Schumacher, Kurt (1895–1952)

German socialist politician. He was arrested in 1933, and spent 11 years in concentration camps. In 1945 he reorganized the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), and in 1949 became leader of the opposition in the West German parliament.

Schumacher was a deputy in the Württemberg parliament 1924–31, and in the Reichstag 1930–33. After World War II he led a sustained but ultimately unsuccessful opposition to Chancellor Konrad Adenauer's campaign for a German contribution to Western defence.