Walter Ulbricht
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- Опубликовано: 10 окт 2023
- Walter Ulbricht, the man that had a large impact on the history of the German Democratic Republic.
This video will go through the highlights of his life.
Book used:
Walter Ulbricht: Eine deutsche Biografie - Mario Frank (amzn.to/3LYKF0m)
Credits for photographs and other material shown in the video:
• Willi Stoph, Lotte Ulbricht, and Walter Ulbricht, 9 March 1967- By Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-F0309-0201-001 / Kohls, Ulrich / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• Ulbricht visiting a collective farm in Trinwillershagen in January 1953 - By Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-18231-0003 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• Als Honecker mit Maschinenpistolen zu Ulbricht fuhr - www.welt.de/geschichte/articl...
• Lotte Ulbricht - By Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-78024-0025 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• Karl Schirdewan - Von Deutsche Fotothek, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• Wilhelm Zaisser - Von Bundesarchiv, B 285 Bild-04246 / Unbekannt / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• Otto Grotewohl - Von Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-19204-3150 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• Founding SED - Von Deutsche Fotothek, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• Wilhelm Pieck - Von Deutsche Fotothek, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• Ernst Wollweber - Von Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-08658-0006 / Rudolph / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• Erich Honecker 1976 - By Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R0518-182 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• Erich Honecker 1976 Color - Von Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-R1220-401 / Autor/-in unbekannt / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• Walter Ulbricht 1950 - Von Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-08618-0005 / Sturm, Horst / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• Walter Ulbricht in Stalinstadt - Von Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-19521-0005 / Horst Sturm / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• Stalin portrait in Leipzig 1950 - Von Deutsche Fotothek, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• Anton Ackermann 1950 - Von Deutsche Fotothek, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• Elli Schmidt - By Deutsche Fotothek, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• Rudolf Herrnstadt 1952 Sketch - By Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-15475-0013 / Quaschinsky, Hans-Günter / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• Nikita Khrushchev - By Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-B0628-0015-035 / Heinz Junge / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• KPD Flag - Von R-41 commonswiki - Own work www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/de..., CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• KPD Logo - Von R-41 - Own work, based on following link: CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
• Comintern Logo - By Thespoondragon - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
The Dutch accent of English is one of the most pleasing non-English accents to listen to.
Although I am not a fan of his American pronunciation of 'Moscow'. 🤣
CRIMINALLY underrated channel. I'm so excited to watch this once I finish work!
An identical video about Erich Honecker would be a great idea.
He and Mielke.
Actually, many videos could be made concerning "Die Männer der ersten Stunde" (The men of the first hour). This group of German expats was brought to Berlin from Moscow in the Summer of 1945 from Moscow with instructions to set up a Socialist (or Communist) government in Germany. Ulbricht was the head of this group.
Agree - seems like they were similar.
I worked in former DDR from 1992 to the end of 1999. I met a lot of people with stories about their lives in the DDR regime. I find your channel fascinating
@@bfc3057kinda, it wasn't pleasant overnight!
@@bfc3057 East and West Germany did fully integrate until well into the mid 90's. It took years for it to recover.
Finally a channel whose main purpose is discussing the GDR.
Ulbricht even tried to produce a GDR passenger plane (Baade 152). It ended in a disaster. If I compare him to his successor, I must admit that Ulbricht understood that initiative and activity are necessary if you want to achieve something. Honecker's creativity ended in the hunter's lodge once his intrigue with Breshnev was done and his portrait grinned from every wall in the GDR.
To bad.... for several technical reasons the Baade 152 never could be a sucsesfull airliner, but it could have made a start for a new sucsesfull brand. After all Germans had shown know that thay how to build aircraft.
Do you suspect that Honecker performed felatio on Brezhnev?
@@Flies2FLL Ja!
@@Flies2FLLI mean they are kissing each other on the lips so it's not a difficult rumor to say...
Again, a top class documentary.
This channel is a great dive into GDR history.
'Old men who speak of victory shed light upon their stolen lives, they drive by night and act as if they're moved by unheard music.' The Thin Wall, Ultravox.
As a Pole intresed in the history of the Communist Block this channel is a gem. Keep up the good work!
BTW I've never thought Walter Ulbricht was so resentful!
It sounds to me like he had a chip on his shoulder the size of Moscow
Fantastic video, man. I'm an Asia who's been living in Berlin for 3+ years now. Your videos give me an unique opportunity to peep into the nuanced history of this country.
Keep up the good work! Mach weiter so!
