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Reviewer: Hchc2009 (talk · contribs) 17:20, 25 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Update - looking pretty much there. I'll have a check through later, but hopefully we're very close to closing. Hchc2009 (talk) 08:14, 18 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

1. Well-written:

(a) the prose is clear and concise, and the spelling and grammar are correct;

  • Some work needed; if you can do the below, I'll give it a final ce once over.
  • "the German Revolution of 1918/19." - worth checking that this complies with the MOS ("Year ranges, like all ranges, are normally separated by an en dash, not a hyphen or slash: 2005–06 is a two-year range, whereas 2005/06 is a period of twelve months or less, such as a sports season or a financial year.")

Done.Henrig (talk) 08:12, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " he was a leading agricultural politician " - what's an agricultural politician? (I'm not sure if this is a politician from an agricultural area, or a politician specialising in agricultural issues)

Replaced with "agricultural policy maker".Henrig (talk) 21:36, 4 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "As an ememy of the Nazi regime" - spelling of "enemy"

Done.Henrig (talk) 08:12, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "After his first imprisonmend" - spelling of "imprisonment"

Done.Henrig (talk) 08:12, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "The last two-year station of his imprisonments was" - I'm not familiar with "station" used like this - "location"?

Replaced with "location".Henrig (talk) 08:12, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "war service in 1917/18" - as per the above

Done.Henrig (talk) 08:12, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " the following German Revolution 1918/19 until autumn 1920" - I'm sure there was a reason for it, but this begged the question of what happened to him in the first half of 1920.

Replaced 1918/19 with 1918-1919.Henrig (talk) 08:12, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "During the following years, which saw the beginning of World War I, Rau's youth group, whose leader he became in 1916, was significantly influenced by the left wing of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), which considered the war a conflict between "imperialist powers"." This is quite a complex sentence, and might be usefully broken in two.

Now divided into two sentences.Henrig (talk) 08:12, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "western front" - should this be capitalised?

Done.Henrig (talk) 08:12, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " While in Ludwigsburg, Rau managed to get vacation at short notice on 8 November 1918 and joined the in those days developing revolution in Stuttgart.[2]" - vacation, or leave?

Replaced with "leave".Henrig (talk) 08:12, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "shortly after a revolutionary crowd had stormed his residence, the Wilhelm Palais and flew a red flag above the building" - "flown", not "flew", given the tense of the sentence.

Done.Henrig (talk) 08:12, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "These happenings were a first cumulation of a civil commotion, that had started a few days earlier, by the end of October 1918, with large strikes and demonstrations" - the sequencing here is unclear - I'd suggest moving the "end of October" bit to the start of the section.

Removed "end of October". Large demonstrations started at the end of October. At the moment I'm not sure when the strikes started.Henrig (talk) 08:12, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " a first Workers' council " - this should either be capitalised on both words, or neither.

Done. Henrig (talk) 12:06, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "and took over a large part of the power in" - could you lose the "the power in"? I think the sentence would still mean the same.

Done.Henrig (talk) 12:06, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "In this quickly established first government, which for the present shared power with the councils, the Spartacist Albert Schreiner, then chairman of a soldier council, initially assumed the key position of Minister of War. " - If you restructured this sentence as "The Spartacist... initially assumed... in this quickly established..." it would probably read easier.

Done.Henrig (talk) 12:06, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "While the Spartacists considered aims similar to those of the last year's October Revolution in Russia as an ideal, parts of the other USPD members and the SPD followers considered such conditions more as a deterrence" - I think I know what this means, but it could be clarified.

Rephrased and shortened this sentence.

  • " by armed rebellion" - "by force"?

Added a clarification.Henrig (talk) 12:30, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " During such an attempt, at the beginning of April 1919, the time, when in Munich the Bavarian Soviet Republic was formally proclaimed, a general strike took place in the Stuttgart area and 16 people died in gunfights, in which even cannons were deployed." - again, the sentence sequence doesn't read easily. NB: by cannons, do we mean the genuine, antiquated kind of cannon?

Rephrased the sentence and replaced "cannon" with "gun". (My dictionary is not very helpful.)Henrig (talk) 12:30, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "In this time, the party leader in Württemberg was Edwin Hoernle, a former visitor of Rau's youth group in Zuffenhausen and since then Rau's long-standing friend. In former years, Hoernle had also become a kind of influential teacher for Rau. Then he made his voluminous library available to Rau and talked with him about the upcoming questions during Rau's self-study." I was having trouble with this bit. How about "The party leader in Württemberg at this time was Edwin Hoernle. Hoernle had visited Rau's youth group in Zuffenhausen and had become a long standing friend; he was an influential teacher for Rau and made his voluminous library available to Rau to use."?

