. as an "i"y "old apparat"hi#" and a "man witho-t "ons"ien"e"& 'he b-lletin of the /est German go ernment blamed Dlbri"ht among other things for his "la"# of "hara"ter"& Dlbri"ht had emphati"ally defended the pa"t between Hitler and 4talin of ;-g-st *). 19)9. -ntil the o-tbrea# of the war between Germany and the 4o iet Dnion& 'his allian"e had led to desperation. and sometimes e en s-i"ide. among "omm-nists& It was p-re treason of the idea of anti-fas"ism& In the 8omintern newspaper >ie /elt of 7ebr-ary 9. 19?+. that appeared in 4to"#holm. Dlbri"ht wrote in referen"e to this German4o iet allian"eB "1any wor#ers who desire so"ialism. wel"ome the pa"t parti"-larly. be"a-se it reinfor"es the friendship with the great "o-ntry of so"ialism&" 'he real enemy. on the other hand. was. for Dlbri"ht. Great Aritain& In the same arti"le he arg-edB "Aoth. the German people and those peoples who are admitted to the German m-ltinational state (the o""-pied territoriesL= GHA%. m-st ma#e the (following. GHA% "hoi"eB not together with English high finan"e in fa or of the e(tension of the war and a new 9ersailles. b-t together with the 4o iet Dnion for pea"e. for the national independen"e and the friendship of all peoples& 'he wor#ing-"lass. the farmers and the wor#ing intelle"t-als of Germany. ;-stria. 8:e"hoslo a#ia and Holand will be the strongest g-arantee for the 4o iet-German allian"e and the defeat of the English plan&" 'he str-ggle against <ational 4o"ialism had to be stopped& 'he enemy was. as Dlbri"ht told emigrM IH>-organi:ations. "rapa"io-s Aritish

imperialism"&(**% 7rom his e(ile in 1os"ow. Dlbri"ht "ollaborated in the liF-idation of rebellio-s "omm-nists on the home front& He did this by planting "ertain "ir"-lar letters into the hands of Himmler$s Gestapo& In 1os"ow. Dlbri"ht managed to dis"redit German "omm-nists who had fled to the 4o iet Dnion= some of whom were e(tradited to Germany& 'his was the fate whi"h met. among others. 1argarete A-ber-<e-mann. who was one of the s-r i ors of the "on"entration "amp Ra ensbr!"#& ;fter the war she reported abo-t German "omm-nists. who were #illed as the res-lt of Dlbri"ht$s a"tions& ;lso the former editor of the Rote 7ahne and member of the 8entral 8ommittee. H-go Eberlein. affirmed. that Dlbri"ht had with the help of the 4o iet se"ret military poli"e. the GHD. parted with "all party-friends who had "alled the pa"t between 4talin and Hitler a $shamef-l betrayal of the international proletariat$(*)% "& 1aybe the memory of the allian"e between party-"omm-nists and <ational 4o"ialists was one of the reasons why former <ational 4o"ialists sometimes "o-ld integrate with "omparati e ease into East German so"iety& In any "ases. it relati i:ed the idea of anti-fas"ism in a ery strong way& Howe er. the anti-Zionism of the fifties or the memory of the pa"t between Hitler and 4talin were not the main reasons. why former <ational 4o"ialists sometimes "o-ld integrate easily in the G>R& 'he main reason for this was that the 4o iet R-ssian and the East German a-thorities - espe"ially /alter Dlbri"ht. who played an important role in the ";nti-7as"ist->emo"rati" Re ol-tion" - -nderstood already at an early date. that they needed a safety net for some former <ational 4o"ialist trained e(e"-ti es& 'o a oid losing al-able people for the prod-"ti e ma"hinery the 4o iet R-ssian a-thorities iss-ed pro"lamation <r& *+1 on ;-g-st 16. 19?,& In this pro"lamation it was asserted that one had to differentiate between "<a:i-a"ti ists" and "former nominal members" of the <4>;H& 0n 1ar"h 1+. 19?2. dena:ifi"ation was offi"ially ended in East Germany and e(-<ational 4o"ialists got a politi"al party of their ownB 0n G-ne 16. 19?2. the <ational >emo#ratis"he Hartei >e-ts"hlands (<>H>% was established& 'he East German ">i"tionary of History" arg-es. that in this party "members of the wor#ing "lass of the pop-lation" were organi:ed& 'he <>H>. a""ording to the di"tionary. "ame into being "in the ;nti-7as"ist->emo"rati" Re ol-tion as a demo"rati"al lowermiddle-"lass party" and "de eloped to a p-bli" for"e of the so"ialist re ol-tion in the G>R"& 'he <>H>-members "learned the lessons of the past. and bro#e with fas"ism and imperialism"&(*?% Dnfort-nately howe er. these "lessons of the past" sometimes too# e("eptional shapes& In their party program of G-ne 1931 they arg-ed for e(ampleB ";meri"a iolated the 'reaty of Hotsdam and pl-nged -s Germans with mali"e prepense in the biggest national distress of o-r history (&&&% A-t the ;meri"an war may and shall not ta#e pla"eL Germany m-st li eL 'hat$s why we <ational >emo"rats demandB the ;meri"ans to ;meri"a& Germany for the GermansL 'he 7ederal Rep-bli" of Germany is a "hild of national treason&&& 'hat$s why we <ational >emo"rats demandB German -nity o er the head of the go ernment of national treason in Aonn. as a basis for pea"e. independen"e and prosperity for o-r entire German fatherland"&(*3% 'hese were remar#able words for new "anti-fas"ists" who had "learned the

