Born into the family of a cigar maker, after graduating from primary school he became a metal worker.

After his amnesty in 1925, he worked as a lathe operator in the Kampnagel factory while being the editor of various communist news outlets.

He published Die Prüfung (1934), a novel describing the Nazi concentration camp, which was reprinted several times and translated into other languages.

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.

[4] After the war, he returned to Germany as part of the Sobottka Group,[5] sent to lay the groundwork for the Soviet occupation of Mecklenburg.