Im Fadenkreuz der SED. Meine Flucht von der Parteihochschule "Karl Marx" im März 1949 und die Aktivitäten der Zentralen Parteikontroll-Kommission

The author describes the causes and the nature of his flight from the SED Party Academy to Yugoslavia in March 1949 and his subsequent activity in Belgrade. Making use of some three hundred pages related to his flight in the files of the Party Central Control Commission of the SED that have become available in the meanwhile, the author analyses the campaign for vigilance, the hunt for spies, the accusations of "Trotzkyism", his expulsion from the party as well as the measures taken by the SED leadership to prevent the spread of his writings published in Yugoslavia. Taking part also in the activities directed at the time against the "renegade Leonhard", were Kurt Hager and Erich Mielke, both of whom were later first-rank officials of the SED. In concluding, the author makes some inferences about the fight against deviants throughout the SED regime and analyses content, form and results of these ideological-administrative measures.