lessons of the past"& 0b io-sly it was not tr-e that the G>R was the best e(ample of an "antifas"ist" state& In reality the idea of anti-fas"ism in East Germany was F-i"#ly hollowed o-t& In politi"al pra"ti"e "anti-fas"ism" was a slogan pressed into the ser i"e of the party and the state& ;nti-fas"ism was a fo-ndation myth(*6%. that asserted an identity. b-t. a"t-ally. it was simply watered down to be"ome an instr-ment of "lass-str-ggle& 'he "lima( of this legitimating anti-fas"ism was the b-ilding of the "anti-fas"ist prote"tion wall" in 1961 in Aerlin& 'he offi"ial p-rpose was to prote"t the G>R against "fas"ism" in the 7RG& A-t in reality many East Germans were fleeing a totalitarian state that tried to legitimate itself with the do"trine of "anti-fas"ism"&

Notes
1& 4eeB Garmat:. I&. Ra ensbr!"#er Aallade oder 7as"hism-sbew@ltig-ng in der >>R. Aerlin. 199*& *& ;t least *+&+++. b-t probably ?+&+++ male prisoners were also interned in Ra ensbr!"# and the o-ter "amps& 'he n-mber of people who died in this "on"entration "amp is estimated between 3+&+++ and 9*&+++& 7a-lenba"h. A&. a&o&. Empfehl-ngen :-r <e-#on:eption der brandenb-rgis"hen Geden#st@tten. Gan-ary. 199*. page )9& ) & Garmat:. I&. Ra ensbr!"#er Aallade. page 6,& ? & 4iegler. A&. ;-ferstanden a-s R-inen&&& Re"htse(tremism-s in der >>R. Aerlin. 1991. p& 21& 3 & /alter /immer arg-ed for e(ampleB $;nti-fas"ism&&& belongs to the strongest traditions of the G>R& It forms a "onstit-ent element of o-r so"ialist state$& /immer. /&. Ges"hi"htli"he /-r:eln des /erdens -nd /a"hsens -nserer Rep-bli#. Einheit. <r&*. 192?. p& 1+3-11+= here p& 1+9& 6& 'e(te :-r Inneren 4i"herheit& Re"htse(tremism-s in der A-ndesrep-bli# >e-ts"hland& ;#t-eller 4tand. Hresse- -nd Informationsamt der A-ndesregier-ng& >er A-ndesminister des Inneren. Aonn. 1991. page 1*+& , & Eeonhard. /&. >ie Re ol-tion entl@Nt ihre Iinder.7ran#f-rtC1ain. 19,6. p& *9?& 2 & <oll. >&. >ie ;bente-er des /erner Holt& Roman einer G-gend. 9ol# -nd /issen. 9ol#seigener 9erlag. Aerlin (East%. 192)& In 196? a ersion of this boo# was "reated for East German tele ision by Goa"him I-nert& 9& 1its"herli"h. ;&. and 1&. >ie Dnf@hig#eit :- tra-ern. 1!n"hen. 1922& 1+& /Orterb-"h der Ges"hi"hte. ;-I. >iet: 9erlag. Aerlin (East%. 192?. page *9+& 'his definition was p-t into words for the first time d-ring the PIII& Hlenary ;ssembly of the E(e"-ti e in 19)) and later. in 19)3. d-ring the 9II& /orld 8ongress of the 8omintern& 11& 7rom the s-mmons of the 8entral 8ommittee of the IH> of G-ne. 11. 19?3= in Ges"hi"hte& Eehrb-"h f!r Ilasse 1+. Aerlin (East%. 1923. page 33& 1*& Eehrpl@ne f!r die Gr-nd- -nd 0bers"h-len in der 4ow5etis"hen Aesat:-ngs:one >e-ts"hlands. 1& G-li 19?6. Aerlin. p& ) and ?& 1)& ;sshe-er. '&. and 4ar#owi":. H&. Re"htsradi#ale in >e-ts"hland& >ie alte -nd die ne-e Re"hte. 1!n"hen. 199*. page 11&

