Willi Bredel
Willi Bredel (2 May 1901 – 27 October 1964) was a German writer and president of the East German Academy of Arts, Berlin. Willi Bredel was born in Hamburg, he was a pioneer of socialist realist literature.
Willi Bredel

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- Name
- Willi Bredel
- Born
- 2 May 1901
- Birthplace
- Hamburg, German Empire
- Died
- 27 October 1964
- Place of death
- East Berlin, East Germany
- Awards
- Patriotic Order of Merit, in Gold (1961) Banner of Labour (1960) Hans Beimler Medal (1956) Patriotic Order of Merit, in Silver (1955)
- Nationality
- German Democratic Republic · German Empire · Weimar Republic
- Occupation
- politician · writer · journalist · resistance fighter · screenwriter · editing staff · member of parliament
- Fields
- creative and professional writing · journalism · opinion journalism · political activity
- Known for
- Die Prüfung
- Honours
- Patriotic Order of Merit in Gold · Banner of Labor · National Prize of East Germany · Fritz Heckert Medal · Hans Beimler Medal
- Languages
- German
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Documentary summary
Willi Bredel (2 May 1901 – 27 October 1964) was a German writer and president of the East German Academy of Arts, Berlin. Willi Bredel was born in Hamburg, he was a pioneer of socialist realist literature.
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Authority files
wikidata · Q63528 · wikipedia · Willi Bredel
In this article
Biography
Biography
The recorded working language is German. The field of work recorded is creative and professional writing, journalism and opinion journalism. Places of work recorded in the authority are Berlin and Hamburg. Positions recorded include member of the Volkskammer and president. Works named in the authority record are Die Prüfung. Distinctions recorded are Patriotic Order of Merit in Gold, Banner of Labor, National Prize of East Germany and Fritz Heckert Medal.

For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Illus-Rudolph 5.1.51 1. Buchserie fortschrittlicher Schriftsteller erscheint. Die ersten zehn Bände der Bibliothek fortschrittlicher Schriftsteller, die nach der Kulturverordnung der DDR vom 16.3.50 herausgegeben wird, erscheinen jetzt.
Helmut Rudolph · Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-09175-0002 / Rudolph / CC-BY-SA 3.0 · This image was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the German Federal Archive (Deutsches Bundesarchiv) as part of a cooperation project. The German Federal Archive guarantees an authentic representation

