Brandler, Heinrich

Born July 3, 1881; died 1967. One of the leaders of the right-wing opportunist tendency in the Communist Party of Germany (CPG) in the 1920’s.

Brandler became a member of the German Social Democratic Party in 1898. During World War I he joined the Spartacus League. Later, he became a member of the CPG. He was a member of the Central Committee of the CPG from 1919 to 1923. During its leadership of the CPG, the Brandler-Thalheimer group pursued an opportunistic policy that distorted the tactics of the solidarity of the working class. In autumn 1923, when the revolutionary situation had ripened in Germany, the Brandler-Thalheimer group demanded that the struggle be limited to a “peaceful strike.”

When he joined the Saxon labor government in October 1923, Brandler pursued a capitulatory line. The treasonable policy of Brandler and his followers contributed to the defeat of the uprising of the Hamburg proletariat in October 1923. At the end of 1923, Brandler was removed from the party leadership, but he was allowed to remain in the party. He became the leader of a factional fight against the Central Committee of the CPG and against Comintern decisions. In 1929 he was expelled from the CPG. Subsequently, while living in France and Switzerland and later, in West Germany, Brandler continued his anti-Communist activity.