Done. It seems the information is the same and there is no danger of confusion with a school teacher. The longer version emphasized the self-study. The shorter version implies it.Henrig (talk) 13:40, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "The most outstanding ideological authority of the movement in Stuttgart, during the time of Rau's political involvement there, was however Clara Zetkin, a founding member of the Second International, about whom Friedrich Engels once had written, that he liked her very much, while emperor Wilhelm II is said to have referred to her as the "worst witch in Germany". Worth breaking the sentence after Clara Zetkin's name.

Done.Henrig (talk) 13:40, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "She had also been living in a Stuttgart suburb" - The "also" implies that someone else had been living in a suburb in Stuttgart - was this the intent?

Yes. Rau lived in a suburb of Stuttgart. But "also" is not necessary. Removed. Henrig (talk) 13:40, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " and since then, been gathering a circle of Württemberg Marxists around her, among them Rau's friend Edwin Hoernle" - you need a paired comma after the "and"; you don't need to give Edwin Hoernle's full name again, as he's just been mentioned.

Done.Henrig (talk) 13:40, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "Rau became a secretary and full-time member of the agricultural division" - just to check, was he "a" secretary, or "the" secretary?

"The secretary". Changed this sentence to "Rau became a full-time party functionary and the secretary of the agricultural division" Henrig (talk) 14:45, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "After Hoernle had been elected..." - the "after" is superfluous here, as you can only succeed to someone's post after they've been appointed to it; I'd go for "Hoernle had been elected to the Executive Committee of the Comintern (ECCI) in November 1922 and Rau succeeded him to this position the following year."

Done.Henrig (talk) 14:45, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "via Czechoslovakia and" - needs a comma after Czechoslovakia

Done.Henrig (talk) 18:24, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "he was supposedly at odds" - the footnote is useful here, but it would be good to be clear in the main text if this means that contemporaries thought he was at odds, or if this the opinion of historians.

Replaced "supposedly" with "might have been". At the moment I don't know such a statement by a historian.Henrig (talk) 18:24, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "However, it seems that..." Starting with however changes its meaning slightly. I'd advise "It seems, however, that..."

Done.Henrig (talk) 18:24, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "At the beginning of 1939 Rau crossed the border to Spain again and subsequently led, together with Ludwig Renn, the remainders of the XI Brigade, which, together with other remaining international units – now combined in the "Agrupación Internacional" – fought on Spain's northern border after the fall of Barcelona, protecting the stream of refugees escaping to France." I'd break this in two after Brigade.

Done.Henrig (talk) 18:24, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "sent to Camp Vernet, the internment centre in France" - To check, do you mean "the" internment centre (implies only one existed), or "a" centre?

Changed to "the main internment centre".Henrig (talk) 18:24, 3 December 2011 (UTC) Changed to "an internment centre" (Vernet is well-known, but it was not even the largest camp.) Henrig (talk) 23:14, 9 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " and sat until March 1943 " - "was held until March"?

Changed to "held".Henrig (talk) 18:24, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " the camp rebellion" - first mention of this, so would suggest "a camp rebellion"

Done.Henrig (talk) 18:24, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "When Rau was free again, " - unclear if this was the result of the camp rebellion or the end of the war.

Changed to "When the war was over".Henrig (talk) 18:57, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "became now chairman of the central administration" - "now" is unnecessary.

Removed.Henrig (talk) 18:57, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "Rau was member of the commission for the execution of the land reform in the province." - "a" member

Done.Henrig (talk) 18:57, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "the responsible president for economy and transport in Brandenburg" - this isn't my usual period: president of what?

It's also not so clear in the source. Obviously there was a president for Brandenburg and a few vice-presidents. The vice-presidents are mentioned as responsible presidents for .... Replaced this passage with "assumed responsibility for" Henrig (talk) 18:57, 3 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " In this capacity, he was since June 1946 " - "he was, from June 1946 onwards,"

Done.Henrig (talk) 21:02, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "new established sequester commission " - "newly"

Done.Henrig (talk) 21:02, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " 1946 was also the year of the forced merger of eastern KPD and eastern SPD into the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED).[35] Thus Rau became a member of the SED." - I'd combined this two sentences.

