Schumacher, Kurt, 1895-1952

Curt Ernst Carl Schumacher, better known as Kurt Schumacher (13 October 1895 – 20 August 1952), was a German politician and resistance fighter against the Nazis. He was chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany from 1946 and the first Leader of the Opposition in the Bundestag in West Germany in 1949; he served in both positions until his death. Upon Adolf Hitler's seizure of power, Schumacher was imprisoned for ten years in various Nazi concentration camps. After World War II, he was one of the founding fathers of postwar German democracy. Throughout his life, he opposed reactionary and revolutionary forces, including the Nazi Party and the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). Referencing the concept of red fascism, Schumacher described the KPD as "red-painted Nazis".