by the party. In 1947 the Soviets forced him to resign as party chairman. However, he remained a member of the party's Executive Committee. In 1948 Kaiser was forced to leave East Berlin and he went to West Berlin where he joined the West German Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Within the CDU he became a major rival of Konrad Adenauer, the party leader. Kaiser disagreed with Adenauer's social market economy and called for the nationalisation of key industries. Kaiser strongly believed in a neutral, united Germany, and hoped that Germany would be a bridge between the West and the East. In 1950 Kaiser was elected a vice-chairman of the West German CDU. From 1949 until 1957 he was Minister of All-German Affairs in Adenauer's cabinet. Kaiser died on 7 May 1961 in Berlin. He is buried in the Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf, in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough of Berlin. Marriages Kaiser was married twice. In 1953, after the death of his first wife, he married his longtime colleague in trade union activism, Elfriede Kaiser-Nebgen (1890–1983). She was instrumental in helping to save his life after the failure of the 20 July Plot. Legacy The Jakob-Kaiser-Platz, a transportation hub in Charlottenburg-Nord (Berlin), was named after him on 12 May 1961, five days after his death. The Jakob-Kaiser-Haus is home to 1,745 offices, 314 of which belong to current members of the German Bundestag See also East Germany West Germany Konrad Adenauer Communist Party of Germany Christian Democratic Union (East Germany) Christian Democratic Union in Exile Christian Democratic Union References External links 1888 births 1961 deaths People from Bad Kissingen (district) German Roman Catholics Centre Party (Germany) politicians Christian Democratic Union (East Germany) politicians Members of the 20 July plot Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from the Kingdom of Bavaria Roman Catholics in the German Resistance German trade unionists Members of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic Catholic socialists Members of the Bundestag for Berlin Members of the Bundestag 1953–1957 Members of the Bundestag 1949–1953 Members of the Bundestag for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany Members of Parlamentarischer Rat Burials at the Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf