Ernst Thälmann

Ernst Thälmann (April 16, 1886 - August 18, 1944) was the leader of the Communist Party of Germany during much of the Weimar Republic.

Born in Hamburg, Thälmann had been a Social Democrat Party member since 1903.

Arrested by the Gestapo on March 3, 1933, Thälmann was placed in solitary confinement until his execution in Buchenwald Concentration Camp eleven years later.