Kurt Schumacher (born 13 October 1895 in Kulm , West Prussia (now Chełmno in Poland ) - died 20 August 1952 in Bonn ) was a German politician . He was leader of the SPD from 1946 to 1952 and speaker of the SPD in the Bundestag 1949-1952.

Schumacher was the son of a salesman. When World War I started, he left school to join the German army . In December 1914, he was badly hurt. His arm had to be removed. After this, he went back to school in Berlin to study Law and politics . While there, he became a socialist . In 1924, he was elected to the legislature in Wurttemberg. He became the SPD leader for Wurttemberg in 1928. In 1930, he was elected to the national legislature, the Reichstag .

After the Nazis took control of Germany, Schumacher was arrested . He was beaten badly in prison . He was put into concentration camps for the next ten years. In 1943, Schumacher was set free because of his bad health . He was arrested again in 1944 and stayed in the concentration camps until the British set them free in April 1945.

After the World War II , Schumacher put the SPD back together. He was first chief of the Social democrats in West Germany after the WWII. He was also their first speaker in the federal parliament ( Bundestag ) and first leader of opposition in the Bundestag.

In 1952, Schumacher died in Bonn .