- Ernst Torgler
Ernst Torgler (
April 25 ,1893 -January 19 ,1963 ) was a controversial member of theCommunist Party of Germany (KPD) prior toWorld War II and a defendant in theReichstag Fire Trial.Torgler was born the son of an urbanite in
Berlin , where he attended school from 1904 to 1907. In 1907, he joined the Association of Apprentices and Juvenile Workers of Berlin. From 1909 to 1925, Torgler held a variety of different jobs, working most notably as a salesman and accountant. Torgler got his start in politics in 1910 when he joined theSocial Democratic Party of Germany . After serving in the military duringWorld War I , Torgler became a member of theIndependent Social Democratic Party of Germany . In 1920, Torgler joined theCommunist Party of Germany when theUSPD merged with the KPD. A year later, Torgler became a town councilor in Berlin-Lichtenberg (a position he held until 1930) and got elected to the Reichstag in 1924 as a member of the KPD.Torgler subsequently became deputy chairman of the KPD Reichstag faction in 1927 and chairman in 1929, a position which made him one of the most powerful members of the party. From 1932 to 1933, Torgler published the KPD Reichstag newssheet “the Red Voter” with
Wilhelm Pieck . Torgler’s political career ended in February 1933, however, when the Reichstag was set on fire. Against the wishes of the KPD leadership, Torgler voluntarily handed himself over to the police onFebruary 28 (the day after the fire) whenHermann Göring issued a warrant for his arrest. Torgler was kept in custody without being charged until July 1933, at which time he was charged with arson and treason. Torgler and his fellow defendants were tried fromSeptember 21 toDecember 23 , after which time Torgler was acquitted due to a lack of evidence against him.Following the Reichstag Fire Trial, Torgler was put into “protective custody” by the police until 1935. After being released, he assumed a pseudonym and moved away from Berlin. The KPD leadership (now in
Brussels as a result of being persecuted by theNazis ) subsequently stripped Torgler of his party membership and leadership positions as a result of his surrender to the police. In 1938, Torgler worked for a company called Elektrolux, during which time he was watched carefully by the SD. In June 1940, Torgler surprisingly began working for the Nazi Propaganda Ministry, although he may have been forced to do so in order to keep his son Kurt (who was being held in custody by the government) safe from harm. In 1941, afterNazi Germany invaded theSoviet Union , Torgler ironically worked on anti-Bolshevik propaganda at the behest ofJoseph Goebbels . Later that year, Torgler worked inCzechoslovakia on the staff ofReinhard Heydrich . After theJuly 20 Plot against onAdolf Hitler in 1944, an arrest warrant was issued for Torgler, who at the time was still working for the propaganda ministry. Torgler, by his own account, was only spared from being arrested due to his boss vouching for his loyalty. Following this incident, Torgler worked inPoland for a time until being transferred by the Nazis to the town ofBückeburg where he worked in the town’s administration.Following
World War II , Torgler angrily dismissed charges against him that stated that he had willingly cooperated with the Nazis. In 1949, he once again became a member of theSPD and in 1950 moved to Bückeburg, where he drifted into obscurity. He died inHanover in 1963.
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