Saefkow, Anton

Born July 22, 1903, in Berlin; died Sept. 18, 1944, in Brandenburg. Figure in the Communist Party of Germany (KPD); one of the leaders of the antifascist Resistance Movement. Metalworker by profession.

Saefkow was an active participant in the work of the Young Communist League in his youth. He joined the KPD in 1925. During 1927–33 he directed organizations of the KPD, initially in Dresden, and later in Eastern Saxony, the Ruhr, and northern regions of Germany. After the establishment of the fascist dictatorship, he was imprisoned in a concentration camp, where he remained until 1939. He then rejoined the active antifascist struggle. In 1942 he headed one of the most important organizations in the Resistance Movement in Germany (it functioned in Berlin and other cities). He became part of the operational underground center for the KPD. In July 1944, Saefkow was seized by the Gestapo; later he was executed.