Wilhelm Pieck, whose brief biography is presented in this article, is the founder of the German Communist Party. He is the head of the German Bolsheviks, a brilliant leader of the Comintern, a deputy of the Reichstag, the first and only president of the German Democratic Republic.
Childhood
Wilhelm Peak, whose biography is very fascinating, was born on January 3, 1876 in Guben. His house was in the eastern part of the city. William's father was a personal coachman. After receiving his education, the young man went on a pilgrimage. So it was accepted in the old days. Wilhelm was brought up strictly, in Catholic traditions.
Education
First, William graduated from an ordinary public high school. Then his father sent his son to study as a carpenter. There was a prison opposite the school, and William often saw prisoners. These were mainly thieves, murderers and troublemakers. The teachers kept telling William to stay away from them. Finally, vocational training was completed and, becoming a joiner-apprentice, he went to look for work.
Joining a union
On the way, he met a young guy, an apprentice potter. And William Peak, not even having time to become a worker, joined the union of woodworkers. They paid money there, but not enough, at 2 pfenning per kilometer. His task was to agitate the people he met to join the union. William felt so at ease in his element that he even joined first in a singing group, and then, in 1895, in the SPD (German Social Democratic Party).
Since 1896 he got a job as a joiner 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 He was promoted to the post of secretary of a party organization. From 1907 to 1908, V. Peak studied at a party school. At that time, R. Luxemburg greatly influenced his views. In 1910, he became head of education at the SPD secretariat.
During the first world
During World War I, Wilhelm was a fierce opponent of dividing 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 Moabit Prison, from which they wanted to send him to the front. But he avoided this by working as a telephone operator.
In 1917, Peak Wilhelm refused to go to the front and received 1.5 years in prison for this, but his fellow lawyers obtained an acquittal. Wilhelm hid in Amsterdam, and at the same time distributed the print edition of The Struggle. In 1918, uprisings in the German fleet began. The peak at that time had already returned to Berlin and again was in the thick of things. The leaders of the uprising were arrested and executed, but Peak again managed to escape thanks to a fake passport.
Post-war activities
V. Peak returned to Berlin after the war. He became a co-founder of the KKE (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 arrest.
In 1920, V. Peak legalized and was fourth in the list of elections in the Reichstag. But only Levy and Zetkin could become deputies, since the Reds gained only 1.7% of the vote. The peak began a violent activity to seize party power. His main goal was to discredit the chairman. As a result, Levy was still removed from his post and expelled from the party.
Political career
In 1921, Wilhelm Peak was elected to the executive committee of the Communist International. Then his acquaintance with Lenin took place. At the OKPG congress, it was decided to send V. Peak to the Russian leader in Moscow. He praised his efforts to purge the Communists. The 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. Peak - Deputy of the Prussian Landtag. He remained in this position until 1928, until his election to the Reichstag. In 1922, V. Peak became one of the founders of Red Aid at the international level, and three years later - chairman of this organization in Germany. In 1923, in Germany, two coup attempts were made, red terror swept across the country . But the authorities quickly crushed all rebellions.
Wilhelm was accused of "Luxembourgism" and was forced to resign from the party post. Telman took his place. For six months, Wilhelm Peak worked as district 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 came to power, the persecution of the German Communists began. Wilhelm participated in the 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, John Sher was killed. V. Peak 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 clandestinely, from abroad. In 1935, at the Brussels conference, V. Peak was elected to the post of chairman of the KKE while E. Telman was in custody. The peak went to 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 political activity in Germany. Wilhelm tried to combine the KKE and the SPD. In 1946, V. Peak, together with O. Grotevol, co-chaired the SED. In 1949, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was formed. Its first and only president was William Peak. In this post, he remained until his death. V. Peak died in 1960, at the age of 84.
"Trusted by the people"
Throughout his life, V. Peak enjoyed great public confidence. He constantly risked himself, showed heroism, unbending will and courage. Much effort had to be devoted to the struggle against the leadership, which had betrayed the interests of the peasants and workers. V. Peak was able to avoid the reprisal of enemies thanks to exceptional self-control. He never succumbed to panic.
During the Nazi regime, he constantly risked his life by organizing secret meetings and conferences. He was engaged in rallying disparate party groups together.
So Wilhelm Peak - who is it? Active fighter for justice, for national interests. He could pay with 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 William was his sincerity. She was felt by everyone who had ever met the German leader. V. Peak eagerly talked not only with statesmen and deputies, but he was always glad to listen to any peasant, old man, and worker.
He loved going to enterprises, institutes and institutions, being among the people, knew his problems and empathized with them. Often I could even ask unpleasant questions, but then I got to the bottom of the matter. Wilhelm Peak is a person with an inexhaustible sense of humor, but at the same time modest. Very fond of art. His ability to work was inexhaustible. V. Peak was a fearless fighter for justice and has always advocated friendship between nations.