Karl Otto Adolf Arndt (March 12, 1904 – February 13, 1974) was a German politician and a member of the SPD.
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Born in Königsberg as the son of the Law professor Gustav Adolf Arndt, he moved to Berlin very early with his family. There, he passed his Abitur at the Kaiserin-Augusta-Gymnasium. Then, Arndt studied Law, Economics and Philosophy at the University of Berlin and the University of Marburg. After passing his second examination and promotion in Marburg in 1927, he worked as a lawyer in the famous law firm of Prof. Dr. Max Alsberg. Since 1932, he worked as a judge, but retired in 1933, stating he did not want to join the Nazi Party. Thus, he joined the law firm of Fritz Schönberg in Berlin, helping (among others) Wilhelm Leuschner and Theodor Leipart. After being classified as half Jewish, Arndt was forced to compulsory labour in the Organisation Todt.
In August 1945, Arndt was approved as a lawyer and notary in Marburg. In November 1945, he became Ministerialrat (Head of Division) of Criminal law at the Ministry of Justice of Hesse.
Arndt was married to Ruth Arndt (1901–1989), born Helbing. His son is Claus Arndt, member of the Bundestag from 1968–72 and 1974–76.
Arndt died in Kassel. His estate is at the archive of social democracy of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
Since 1945, Arndt was a member of the SPD. In the 1950s, he was member of the management and participated in creating the Godesberg Program.
In 1948 and 1949, he was a member of the economic council of the Bizone, chairing the board for law, clerk law and "DM-Eröffnungsbilanz" (statement of the financial conditions for the Deutsche Mark). From 1949-69, Arndt was a member of the Bundestag for the SPD. From 1949-61, he served as corporate attorney and secretary of the SPD faction. In addition to that, he served in 1951/52 as deputy managing director of the Bundestag board for Law and Constitutional law as well as deputy managing director of the Bundestag board for reviewing the administration of the Bund (the so-called Platow-Ausschuss). From 1953-61, he chaired the research group "Rechtswesen" of the SPD faction.
Arndt is most famous for his speech in the debate about statute-barred prosecution of Nazi crimes, in which he states to morally feel guilty about taking part in those crimes.
In many cases, Arndt represented the SPD faction before the Bundesverfassungsgericht.
From March 11, 1963 to March 31, 1964, Arndt served as senator for science and arts in Berlin.