Wilhelm Pick, whose brief biography is set out in this article, is the founder of the German Communist Party. He is the head of the German Bolsheviks, a prominent figure in the Comintern, a member of the Reichstag, the first and only president of the German Democratic Republic.
Childhood
Wilhelm Pick, whose biography is very fascinating, was born on January 3, 1876 in Guben. His house was in the eastern part of the city. Wilhelm's father was a personal coachman. After receiving his education, the young man went on a journey. That was the way it was done in the old days. Wilhelm was brought up strictly, in Catholic traditions.
Education
First, Wilhelm graduated from an ordinary folk high school. Then his father sent his son to study as a carpenter. Opposite the school was a prison, and Wilhelm often saw the prisoners. Mostly they were thieves, murderers and troublemakers. The teachers kept telling Wilhelm to stay away from them. Finally, the vocational training was over and, becoming an apprentice carpenter, he went to look for a job.
Joining a union
He's on his waymet a young man, an apprentice potter. And Wilhelm Pick, not even having time to become a worker, joined the woodworkers' union. Money was paid there, but not enough, 2 pfenning per kilometer. His task was to agitate the people he met to join the trade union. Wilhelm felt so in his element that he even joined first a singing circle, and then, in 1895, the SPD (German Social Democratic Party).
From 1896 he got a job as a carpenter in Bremen. And since 1899, he led the district party organization in the same city. In 1905 he chaired the SPD and was elected to the city parliament. In 1906, V. Peak was promoted to the post of secretary of the party organization. From 1907 to 1908, V. Pik studied at the party school. At that time, R. Luxemburg strongly influenced his views. In 1910, he became head of education at the SPD secretariat.
During World War I
During the First World War, Wilhelm was a fierce opponent of the division of the world into classes and actively participated in the left social democratic movement. He managed to agitate two thousand women for anti-government riots. For this, Peak ended up in the Moabit prison, from which they wanted to send him to the front. But he avoided this by taking a job as a telephone operator.
In 1917 Pik Wilhelm refused to go to the front and received 1.5 years in prison for this, but his fellow lawyers achieved an acquittal. Wilhelm hid in Amsterdam, and at the same time distributed the printed edition of the Struggle. In 1918uprisings began in the German fleet. Peak at this time had already returned to Berlin and was again in the thick of things. The leaders of the uprising were arrested and executed, but Peak managed to escape again thanks to a fake passport.
Post-war activities
V. Peak returned to Berlin after the war. Became a co-founder of the KPD (Communist Party of Germany). In 1919 he participated in the uprising and was arrested. He was a witness at the final interrogation of K. Liebknecht and R. Luxembourg. Unlike them, he managed to escape from detention.
In 1920, V. Pick legalized and was fourth on the list in the elections to the Reichstag. But only Levi and Zetkin could become deputies, since the Reds won only 1.7% of the vote. Peak began a frantic activity to seize party power. His main goal was to compromise the chairman. As a result, Levy was nevertheless removed from office and expelled from the party.
Political career
In 1921 Pik Wilhelm was elected to the executive committee of the Communist International. Then his acquaintance with Lenin took place. At the congress of the OKPG, it was decided to send V. Pik to the Russian leader in Moscow. He approved of his efforts to purge the communists. Peak at this time met such famous personalities as Dzerzhinsky, Lunacharsky and Kalinin. Subsequently, these ties proved to be strong and fruitful.
At the same time, V. Pik is a deputy of the Prussian Landtag. He remained in this position until 1928, before being elected to the Reichstag. AT1922 W. Pick became one of the founders of the Red Aid at the international level, and three years later - the chairman of this organization in Germany. In 1923, two coup attempts were made in Germany, and the Red Terror swept through the country. But the authorities quickly crushed all the uprisings.
Wilhelm was accused of "Luxembourgianism" and was forced to resign from his party post. Telman took his place. For six months Peak Wilhelm worked as district party secretary. But he was not forgotten in Moscow, and Peak was included in the members of the executive committee of the Comintern. In 1931 he became a member of the Presidium of the Executive Committee of the Communist International, representing Germany in it.
In 1933, when Hitler was in power, the persecution of the German communists began. Wilhelm participated in an illegal meeting of the Central Committee of the KKE, which took place near Berlin. And in August 1933 he was deprived of German citizenship. In 1934, Jon Sher was killed. V. Pick was his deputy and, accordingly, headed the Communist Party. But in August he was forced to leave for Paris.
True, the Communist Party of Germany continued its activities, but only underground, from abroad. In 1935, at the Brussels conference, V. Pick was elected to the post of chairman of the KKE for the time while E. Thalmann was in prison. Peak left for Moscow. In 1943, he became one of the organizers of the Free Germany National Committee.
Presidency
He returned to Berlin Peak only in 1945 and continued his political activities in Germany. Wilhelm tried to unite the KPDand the SPD. In 1946, V. Pick, together with O. Grotewohl, co-chaired the SED. In 1949 the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was formed. Its first and only president was Peak Wilhelm. He remained in this position until his death. V. Peak died in 1960 at the age of 84.
Trusted of the People
Throughout his life, V. Peak enjoyed the great trust of the people. He constantly risked himself, showed heroism, unbending will and courage. Much effort had to be devoted to the struggle against the leadership, which was betraying the interests of the peasants and workers. V. Peak managed to avoid the massacre of enemies thanks to his exceptional self-control. He never panicked.
During the Nazi regime, he constantly risked his life by organizing secret meetings and conferences. Engaged in rallying disparate party groups together.
So, Wilhelm Pick - who is this? An active fighter for justice, for the people's interests. He could pay with his life for every careless step. It was impossible to gain the trust of the people without deep knowledge. And Peak always found something new, constantly studied, improving his intellect.
Another feature that attracted people to Wilhelm was his sincerity. It was felt by everyone who ever met the German leader. V. Peak willingly talked not only with statesmen and deputies, but was always glad to listen to any peasant, old man, worker.
He liked to go to enterprises, institutes and institutions,to be among the people, knew their problems and empathized with them. Often he could even ask unpleasant questions, but in this way he got to the bottom of the matter. Wilhelm Pick is a man with an inexhaustible sense of humor, but at the same time modest. He loved art very much. His work capacity was inexhaustible. V. Peak was a fearless fighter for justice and always stood for friendship between peoples.
