Paul Merker
Actor
Paul Merker (born Oberlößnitz 1 February 1894: died Eichwalde 13 May 1969) was an activist member of Germanys Communist Party (KPD / Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands) who later became a politician and a top official of East Germanys ruling SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany/Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands).Merker featured for several years in the show trial culture of the time, placed under a lengthy investigation process that formally began in 1950, and jailed for eight years as a spy in 1955. Released less than a year later, he appeared as a reluctant witness against his friend Walter Janka at another show trial in 1957.
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