By sheer coincidence I happened to see Ulbrichts funeral - as I was visiting East Berlin at the moment. I was 13 y/o at the time and didn't have a clue who the man was - but it was impressive enough to take a couple of snaps. We were there for an entirely different reason, but we just bumped into the funeral procession - somewhere between Friedrichstrasse and Alex if I remember correctly (it's half a century ago, you know).
Awesome.
Another politician that English speakers might be interested in is Günter Schabowski. Everyone remembers his slipup during the press conference when he prematurely announced a new open travel policy. But he is one of the few Politbüro members who admitted wrongdoing and criticized the policies of the SED. He wrote an autobiographical book titled "Der Absturz" (The Crash). He also wrote a book in collaboration with a West German journalist titled "Wir haben fast alles falsch gemacht" (We did almost everything wrong). His descriptions of top SED officials and life in the Waldsiedlung Wandlitz, the exclusive neighborhood in a forest where top SED officials lived a life of relative luxury, are also interesting.
Thank you for the reference!
Ulbricht was a monster.
So often, history clips go over familiar subject matter. Often they add to my understanding, sometimes in surprising ways. This channel is a perfect delight, as the subject matter and the dramatis personae are at best slightly known to me and always present me with new horizons.
Do please remember to hit the 'like' button as a mark of appreciation for Olaf's hard work, as You Tube isn't always kindest to what it regards as "niche" subjects.
It's scarey to realise how much of my own life has now passed into history!!
Your videos are absolutely excellent👍
I love the longer videos you make. Great work, keeps me coming back!
Another excellent video. Thank you and please, offer us more.
What a wonderful addition to the channel ! Thank you ! I’ve been fascinated by Ulbricht , in spite of his dry, very antiseptic image, since seeing such pictures of him as the one with him speaking at a meeting cohosted with Goebbels ! Or standing alongside Stalin for his birthday celebration, in close proximity to Mao, Khrushchev, and Kaganovich !
Ahh...interesting thanks. I was wondering where FBI's psyop of Silk Road Takedown magically manifested the operative name of Ross Ulbricht. Knew it had a German connect as the hidden Romanov heirs are half German, but now the Ulbricht named rat line in honor of previous comrades makes perfect sense. Not a COIN CID ENCE. Always been a plan.
Another fantastic video mate, I've been waiting for a video like this on Ulbricht 😊😊 keep up the excellent work!
This is a very good quality video. Loads of facts, no unnecessary drama, just letting the story speak for itself. Thank you.
These videos are an absolut like.
German seriousness and reliability. German sense of humour and irony.
Great stuff. The GDR was always a weird thing!!
I'm very glad to have found this channel!
Well done. As a young freaky kid loving history and geopolitics in the 1960’s, I followed the two Germanys assiduously. You provided great background material. Bravo.
Another outstanding bit of history, excellent channel.
Another fascinating video and I thank you for the time and effort you put into this. Outstanding. Bedankt.
Good stuff, as always. Thank you for your efforts, I enjoy all your content.
Brilliant work mate loved it! Hope there more to come
Yet another amazing video, I learned a lot! Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Another good anecdote about the voice and saxon dialect of Ulbricht: The later head of the foreign intelligence department of the Stasi was Markus Wolf. He worked as a Berlin radio journalist during the late 1940s, and asked Ulbricht to speak standard German because people from other places than Saxony may not like his talk just because of the dialect. Ulbricht got upset and insisted to talk the way he liked. Markus Wolf was indeed correct 😉
Another informative, detailed and fact based presentation. Thank you
Having lived in MV for a few years, I’m glad to watch your videos explaining the DDR with a honest perspective. Thanks
Another excellent video. Dont know how I missed this one
Very interesting.
I knew little about him.
Thank you.
☮
Fantastic content once again
Nice video.
Very interesting. Thank You
Good stuff 👍
Great vid as usual. Thanks.
Fantastic presentation
Excellent content. Lots of good information and insights into the GDR.
Amazing work yet again! I'd be interested in videos about the DDR economy, the efficiency deficits of a state run economy and the Kombinate and their functions, including daycare and such
Olaf, thank you for another enlightening and intelligently presented video (and your command of English is excellent!).
I was born in Merseburg and never knew we had the German central archive.
The pollution was indeed quite terrible. I developed pseudo croup at least two times as a kid and after reunification they sent us on 14 day long class trips two times a year so we could breath some clean air for a change.
"Niemand hat die Absicht eine Mauer zu errichten!" 🤥
Excellent content
Thanks for the very instructive document.
Tough subject, verry well researched.
