Under Nazi rule, the KPD was suppressed, with members fragmented into resistance groups, prison camps, or exile in the Soviet Union.

The movement venerated "heroic proletarian men" and "physical prowess" as the ultimate revolutionary qualities. While the party's program officially supported egalitarianism, the reality of street fighting often masculinized its image and alienated many women.

Industrial growth provided the Social Democratic Party (SPD) with a massive working-class base. Internal debates over whether to pursue gradual reform or violent revolution eventually led to the 1918 revolution and the founding of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) by figures like Rosa Luxemburg.

The leadership of the GDR ultimately became tragically removed from the desires of its people, remaining "imprisoned" in the confrontational policies of their early history. Creating German Communism, 1890-1990