Done.Henrig (talk) 21:19, 8 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "A remarkable 1946 event in Brandenburg were in November elections, which preceded an official status change from a province to a federal state in the following year." - check the grammar here (event is singular); it's not clear from this why this was remarkable (as opposed to, say, just "important")

Replaced with "Important 1946 events in Brandenburg" Henrig (talk) 21:02, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " which became in this time the centralised administration organisation for the Soviet Occupation Zone " - "became during this period"

Done.Henrig (talk) 21:02, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "An especially notable and momentous event in this time was the currency reform of 1948." - you could easily cut this sentence.

Removed "and notable" (User VM repl. 'especially" with "particularly")Henrig (talk) 21:34, 6 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "leaving the eastern zone alone with the old common currency." - "eastern zone to use the old common currency"

Done.Henrig (talk) 21:02, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " the DWK under Rau's leadership " - I'd go for "the DWK, under Rau's leadership,"

Done.Henrig (talk) 21:02, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " In doing so, the DWK also instrumentalized the currency reform to redistribute capital by using highly different exchange rates for private and state-run companies" - I'm not sure what "instrumentalized" means here. I'd suggest just "different exchange rate" rather than "highly different"

They used it for the purpose to redistribute capital. (Perhaps the meaning is not exactly the same like in German for the term "instrumentalisieren".) Apparently not! Replaced with "exploited".Henrig (talk) 20:49, 7 December 2011 (UTC) Removed "highly".Henrig (talk) 21:02, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "The following quarrel, which of the two new currencies should be used in Berlin, was the starting of the Berlin Blockade by the USSR and the western airborne supply of West Berlin." - The following quarrel? I'm not quite sure if this means the disagreement you've just mentioned, or a subsequent quarrel that isn't in the article.

Replaced with "disagreement ... triggered the Berlin Blockade."Henrig (talk) 20:22, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "The time of Rau's German Economic Commission ended on 7 October 1949..." > "Rau's German Economic Commission was abolished on..." might be better

I'm not sure. Perhaps a judicial body remained for a while.Henrig (talk) 20:22, 2 December 2011 (UTC) Actually, the DWK was formally abolished five days after the proclamation of the GDR. I've rephrased this passage now. Henrig (talk) 12:52, 10 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "Thereupon Rau..." > "Rau thereupon..."

Done.Henrig (talk) 20:22, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "in 1950, a full member of the Politburo" - "in 1950 he became a full member of the..."

Done.Henrig (talk) 20:22, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "In 1949–1950" - "Between 1949-1950..."

Replaced with 'Between 1949 and 1950'Henrig (talk) 20:22, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "In a later letter to Pieck of 28 November 1951" - probably needs a comma after 1951.

Done.Henrig (talk) 20:22, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "In 1952–1953, Rau led the newly established Coordination Centre for Industry and Traffic at the East German Council of Ministers." - single sentence paragraph - should really be incorporated into one of the adjacent para's.

Expanded this paragraph.Henrig (talk) 20:02, 5 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "In this connection " - you could safely delete this clause

Done.Henrig (talk) 20:54, 5 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " Thereupon the leading SED party ideologist Rudolf Herrnstadt, a candidate member of the Poliburo, drew with support and assistance by Heinrich Rau a concept for such a New Course in East Germany" - the language here needs a little work.

Rephrased by user Volunteer Marek.Henrig (talk) 18:31, 6 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "( plus six candidate members )" - spaces on the inside of the brackets should be removed

Done.Henrig (talk) 19:31, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "while Rau's Spanish Civil War fellow" - I think you meant "comrade", not "fellow" (unless you meant to put "Rau's fellow Spanish Civil War veteran")

Comrade. Done.Henrig (talk) 19:31, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "The very next day after the meeting Ulbricht went by plane to Moscow and the Soviet leadership, who in part also feared, that deposing Ulbricht might be construed as a sign of weakness, secured Ulbricht's position now." Excess comma after "feared"; the "now" should be before "secured".

Done.Henrig (talk) 19:31, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "became now a new candidate member of the Politburo" > "now became..."

DoneHenrig (talk) 19:31, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "'Number One'" - is this a direct translation of the German? If it's English, I'd suggest its too casual, and would advise "the senior leader"

Not sure at the moment, but "senior leader" seems to be better. Done Henrig (talk) 19:01, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " the points of dissension" - could just be "the dissension"

Done.Henrig (talk) 19:01, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "widely avoided an appearance of disharmony with Ulbricht present at this time" - "avoided giving the impression of any disagreement with Ulbricht"

Done.Henrig (talk) 19:01, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " during that time:" - should end in a comma

Done.Henrig (talk) 19:01, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "which combined the responsibilities of three other until then existing ministries" - "which combined the responsibilities of three existing ministries"

DoneHenrig (talk) 19:01, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "who would later, in the early 1960s," - "who would, in the early 1960s,"

Done.Henrig (talk) 19:01, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " This reform in the 1960s partially had already a forerunner reform in the middle of the 1950s and the economic historian Jörg Roesler considers the NES in the 1960s as a continuation of this foregoing reform." > " This later reform was presaged by the reforms in the middle of the 1950s; the economic historian Jörg Roesler considers the NES in the 1960s as a continuation of these reforms."