For some unknown reason i always was verry interested in what was goin on in the GDR.
looking forward to your next video.
Dank en beste groet, Pascal.
Keep up with this quality content. You will grow amongst those interested in real history.
I have to say that for me Ulbricht looked always grey, no charisma, no fire.
It does not mean he was dumb or incompetent given how far he climbed in the party but he wasn't exactly a thrilling, charismatic tribune.
Top content weer. Professioneel gemaakt. Ik kijk uit naar de volgende. Overigens meen ik gelezen te hebben dat Ulbricht zich nogal met het privé-leven van zijn geadopteerde dochter heeft bemoeid. Met de bekende tragische afloop tot gevolg.
How very well done! This is an excellent overview of this controversial political figure in both the GDR and abroad. I'm looking forward to more videos.
You tell a great story thank you
You have done a really interesting and well done documentary. I visited once in East Berlin. It was maybe year 1986. I did stay in West Berlin but I spent one day in East Berlin. Divided Berlin was like a night and day. West was rich, free and lively but East was dull and gray. Restaurant in East Berlin didn´t have any salads and only Selyanka soup was on menu. :) How ever museums and even ruins were interesting in East Berlin. I saw even the famous Congress Palace which was later demolished. I visited again in Berlin 2007. Potsdamer Plats had new, modern buildings, shopping centers etc. 1986 Potsdamer Plats was just an open field, and urban jungle. Berlin is now again a great city. Greetings from Finland.
Such a pleasure to listen to your German pronounciation!
Geweldig kanaal, mooie video weer.
Ulbricht didn't flee to the Soviet Union to escape the Nazis; he fled earlier to escape prosecution for his involvement in the police murders.
Thank you for such a detailed look at this chapter from history. In the U.S., we tend to think of East Germany in generalities -- a wall, lot of Olympic medals, and that's about all.
A superb report -- many thanks!
Great - precise - no bull- & informative - bravo
Enjoyable narrative, as always. 🏆
Great video
I've watched several of your videos and am impressed at how well-documented and well-executed they are. And your German is 100% (I believe you remarked your mother was German in one video). My major was German Studies and I got to see both Germanies up close before and after the Wende.
Thanks for the video.
Hopefully you won't mind my question: Are You going to make more Videos about important politicians? Who is on your list?
OLAF!! You did it again... more fascinating information about the people of area that has intrigued me, ever since my Uncle told me his stories of when he visited on his Triumph Bonneville motorrad!
I recently saw a video by Asianometry about the GDR's disastrous attempt to enter the semiconductor industry. By his account it was pretty brutal to the GDR economy causing a lot of damage.
I can't wait to watch your video on Honecker. By the way, would it be possible to see videos on the GDR car industry, including the likes of Wartburg(?).
Many thanks!
*An objective and informative video.*
23:10 At the time of his 80th birthday (June 1973) Ulbricht is overthrown by Honecker since two years (April 1971). You have to mention that U. in this period is deeply humiliated by his successor. Still in his lifetime his name is extinguished from public facilities, academies, sport stadium and even stamps.
Ooh what a great channel! I'm very interested in cold war era politics and the GDR in particular. Have you covered Honecker yet? I'll check your videos. Subscribed! 👍
thanks
Apologies if this has already been mentioned in another comment but there is a funny, and perhaps illustrative, anecdote about Ulbricht from his time as a Red Army propagandist.
After the surrender of what remained of the 6th Army at Stalingrad, the prisoners were formed up on a parade in the ruins. Walter Ulbricht was brought in to give a speech to degrade and harangue the defeated men.
Lavrenty Beria, who was there, observed Walter ranting and raving as he bullied his countrymen and in his diaries remarked that he was "the biggest idiot I have ever seen".
Source is Anthony Beevor's excellent Stalingrad history.
Dank je wel voor je geweldig filmpje. En ik kijk uit naar beeld van mensen aan de top van DDR. Zoals Honecker, Egon Krenz en hoop stilletjes dat ook Sabine Bergmann-Pohl voorbij komt.
I learned that this man is my great great uncle, i want to do research about him so this video helps a lot
Absolutely brilliant in every respect, even German pronunciation. 👏
Beria: “Ulbricht doesn‘t … love his people“. Well, the people didn‘t exactly love Beria either.
In 1953, the East German propaganda apparatus produced a heroic portrait movie about Walter Ulbricht, pathetically called "Baumeister des Sozialismus" (Builder of Socialism).
After quashing the June 17th uprising, this pic was deemed politically inopportune and disappeared in the archives.
