Jump to content

Paul Brodek

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paul Brodek
Paul Brodek in 1918
Born(1884-10-16)October 16, 1884
DiedSeptember 5, 1942(1942-09-05) (aged 57)
Cause of deathInhumane treatment at a concentration camp
Resting placeBrake, Germany
OccupationPolitician
Political partySDP
SpouseFrieda Berhardine Cacilie Seggermann
ChildrenHans Diedrich Brodek
Parents
  • David Brodek (father)
  • Dorothea Israel (mother)

Paul Brodek (October 16, 1884 – September 5, 1942) was a German politician who served in the Oldenburg state Parliament as a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.[1]

Of Jewish origin, Brodek was born in Krotoschin, Posen district, West Prussia.[2] After finishing school, he began a commercial apprenticeship in began training in Berlin and came to Brake, Germany in 1910 as a sailor and trade unionist,[2] where he later worked as a dock and warehouse porter. He took part in World War I, but was wounded in 1917 and awarded the Eisernes Kreuz (Iron Cross) and then worked for Thyssen in Mülheim an der Ruhr. After his return to Brake he was elected to the Workers' and Soldiers' Council for Bremen. In 1919 he became the director of employment records in Brake, and in 1931 the head of the Wesermünde – Bremerhaven employment office.

During the Weimar Republic, Paul was a member of the council and magistrate of the city of Brake. From 1923 to 1931 he was a member of the Oldenburg state parliament.

In 1938, Brodek was sent to a 'Jew house' in Brake and then moved to Bremen. Following the November pogroms, he was taken into "protective custody" and deported to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.[2] After his release, he worked as a laborer in Bremen. In 1941 he was imprisoned again, probably in the Farge concentration camp.  He was released from there because of his inhumane treatment and died soon afterwards on September 5, 1942.

A street is named after him and a plaque was mounted on his old house.[3]

Paul Brodek's Family Tree
Phillippine RawitcherLeopold L. H. Sammel Brodek
Dorothea IsraelDavid BrodekRosalie Brodek
Emil BrodekPaul BrodekJohanna Brodek

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Mielke, Siegfried (2002). Gewerkschafter in den Konzentrationslagern Oranienburg und Sachsenhausen: biographisches Handbuch (in German). Metropol. ISBN 978-3-89468-275-0.
  2. ^ a b c Valenkamp, Werner. "Persönlichkeiten unserer Stadt". Brake Unterweser (in German). Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  3. ^ Der Freiheit verpflichtet: Gedenkbuch der deutschen Sozialdemokratie im 20. Jahrhundert (in German). Schüren. 2000. ISBN 978-3-89472-173-2.