Foundation of the SED

The SPD and KPD unite under Soviet pressure

After 1945, many German Socialists believed that it had been the irreversible split of the German labour movement during the Weimar Republic – between moderate social democrats and radical communists – that had prevented the Left from mounting any meaningful opposition to fascism. Seeking to learn from this mistake, many Germans placed their hope in a reunification of the labour movement as a prerequisite to the establishment of a democratic peace. Nevertheless, once the Soviet military administration had permitted the establishment of political parties, both the pre-war Communist and Social Democratic parties reassumed their independent existence. Although the Soviet authorities encouraged KPD-SPD working groups as a first step towards restoring the unity of the labour movement, many East German social democrats and a clear majority of SPD members in West Germany opposed a merger.

Despite the strength of opinion in the SPD, 21 April 1946 saw a conference in East Berlin of representatives from the two parties, called to discuss a fusion. That East German delegates constituted a clear majority of those present gives an indication of the considerable pressure exerted by the Soviets in their zone. Indeed, many in West Germany viewed the resulting unification of the SPD and KPD as a shotgun wedding. The handshake between Otto Grotewohl for the SPD and Wilhelm Pieck from the KPD sealed the end of the independent existence of the once proud parties and announced their unification under the name Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). Subject to close Soviet supervision, the SED developed into the ruling party of the DDR.