Herbert Warnke

Herbert Warnke (24 February 1902 – 26 March 1975) was an East German trade unionist and politician who served as both Chairman of the Free German Trade Union Federation and a member of the Politburo of the Socialist Unity Party.

Herbert Warnke
Chairman of the
Free German Trade Union Federation
In office
October 1948 – 26 March 1975
Deputy
  • Alexander Starck
  • Rudolf Kirchner
  • Otto Lehmann
  • Walter Buchheim
  • Rolf Berger
  • Johanna Töpfer
  • Wolfgang Beyreuther
Preceded byHans Jendretzky
Succeeded byHarry Tisch
Member of the Volkskammer
In office
1949–1975
Member of the Reichstag
In office
1932–1933
Personal details
Born24 February 1902
Hamburg, German Empire
Died26 March 1975 (1975-03-27) (aged 73)
East Berlin, East Germany
Political party
OccupationPolitician
AwardsPatriotic Order of Merit (1955)
Order of Karl Marx (1962)
Lenin Peace Prize (1967)
Order of Lenin (1972)

Biography

Warnke was born in Hamburg on 24 February 1902 to a working-class family. He joined the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) in 1923 and became actively involved in trade union activism. In 1932 he was elected to the Reichstag and held his seat until the Nazi seizure of power in 1933. Later that same year he became secretary of Profintern in Saarbrücken and Paris and actively opposed the Nazis during the remainder of the Interwar period. He lived in a number of countries during his exile from Nazi Germany. During World War II he was in Sweden where he worked with a number of organizations for exiled Germans.

After the defeat of the Nazis, Warnke returned to Soviet-occupied Germany and helped found the Free German Trade Union Federation (FDGB). He succeeded Hans Jendretzky as First Chairman of the organization, serving from 1948 until his death in 1975. He was elected to the Volkskammer in 1949 and was also elected to the State Council of East Germany in 1971.[1]

Herbert Warnke was a passionate fan of 1. FC Union Berlin.[2]

References
  1. Zlata Fuss Phillips (2011). "Peter Herbert (recte Herbert Warnke, 1902-1975)". German Children's and Youth Literature in Exile 1933-1950: Biographies and Bibliographies. Walter de Gruyter. p. 103. ISBN 978-3-11-095285-8.
  2. MacDougall, Alan (2014). The People's Game: Football, State and Society in East Germany (1st ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-107-05203-1.


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