Otto Fischer (communist)

Otto Fischer (born February 26, 1906 in Friedrichsfeld (Baden) , † February 11, 1974 in Berlin ) was a German communist and employee of the Communist International . As secretary of the Ulbricht group , he was involved in the establishment of the communist dictatorship in the Soviet-occupied zone of Germany , the later German Democratic Republic (GDR).

Life

As a teenager, Fischer became a member of communist organizations. In 1920 he joined the Free Socialist Youth (FSJ) and in 1924 the Communist Youth Association of Germany (KJVD). In 1926 he became a member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). From 1929 to 1931 he was a member of the KPD district leadership in Baden-Palatinate. Even before the National Socialists came to power in Germany, Fischer moved to Moscow on behalf of the party in 1931 .

He became a member of the Executive Committee of the Communist International (EKKI). In 1936 he received Soviet citizenship and became a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). After the evacuation of the Communist International in October 1941, he worked in the “Bolshevik” collective farm in Kamischla (near Ufa ) and then worked for the Artel accumulator in Ufa. In 1942 he worked in the coal mine in Stalinogorsk and in 1943 again with the EKKI in Ufa. From October 1943 to April 1945 he worked at institute number 99 and head of the typewriter office of the anti-fascist National Committee Free Germany (NKFD).

On April 30, 1945, Fischer returned to Germany with Walter Ulbricht, who would later be in power in the GDR, and others. As technical secretary of the Ulbricht group, he was involved in the communists' seizure of power in the Soviet-occupied zone of Germany. In the first days of May 1945 he had been given the task of helping to ensure that the anti-fascists had functional transmission systems quickly after the liberation. From May 1945 Fischer was the main clerk in the management department of the Berlin Broadcasting Corporation and from 1952 in the management department of the State Broadcasting Committee .

Fischer died shortly before the age of 68. His estate is in the Federal Archives .

Awards

1958 medal for fighters against fascism 1933 to 1945
1966 Patriotic Order of Merit in silver

literature

Peter Erler : Otto Fischer . In: Who was who in the GDR? 5th edition. Volume 2. Ch. Links, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86153-561-4 .

Individual evidence

^ Jeannette Michelmann: Activists from the very beginning: the Antifa in the Soviet occupation zone , Böhlau Verlag Köln Weimar, 2002.
^ From the congratulations of the Central Committee of the SED on his 65th birthday . In: Neues Deutschland , February 26, 1971, p. 2.
^ Obituary notice from the State Broadcasting Committee . In: Neues Deutschland , February 21, 1974, p. 5.
^ Otto Fischer estate at www.nachlassdatenbank.de (accessed on January 19, 2018).

personal data
SURNAME	Fischer, Otto
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German communist and employee of the Communist International
DATE OF BIRTH	February 26, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH	Friedrichsfeld (Baden)
DATE OF DEATH	February 11, 1974
Place of death	Berlin

[1] Jeannette Michelmann: Activists from the very beginning: the Antifa in the Soviet occupation zone , Böhlau Verlag Köln Weimar, 2002.

[2] From the congratulations of the Central Committee of the SED on his 65th birthday . In: Neues Deutschland , February 26, 1971, p. 2.

[3] Obituary notice from the State Broadcasting Committee . In: Neues Deutschland , February 21, 1974, p. 5.

[4] Otto Fischer estate at www.nachlassdatenbank.de (accessed on January 19, 2018).