1?& Ibidem. page 1+9.11+& 13& /ippermann. /&. ";ntifas"hism-s in der >>RB /ir#li"h#eit -nd Ideologie". Aeitr@ge :-m 'hema /iderstand. 16. Informations:entr-m Aerlin& Geden#- -nd Aild-ngsst@tte 4ta-ffenbergstrasse. Aerlin (/%. 192+. page *& 16& 4iegler. A&. ;-ferstanden a-s R-inen. page 1+*& 1,& A-lletin des Hresse- -nd Informationsamtes der A-ndesregier-ng. "1ann ohne Gewissen"& Dlbri"ht als -nbef-gter Ri"hter - >ie rote >i#tat-r lOste n-r die bra-ne ab& Eine bemer#enswerte 9ergangenheit. 1ay 1*. 196+. <r& 29. p& 2,3-2,6& 12& /iesenthal. 4&. ">ie glei"he 4pra"heB Erst f!r Hitler - 5et:t f!r Dlbri"ht"& Hresse#onferen: on 4imon /iesenthal am 6& 4eptember 1962 in /ien& Eine >o#-mentation der >e-ts"hlandAeri"hte& G!dis"hes >o#-mentations:entr-m. 4imon /iesenthal 8entre. /ien& 19& Iappelt. 0&. Ara-nb-"h >>R& <a:is in der >>R. Elisabeth Rei"hmann 9erlag. Aerlin. 1921. ?*? pages. I4A< )-9*)1),-++-1& *+& 4talin. G&. /er#e. 9ol& *. Aerlin. 193+. page )6?& *1& Eehren a-s dem Hro:eN gegen das 9ers"hwOrer:entr-m 4lans#y& Aes"hl-N des Zentral#omitees der 4o:ialistis"hen Einheitspartei >e-ts"hlands& >e"ember. *+. 193*. inB 1atern. Hermann. Qber die >-r"hf!hr-ng des Aes"hl-sses des ZI der 4E> "Eehren a-s dem Hro:eN gegen das 9ers"hwOrer:entr-m 4lans#y". 1)& 'ag-ng des Zentral#omitees der 4o:ialistis"hen Einheitspartei >e-ts"hlands 1ay. 1)-1?. 193). p& ?2-,+= here p& 31& In the same resol-tion the German "omm-nist Ha-l 1er#er was a""-sed of being an agent of Zionism. who a"ted "in the same way as the "riminals in 8:e"hoslo a#ia"& 1er#er. who d-ring his e(ile in 1e(i"o from 19?* to 19?6 too# the fate of the Gews to heart. had reF-ired restit-tion payments from the German state for Gewish Germans& 'he German >emo"rati" Rep-bli". neither a""eded to this demand. nor than#ed him for his efforts& 'he resol-tion statedB "It "an no longer be do-bted that 1er#er is an agent of the D4 finan"ial oligar"hy. whose demand for "ompensation for Gewish properties is only designed to infiltrate D4 finan"ial "apital into Germany& 'hat is the real reason for his Zionism&&&He demands the displa"ement of German national wealth with the wordsB $'he "ompensation for the harm that has been done to Gewish "iti:ens will be gi en both to those who ret-rn and to those who want to stay abroad$& 1er#er illi"itly transformed the ma(im-m profits sF-ee:ed o-t of German and foreign wor#ers by monopoly "apitalists into alleged property of the Gewish people& In reality $;ryani:ation$ of this "apital merely transferred the profits of $Gewish$ monopoly "apitalists to $;ryan$ monopoly "apitalists"& Ibidem. p& 33 and 36& **& R-otation inB ;dena-er-b-lletin& 4ee alsoB Dlbri"ht. /alter. Hilferding !ber den JJ4inn des IriegesKK. >ie /elt. Zeits"hrift f!r Holiti#. /irts"haft -nd ;rbeiterbeweg-ng. 4to"#holm. <r& 6. 7ebr-ary 9. 19?+. p& 1)3-1),= inB /eber. Hermann. >er de-ts"he Iomm-nism-s& >o#-mente. IOln. Aerlin. 196)= hereB /alter Dlbri"ht :-m 4talin-Hitler-Ha#t. p& )6? - )6,= espe"ially p& )66 and )6,& *)& Ibidem& *?& /Orterb-"h der Ges"hi"hte. E-Z. >iet: 9erlag. Aerlin (East%. 192?. page ,*6 and ,*,& *3& ;sshe-er. '&. and 4ar#owi":. H&. Re"htsradi#ale in >e-ts"hland. page 11*& *6& 4ee alsoB Arin#s. G&H&. >ie >>R-Ges"hi"htswissens"haft a-f dem /eg :-r de-ts"hen Einheit& E-ther. 7riedri"h II -nd Aismar"# als Haradigmen politis"hen /andels. 8amp-s. 7ran#f-rtC<ew Sor#. 199*. )?* pages= here espe"ially p& 9* and the following pages&

;lsoB Arin#s. G&H&. >e re"hterflan# an >-itsland (Germanys$ right wing%. Aoom. ;msterdam. 199?&