I watched it in an East Berlin cinema in the 1990s, a few years after the GDR had shut down.
The audience was split: half were older folks from the East, most of whom piously following the praise on their ole' Walter.
The other half were younger people enjoying the involuntarily comical moments of the film, bursting out laughing at times.
I don't think the younger cinemagoers ever realized how much their laughter pissed off the older ones - what a show!
What are some of the books you would recommend to start learning about the DDR?
Pole-vaulting for beginners?
I enjoy your videos, and you are the world's most East German looking man.
I think he’s Dutch tho 😂
What does an East German look like?
You have a lovely intro
U gonna give Honecker a whirl?
Doping in athletics would also be a prize plum.
Great
SED in English is not Socialist Unit Party, it's Socialist Unity Party. Unit means one thing or group. Unity means the idea of togetherness.
Well spotted! You are absolutely right. Thanks for mentioning this.
I'm looking forward to the follow-up documentaries about Honecker and Krentz.
Honecker would be a very interesting video, as Honecker was not in the "Ulbricht Group". Rather, Honecker had spent 10 years in prison between 1935-1945 (he was caught as a Communist spy by the Gestapo). How Ulbricht was pushed out in 1971 is also very interesting material.
During the 60s i regarded walter ulbrich RIP 🎉🎉🎉🎉.
As an introvert and nerd myself, yes we find boring stuff fascinating. So he was one of the occupants of the famous Hotel Lux. Wow.
Wooo!
Hi. I wonder if you will make a video about "Tal der Ahnungslosen"? That would be very interesting.
Another fascinating and informative video. To me, the DDR was one of modern history’s great enigmas.
"Niemand hat die Absicht eine Mauer zu errichten..." (No one has the intention to build a wall...)
Walter Ulbricht in an interview on June 15, 1961
That aged well....🤔🤭😁
Can you do Erick Honecker
Du bist toll.
Du bist ihm eine Art von person, deren persönlichkeit problematisch ist aber sie sind gegenüber objektiv.
Drinking and smoking are not a weakness in every case. Look at Winston Churchill.
@East Germany Investigated Was Erich Honecker the last leader of the GDR?
I was 16 at the time when the wall came down btw.
Is he worth doing an upload about?
Thank you 🙂
The last leader of the GDR was Egon Krenz.
Honecker lost his position before the wall felt. His successor Egon Krenz ruled the GDR for only seven weeks. He is the only german dictator who is still living today.
@@Simon.Louis1999Egon Krenz was the last one as the general secretary of SED. However, strictly speaking, after the first free elections to the Volkskammer in 1990, the last leaders of GDR were Sabine Bergmann-Pohl (CDU) as the head of state and Lothar de Maizière (CDU) as the prime minister.
Ulbricht vs Beria physical fight to the death would've been one to see.
It should be favourable for our listener or viewers if you could compare the systems.. Pros and cons,
In what regards his aspect he was a method actor, implementing a "Imitatio Lenini " !
Very interesting. The German Democratic Republic has become a footnote of history. But for over 40 years it was a country that claimed to be "real existing socialism." It had high labor participation rates from women who were guaranteed day care for their children. Although East Germans enjoyed many other "economic rights" like cheap housing, free health care, and low food costs, many decided they didn't like socialism, especially when they could watch West German television every day. Everything in East German seemed inferior to what their Western counterparts enjoyed. Constant proclamations that five year plans had been over-fulfilled, but without any noticeable improvement in the economy, just fueled this discontent. It was soon Erich Honecker's turn to seek an opening to the West, only to be called back again by the Soviet Union. When Honecker's protector Breshnev died, Honecker, much like Ulbricht, was also unable to change course. By then, all efforts to salvage the GDR were rejected by East Germans. But these were 40 years when an alternative economic system based on egalitarianism existed on German soil. They should not be forgotten. As disenchantment with capitalism rises, future generations may once again become interested in the East German experiment. That, or maybe fascism as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) Party steadily gains power.
Have you ever thought of doing a segment on that awful DDR state prosecutor and judge , Hilde Benjamin ? She’s pretty fascinating
i am one of the first viewers of youe channel because of your knowledge about ddr. but i will advice you to give attention using the word MACEDONIA
Ausgezeichnete Aufnahme! Wie aber sprechen Sie so fließend englisch? Haben Sie in den Vereinigten Staaten gewohnt?
Niemand hat die Absicht, eine Mauer zu errichten!
Said in a very strong Saxony-Leipzig accent.
The Grey Fox didn't exactly make the ddr much of an attractive prospect. Most found him a bore.