Done.Henrig (talk) 19:01, 2 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " a scientific study, which was ordered by Rau's ministry in 1953, for the purpose to achieve knowledge about needs for more economic efficiency in the factories" " a scientific study, commissioned by Rau's ministry in 1953, to assess the need for greater economic efficiency in the factories"

Done.Henrig (talk) 20:23, 1 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "promised more economic efficiency" "more" > "greater" or "enhanced"

Done.Henrig (talk) 20:23, 1 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " Unrests in other Eastern Bloc countries during the previous year 1956, in particular in Hungary, had obviously awoken the desire for more central control again." - "obviously" - I'd suggest removing this word.

Done.Henrig (talk) 20:23, 1 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "However the subsequent unsatisfying economic development during the following years eventually led in the 1960s to the concept of a new planning reform, the NES.2 - "however" at the start of a sentence has a different meaning. "The subsequent unsatisfying economic development, however, during..."

Done.Henrig (talk) 20:23, 1 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "'Inter-German Trade' " - double speech marks

Done. Henrig (talk) 19:59, 1 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "both with different political systems." -"both envisaging different political systems"

Done. Henrig (talk) 19:59, 1 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "The West German position was, that the West German government, as the only free elected government," - suggest "The West German position was that they, as the only freely elected government"

Done.Henrig (talk) 19:59, 1 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "'trade missions'" - double speech marks

Done. Henrig (talk) 19:59, 1 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " the in this time actually decision-making body" - "in this period the actual decision-making body"

Done. Henrig (talk) 19:59, 1 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "riparian states" -what's a "riparian state"?

Replaced with "peripheral states"Henrig (talk) 20:54, 5 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "Rau, already health-impaired in his last years," > "Rau, in poor health during his final years,"

Done. Henrig (talk) 19:59, 1 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "a fighter group " - unclear if aircraft, or something else

Replaced with "fighter squadron"Henrig (talk) 20:18, 5 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • " hermetically protected" - might be worth seeing if there's a better phrase for this

Replaced with "secured".Henrig (talk) 21:34, 6 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Done. Henrig (talk) 19:59, 1 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

(b) it complies with the manual of style guidelines for lead sections, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation.

2. Factually accurate and verifiable:

(a) it provides references to all sources of information in the section(s) dedicated to the attribution of these sources according to the guide to layout;

(b) it provides in-line citations from reliable sources for direct quotations, statistics, published opinion, counter-intuitive or controversial statements that are challenged or likely to be challenged, and contentious material relating to living persons—science-based articles should follow the scientific citation guidelines;

  • "While the Spartacists considered aims similar to those of the last year's October Revolution in Russia as an ideal, parts of the other USPD members and the SPD followers considered such conditions more as a deterrence. They favoured social improvements in a parliamentary democracy and aimed for early elections in Württemberg." - missing a reference

Rephrased this sentence and added a reference.Henrig (talk) 21:36, 4 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

  • "The following quarrel, which of the two new currencies should be used in Berlin, was the starting of the Berlin Blockade by the USSR and the western airborne supply of West Berlin." Missing a reference

Done.Henrig (talk) 21:36, 4 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Done.Henrig (talk) 21:36, 4 December 2011 (UTC) (c) it contains no original research.[reply]

Broad in its coverage:

(a) it addresses the main aspects of the topic;

  • Yes.

(b) it stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style).

  • Yes.

Neutral: it represents viewpoints fairly and without bias.

Stable: it does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing edit war or content dispute.

Illustrated, if possible, by images:

(a) images are tagged with their copyright status, and valid fair use rationales are provided for non-free content;

(b) images are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions.

  • One minor point: "Heinrich Rau (right) with Bruno Leuschner, one of his deputies at the DWK (Picture from 1951)" - why not just ", 1951" like the other captions?

Done Henrig (talk) 19:59, 1 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Any update this has now been on hold for 32 days Jim Sweeney (talk) 10:17, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Yep, my fault - I meant to finish off the review post the various changes before I went on leave - will conclude later today. Hchc2009 (talk) 11:22, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]
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