(1893-1973) Communist Party leader who fled Nazi Germany in 1933 and later rose to become head of East Germany (GDR). From 1938 to 1945, Ulbricht lived in the Soviet Union, and served in the Russian army during WW II. In 1949, he became Deputy Premier of the newly established GDR (German Democratic Republic) and quickly rose to prominance. In 1961, Ulbricht was responsible for the building of the Berlin Wall to stop the daily flight of refugees to the West. In 1968, Ulbricht sent East German troops into Czechoslovakia. He was replaced by Erich Honecker in May 1971.
