Central Party Control Commission of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Central Party Control Commission (German: Zentrale Parteikontrollkommission) (ZPKK) was a supreme disciplinary body created by the SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany) on 16 September 1948, in the Soviet Occupation Zone. It operated under the SED Central Committee and had corresponding bodies at all levels of the party in the form of Bezirk (BPKK) and district Party Control Commissions (KPKK). These entities existed until the renaming of the SED in 1989.
This commission played a significant role in enforcing conformity and eliminating perceived opposition within the party ranks during its existence.
Peaceful Revolution
In the SED, as in other socialist parties in Eastern Bloc countries, the first purges were initiated by Stalinist cadres.
In the course of Stalinization of the SED, its Party Executive Committee (PV) decided in September 1948 to establish a Central Party Control Commission (ZPKK) following the Soviet model.[1][2] The formal basis was a decision by the SED Party Executive Committee on 29 July 1948, titled "For the Organizational Consolidation of the Party and for its Purging of Hostile and Degenerate Elements." Party members whose attitudes or backgrounds did not align with the leadership had to appear before their respective ZPKK.[2]
The Central Auditing Commission (German: Zentrale Revisionskommission) (ZRK) was created in 1950 to inspect the party finances analogous to the CPSU Central Auditing Commission, though due to its limited jurisdiction, its practical significance was minor compared to the ZPKK.
In July 1950, the III. Party Congress of the SED eliminated the equal representation between former Social Democrats and former Communists in central party functions. As a result, Otto Buchwitz, a former Social Democrat, had to step down from chairing the ZPPK in 1950.[1]
Over the following years until around 1953, many long-standing members of the labor movement were purged, often through fabricated accusations. Charges included "Social Democratic tendencies", "Titoism", "Trotskyism", previous involvement in the KPDO,[1] or simply having been a "Western emigrant" or having had any form of contact with the US diplomat Noel Field. Many of the proceedings resulted in forced self-criticisms, demotions, dismissals, and, in some cases, imprisonment.
During the Wende in late 1989, the SED renamed itself to SED-PDS and declared the "irrevocable break with Stalinism as a system" at an extraordinary party conference.[3][4] The ZPKK, which had collectively resigned on 3 December 1989,[5] was abolished and replaced by a Central Arbitration Commission (German: Zentrale Schiedskommission).[4]
The Central Arbitration Commission, chaired by Günther Wieland, a former prosecutor in the GDR's Public Prosecutor General's Office,[4][6] continued the work of the late ZPKK, rehabilitating ZPKK victims and expelling SED elites, notably expelling all longtime full and candidate members of the SED Politburo on 20 and 21 January 1990 except for Werner Eberlein and Siegfried Lorenz.[4][6]