The Man Behind the Wall
Walter Ulbricht arrived in Berlin shortly after the collapse of the Third Reich along with other German communists living in exile in the Soviet Union with the intention of rebuilding the German Communist Party along strict Stalinist lines. He played a pivotal role in the creation of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was head of state, and ordered the construction of the Berlin Wall.
Ulbricht was born in Leipzig in 1893 and became an active communist in the years after the First World War. He had a knack for eliminating rivals and acquiring power for himself. After the Nazis came to power, Ulbricht emigrated to France and later to the Soviet Union with the intent of keeping the Kommunist Partei Deutschland (KPD) alive. After the German capitulation, Ulbricht and a group of fellow exiles arrived in Berlin on the heels of the Red Army. They moved quickly to consolidate power by uniting the Social Democrats and Communists into a single party and imposing Stalin’s will on the Soviet Occupation Zone. In October of 1949 the GDR became a nation with Ulbricht in the role of Deputy Chairman of the Ministerial Council. By 1957 he was the de facto ruler of the GDR. Ulbricht played a significant role in the economic development of the new nation. The focus was on heavy industry and despite the poorly conceived plan there were some small gains. However, it wasn’t enough to stem the tide of emigration.
By the early 1960s, millions of East Germans had emigrated to the West. In 1961, Ulbricht made his most notorious decision when he ordered the construction of the Berlin Wall. The Wall would become the most recognizable symbol of the Cold War and its demise would mean the end of communism in Eastern Europe.
Ulbricht remained in power until 1971 when he fell out of favor with the Soviets and his fellow German Communists over some of his more liberal economic policies. He was replaced by Erich Honecker and would die two years later. His legacy is that of an ardent Stalinist and brutal dictator, but also an excellent politician who stabilized the GDR.
Lisa Eimer
Hillary Kraus
Joe Milner
Source
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Ulbricht