Draft:Paul Brodek

Paul Brodek (October 16, 1884 - September 5, 1942 in Bremen) was a German politician. He served in the Oldenburg state Parliament as a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.

Life
Of Jewish origin, Brodek was born in Krotoschin, Posen district, West Prussia. After finishing school, he began a commercial apprenticeship in began training in Berlin and came to Brake (Unterweser, Lower Saxony,Germany) in 1910 as a sailor and trade unionist, where he later worked as a dock and warehouse porter. He took part in World War I, but was wounded in 1917 and then worked for Thyssen in Mülheim an der Ruhr. After his return to Brake he was elected to the Workers' and Soldiers' Council. In 1919 he became the director of employment records in Brake, and in 1931 the head of the Wesermünde - Bremerhaven employment office.

During the Weimar Republic, Brodek was a member of the council and magistrate of the city of Brake. From 1923 to 1931 he was a member of the Oldenburg state parliament.

In 1938, Brodek was sent to a 'Jew house' in Brake and then moved to Bremen. Following the November pogroms, he was taken into “protective custody” and deported to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. After his release, he worked as a labourer in Bremen. In 1941 he was imprisoned again, probably in the Farge concentration camp. He was released from there because of his inhumane treatment and died soon afterwards on September 5, 1942.

A street is named after Brodek, and a plaque was erected on his old house.