Karl Schirdewan

Karl Schirdewan (14 May 1907 – 14 July 1998) was a German Communist activist who after World War II became a top East German politician.

During the mid 1950s, Schirdewan was seen as a potential successor to Walter Ulbricht but fell out of favour in 1958. Ulbricht continued to lead the government until 1971, while 1958 was the year in which Schirdewan was thrown out of the Politburo and placed in charge of the National Archives at Potsdam, a position from which he retired in 1964 or 1965. Provided by Wikipedia