For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. Illus-Rudolph 5.1.51 1. Buchserie fortschrittlicher Schriftsteller erscheint. Die ersten zehn Bände der Bibliothek fortschrittlicher Schriftsteller, die nach der Kulturverordnung der DDR vom 16.3.50 herausgegeben wird, erscheinen jetzt.
Helmut Rudolph · Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-09175-0006 / Rudolph / CC-BY-SA 3.0 · This image was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the German Federal Archive (Deutsches Bundesarchiv) as part of a cooperation project. The German Federal Archive guarantees an authentic representation
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Willi Bredel • Office1 — President of the Academy of Arts of the German Democratic Republic • Term Start1 — 1962 • Term End1 — 1964 • Predecessor1 — Otto Nagel • Successor1 — Konrad Wolf • Born — 2 May 1901 • Birthplace — Hamburg, German Empire • Died — 27 October 1964 • Place of death — East Berlin, East Germany • Resting Place — Friedrichsfelde Central Cemetery • Party — Socialist Unity Party of Germany (1946–) Communist Party of Germany (1919–1946) Spartakusbund (1917–1919) • Awards — Patriotic Order of Merit, in Gold (1961) Banner of Labour (1960) Hans Beimler Medal (1956) Patriotic Order of Merit, in Silver (1955) • Allegiance — Soviet Union (1941–1945) Spanish Republic (1937–1938) • Branch — People's Army of the Republic (1937–1938) • Unit — * International Brigades (1937–1938) • XI International Brigade • Thälmann Battalion • Battles — Second World War Spanish Civil War Hamburg Uprising
Life and career
Life and career
• Illustration — East German postage stamp of Bredel Born into the family of a cigar maker, after graduating from primary school he became a metal worker. From 1916 to 1917 he was a member of the Socialist Worker Youth, from 1917 to 1920 of the Spartakusbund and from 1919 of the Communist Party of Germany. In 1923 he took part in the Hamburg Uprising and was sentenced to two years in prison. After his amnesty in 1925, he worked as a lathe operator in the Kampnagel factory while being the editor of various communist news outlets. For the "preparation of literary high and national treason", he was sentenced to two years imprisonment in 1930. He wrote his first novels while in custody. Soon after the Nazis seized power in 1933, Bredel was imprisoned at Fuhlsbüttel concentration camp. He was released in spring 1934. Fleeing from Nazi Germany, he went to Czechoslovakia and then Moscow, where he lived at the Hotel Lux. He published Die Prüfung (1934), a novel describing a Nazi concentration camp, which was reprinted several times and translated into other languages. He also published accounts of his experiences in the Deutsche Zentral Zeitung, a German-language newspaper published in Moscow. In September 1936, while in Russia during Stalin's Great Purge, Bredel participated in several sessions in which German writers examined each other's loyalty to the Communist Party. In one of his speeches, Willi Bredel described himself as "guilty" of not having examined his fellow writers' loyalty earlier and continued to publicly name seven expat German writers, questioning their loyalty. At least six of them were later murdered or died in prison. Bredel took part in the Spanish Civil War as commissar of the Thälmann Battalion as well as the Second World War, in which he fought on the Soviet side. His propaganda material, along with those of Walter Ulbricht and Erich Weinert, was used in an attempt to lure the 6th Army into surrendering at the Battle of Stalingrad. After the war, he returned to Germany as part of the Sobottka Group, sent to lay the groundwork for the Soviet occupation of Mecklenburg. He later lived in East Germany and died in East Berlin.
Selected works
Selected works
• Die Prüfung • The Death of General Moreau and other stories • Verwandte und Bekannte Trilogy
Career and activity
Career and activity
Willi Bredel worked in creative and professional writing, journalism, opinion journalism and political activity. Recorded positions include member of the Volkskammer and president. He belonged to Academy of Arts of the GDR, National Committee for a Free Germany and Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. He worked at Berlin and Hamburg.
Identity
Identity
Willi Bredel is recorded with the occupation resistance fighter. Recorded with the occupation editing staff. Recorded as having received Patriotic Order of Merit in Gold, Banner of Labor and National Prize of East Germany. Recognition and collections. Bredel received Patriotic Order of Merit in Gold, Banner of Labor, National Prize of East Germany, Fritz Heckert Medal and Hans Beimler Medal.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1901
Willi Bredel was born on 2 May 1901.
1964
Willi Bredel died on 27 October 1964.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Willi Bredel was born at Hamburg.
Birthplace
Willi Bredel died at East Berlin.
Deathplace
Hamburg.
Birth place
East Berlin.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- Bredel, Willi: Die Prüfung, Kindlers Literatur Lexikon (KLL), 2020
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2020
- From Social Fascism to Popular Front: KPD Policy as Reflected in the Works of Friedrich Wolf, Anna Seghers and Willi Bredel, 1928–1938, German Writers and Politics 1918–39, 1992
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 1992
reference work
- “Willi Bredel”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q63528: Willi Bredel
Unverified · Wikidata
Awards and decorations
• 1955 Patriotic Order of Merit in silver • 1956 Hans Beimler Medal • 1960 Banner of Labor • 1961 Patriotic Order of Merit in gold • 1964 Burial at the Memorial of the Socialists (Friedrichsfelde Central Cemetery)
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Bredel, Willi: Die Prüfung, Kindlers Literatur Lexikon (KLL), 2020Crossref registry
Verifiedscholarly publication
Verifiedreference work
Partially resolvedauthority record
Unverified
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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