Wolfgang Leonhard facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wolfgang Leonhard
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Wolfgang Leonhard (1990)
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| Born |
Wladimir Leonhard
16 April 1921 |
| Died | 17 August 2014 (aged 93) Daun, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
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| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Historian, lecturer, writer |
| Political party | SED (later a party dissident) |
| Spouse(s) | Elke Leonhard-Schmid (1974) |
Wolfgang Leonhard (born April 16, 1921 – died August 17, 2014) was a German writer and historian. He studied the history of the Soviet Union, East Germany, and Communism. His family left Nazi Germany when he was young, and he grew up in the Soviet Union.
After World War II, Leonhard helped create East Germany. But he soon disagreed with its leaders and left in 1949. He moved to Yugoslavia, then to West Germany, and later to the United Kingdom. In 1956, he went to the United States. He became a well-known professor at Yale University from 1966 to 1987. He taught about Communism and the Soviet Union and wrote many books on these topics. After the Cold War ended, he returned to Germany.
Contents
About Wolfgang Leonhard
His Early Life and Family
Wolfgang Leonhard was born in Vienna, Austria, on April 16, 1921. His birth name was Vladimir. His parents, Susanne Köhler and Rudolf Leonhard, were writers. They were divorced when he was born.
His mother, Susanne, was a strong supporter of Communism. She was friends with important German Communist leaders. She later married the Soviet ambassador to Austria. Susanne worked in the press department at the embassy.
In 1931, Wolfgang and his mother lived in Berlin, Germany. They were in a neighborhood called "Artists' Colony," where many thinkers lived. Wolfgang went to Karl Marx Grammar School. He also joined the "Young Pioneers," a youth group of the Communist Party of Germany. In 1932, as things became unsafe in Berlin, he went to a private boarding school.
Leaving Germany for Safety
In 1933, Adolf Hitler became the leader of Germany. His government, called Nazi Germany, was very dangerous for people who disagreed with them. Wolfgang's mother sent him to a boarding school in Sweden.
In 1935, his mother visited him in Sweden. While she was there, her anti-Nazi group in Germany was discovered. She could not go back home. She also wasn't allowed to stay in Sweden. So, she asked 13-year-old Wolfgang to choose between going to England or the Soviet Union. He chose the Soviet Union.
Life in the Soviet Union
From 1935 to 1937, Wolfgang went to the Karl Liebknecht School in Moscow. This school was for children of German and Austrian families who had fled the Nazis. He then lived in a special children's home in Moscow from 1936 to 1939. This home was for children whose parents were victims of the Nazi government.
In 1936, the Soviet Union began a period called "The Great Purge." During this time, many people were arrested and put on trial without fair reasons. Wolfgang's mother was arrested in October 1936. She was forced to work in labor camps, known as the Gulag, for 12 years. She was finally released in 1948 with help from Wilhelm Pieck, who later became the first president of East Germany.
After Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941, many Germans living in the Soviet Union were moved to other areas. Wolfgang was sent to Karaganda. He continued his teacher training there. A year later, he went to the International Lenin School. This was a special school for Communist leaders. Many of his classmates and teachers later became important leaders in East Germany and Poland.
In 1943, Wolfgang finished his studies. He then worked for the "National Committee for a Free Germany." This group was made up of German prisoners of war and people who had left Germany. He worked for their newspaper and later became an announcer for their radio station, "Radio Free Germany."
Working in East Germany
Wolfgang Leonhard was part of the first group of German Communists to return to Germany after the Red Army arrived. He was in the Ulbricht Group, led by Walter Ulbricht. Ulbricht later became the leader of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). Their job was to set up the government in the part of Germany controlled by the Soviet Union.
Ulbricht told them to make the new government "look democratic" but to keep Communists in control. So, important jobs like deputy mayors and police chiefs had to be Communists. Other jobs could go to people with different political ideas to get more support.
Wolfgang continued to work for the Communist Party. In 1946, the Communist Party merged with another party to form the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). He worked in journalism and taught political lessons. In 1947, he became a teacher at the party's college.
Leaving East Germany
Wolfgang Leonhard had hoped that East Germany would be more democratic than the Soviet Union. He had doubts about the Soviet system as early as 1936, when his mother was arrested. But he still believed in the basic ideas of Communism for many years.
In April 1948, Walter Ulbricht gave a speech. He explained that the SED would be the main power in East Germany. He said people should achieve their goals through the government. This speech made Wolfgang realize that East Germany would follow the Soviet system exactly. He saw that it would not be different or more democratic.
In March 1949, Wolfgang fled East Germany. He went to Yugoslavia through Czechoslovakia. Yugoslavia was also a socialist country, but it was not controlled by the Soviet Union.
When asked later what would have happened if East Germany had caught him, Wolfgang said he would have been executed. This was because he was a high-ranking official who had been trained in the Soviet Union. He was the first important official to escape from East Germany. In Yugoslavia, he worked for Belgrade Radio, broadcasting German programs.
Life in the West
From Yugoslavia, Wolfgang Leonhard moved to West Germany. He became a political writer and an expert on Eastern Europe. He decided to focus his life's work on understanding the Soviet Union. He wanted to study what happened and what would happen in the Soviet Union and its allied countries.
He studied at Oxford University in England from 1956 to 1958. Then he worked at Columbia University in New York City in 1963 and 1964. After that, he became a professor at Yale University.
Professor Leonhard taught about Soviet history and international Communism at Yale from 1966 to 1987. His classes were very popular. One of his students was George W. Bush, who later became president of the United States. Bush said Leonhard's class was "one of my most memorable courses." He learned about the fight between harsh rule and freedom, which stayed with him for life.
Wolfgang Leonhard also taught at other universities in the United States and Germany. He gave talks in many places around the world, including Tokyo, India, Ghana, and Sri Lanka.
He wrote many books and articles about Eastern Europe and Communism. His book from 1955, Die Revolution entlässt ihre Kinder (which means "Child of the Revolution"), was translated into many languages. It became a worldwide bestseller.
In 1987, Wolfgang Leonhard visited the Soviet Union for the first time since 1945. This happened when the West German President visited. After that, he often visited Russia and other Eastern European countries. He met old friends from his time in Russia and East Germany. He also helped watch elections in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.
Wolfgang Leonhard's wife, Elke Leonhard, was a member of the German parliament from 1990 to 2005.
His Passing
Wolfgang Leonhard passed away on August 17, 2014. He was 93 years old. He died in a hospital in Daun, Germany, after a long illness.
Awards and Recognition
Wolfgang Leonhard received several honors for his work:
- Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University (1982)
- Merit Cross 1st Class of the Federal Republic of Germany (1987)
- Honorary doctorate from the Chemnitz University of Technology (1998)
- Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st Class (Austria, 2002)
- European Science Culture Award (2004)
See also
- List of Eastern Bloc defectors
