Historical records matching Werner Scholem
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About Werner Scholem
Werner Scholem (b. December 29, 1895 in Berlin, d. July 17, 1940, Buchenwald) was a member of the German Reichstag in 1924-1928 and a leading member of the Communist Party of Germany.
Biography
Scholem was the son of a print shop owner. The historian of religion Gershom Scholem was his brother.
In their very youth Werner Scholem and his Brother Gerhard (later Gershom) were members of the Zionist youth-movement "Jung Juda". But shortly before the outbreak of World War I Werner Scholem joined the socialist working youth. During the war both brothers had an intense debate about the conflicts and common grounds of Zionism and socialism.
From the age of 16 he was also involved in journalism. In 1917 he joined the Independent Social Democratic Party (USPD), and was temporarily detained for insulting the Emperor and anti-war activities. From 1919 he earned his living in Halle (Saale), as editor of the Volksblatt.
In 1920 he joined the Communist Party, in which he was a member of the left wing; the following year he became one of the Party's representatives to the Prussian Landtag. That same year, Scholem was entrusted with editing the party newspaper Die Rote Fahne (The Red Flag).
In subsequent years, Scholem worked in the party organisation, mostly for the Berlin branch. In 1924 he became the leader of the national organization, and consequently a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party. From 1924 till 1928 he was a member of the German Reichstag. He led the so-called Fischer-Maslow Group associated with the Comintern chairman Grigory Zinoviev, which formed the new "ultra-left" Communist Party leadership after the "right" wing of the party was removed in 1923 by the leaders of the time.
In August 1925, the new party leadership was sidelined, Scholem was expelled from the party in November 1926 after having cosponsored the Declaration of the 700 against the oppression of the United Left Opposition in Soviet Union. He subsequently joined the group of Left Communists in the Reichstag and founded with others a "Lenin Bund" in April 1928. This association grew to become one of the leading splinter Communist organizations in Germany. However, Scholem left the Lenin Bund within the year, and remained unaffilliated while still sympathizing with Trotskyist positions and the Left Opposition (LO). He wrote frequently articles for their newspaper Permanente Revolution.
As a Jew and a Communist, Sholem was immediately arrested after the seizure of power by the Nazis in 1933, held in "preventative custody" until he was deported to Buchenwald in 1938. He was part of a group of former Reichstag members held at Buchenwald, whose prominent status afforded them some degree of protection. However, in 1940, the SS singled out Scholem and another Jewish ex-Reichstag member, Ernst Heilmann, for execution; Heilmann was killed by injection, and Scholem was shot by Hauptscharführer Blank.
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Werner Scholem's Timeline
| 1895 |
December 24, 1895
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Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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| 1940 |
July 17, 1940
Age 44
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Buchenwald concentration camp, Germany
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