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Erich Honecker (August 25, 1912 – May 29, 1994) was a German Communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until 1989. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... Erich Honecker; from German wikipedia File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... // Leaders of the Socialist Unity Party Chairmen Wilhelm Pieck (formerly KPD) and Otto Grotewohl (formerly SPD) (1946–1954) First Secretaries / General Secretaries of the Central Committee German: Erster Sekretär des Zentralkomitees der Sozialistischen Einheitspartei Deutschlands, Generalsekretär des ZK der SED. Walter Ulbricht (1950–1971) Erich Honecker (1971–1989... Walter Ulbricht (June 30, 1893 – August 1, 1973) was a German communist statesman. ... Egon Krenz (born 19 March 1937) is a former German Communist politician, who briefly served as leader of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1989 before the end of Communist rule. ... // Leaders of the Socialist Unity Party Chairmen Wilhelm Pieck (formerly KPD) and Otto Grotewohl (formerly SPD) (1946–1954) First Secretaries / General Secretaries of the Central Committee German: Erster Sekretär des Zentralkomitees der Sozialistischen Einheitspartei Deutschlands, Generalsekretär des ZK der SED. Walter Ulbricht (1950–1971) Erich Honecker (1971–1989... Willi Stoph (9 July 1914 - 13 April 1999) was Prime Minister of East Germany from 1973 to 1989. ... Egon Krenz (born 19 March 1937) is a former German Communist politician, who briefly served as leader of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1989 before the end of Communist rule. ... Walter Ulbricht (June 30, 1893 – August 1, 1973) was a German communist statesman. ... Egon Krenz (born 19 March 1937) is a former German Communist politician, who briefly served as leader of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1989 before the end of Communist rule. ... is the 237th day of the year (238th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Neunkirchen is a town and a municipality, the largest town but not the seat of the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. ... is the 149th day of the year (150th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... Satellite image of Santiago Santiago (full form Santiago de Chile) is the capital of Chile. ... The party emblem represented the handshake between Communist Wilhelm Pieck and Social Democrat Otto Grotewohl when their parties merged in 1946 The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) (German: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands) was the governing party of East Germany from its formation in 1949 until the elections of 1990. ... Margot Honecker née Feist (born April 17, 1927 in Halle/Saale, Germany) is a German Communist politician who served as Minister for National Education in East Germany (1963-1989). ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ... is the 237th day of the year (238th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 149th day of the year (150th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... This article is about the form of society and political movement. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ... This article is about the state which existed from 1949 to 1990. ...

After German re-unification, he first fled to the Soviet Union but was extradited by the new Russian government to Germany, where he was imprisoned and tried for high treason and crimes committed during the Cold War. However, as he was dying of cancer, he was released from prison. He died in exile in Chile about a year and a half later. German reunification (Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) refers to the reunification of Germany from its constituent parts of East Germany and West Germany under a single government on October 3, 1990. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these to spread, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion, or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis (where cancer cells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system). ...

Origins and early political career

Honecker was born on Max-Braun-Straße in Neunkirchen, now Saarland, as the son of a politically militant coal miner, Wilhelm, who in 1905 had married Caroline Catharina Weidenhof. There were six children born to the family: Katharina (Käthe), Wilhelm (Willi, Hungary), Frieda, Erich, Gertrud (b. 1917; m. Hoppstädter), and Karl-Robert. Neunkirchen is a town and a municipality, the largest town but not the seat of the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. ... Location Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DEC Capital Saarbrücken Minister-President Peter Müller (CDU) Governing party CDU Votes in Bundesrat 3 (from 69) Basic statistics Area  2,569 km² (992 sq mi) Population 1,044,000 (11/2006)[1]  - Density 406 /km...

He joined the Young Communist League of Germany (KJVD), the youth section of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), in 1926 and joined the KPD itself in 1929. Between 1928 and 1930 he worked as a roofer, but did not finish his apprenticeship. Thereafter he was sent to Moscow to study at the International Lenin School and for the rest of his life remained a full-time politician. Kommunistischer Jugendverband Deutschlands (Young Communist League of Germany), was a political youth organization in Germany. ... 1932 KPD poster, End This System The Communist Party of Germany (German Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands – KPD) was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period. ... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ... a school for teh cool Image:Http://submissions. ...

He returned to Germany in 1931 and was arrested in 1935, two years after the Nazis had come to power. In 1937, he was sentenced to ten years for Communist activities and remained a prisoner until the end of World War II. At the end of the war, Honecker resumed activity in the party under leader Walter Ulbricht, and, in 1946, became one of the first members of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, SED), which was formed by the merger of the KPD and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany. Nazism in history Nazi ideology Nazism and race Outside Germany Related subjects Lists Politics Portal         Nazism or National Socialism (German: Nationalsozialismus), refers primarily to the ideology and practices of the Nazi Party (National Socialist German Workers Party, German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP) under Adolf Hitler. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Walter Ulbricht (June 30, 1893 – August 1, 1973) was a German communist statesman. ... The party emblem represented the handshake between Communist Wilhelm Pieck and Social Democrat Otto Grotewohl when their parties merged in 1946 The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) (German: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands) was the governing party of East Germany from its formation in 1949 until the elections of 1990. ... SPD redirects here. ... The Soviet Occupation Zone (German: Sowjetische Besatzungszone (SBZ) or Ostzone) was the area of eastern Germany occupied by the Soviet Union from 1945 on, at the end of World War II. It became East Germany. ...

Following the SED victory in the October 1946 elections, Honecker took his place amongst the SED leadership in the first postwar East German parliament, the German People's Congress (Deutscher Volkskongress). The German Democratic Republic was proclaimed on 7 October 1949 with the adoption of a new constitution, establishing a political system similar to that of the Soviet Union. Honecker was a candidate member for the secretariat of the Central Committee in 1950; by 1958, he had become a full member of the Politbüro. is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Central Committee most commonly refers to the central executive unit of a communist party, whether ruling or non-ruling. ... Politburo is short for Political Bureau. ...

Leadership of East Germany

In 1961, Honecker, as the Central Committee secretary for security matters, was in charge of the building of the Berlin Wall. In 1971, he initiated a political power struggle that led, with Soviet support, to himself becoming the new leader, replacing Walter Ulbricht as First Secretary of the SED Central Committee and as chairman of the National Defense Council. In 1976, he also became Chairman of the Council of State (Vorsitzender des Staatsrats der DDR) and thus the head of state. View in 1986 from the west side of graffiti art on the walls infamous death strip Walls poster in memory of the fall. ... Walter Ulbricht (June 30, 1893 – August 1, 1973) was a German communist statesman. ... The Staatsrat (Council of State) was in the German Democratic Republic the formally highest collective body, which was created with law over the formation of the Council of State from 12 September 1960 as follow-up organ of the abolished office of the president of the GDR after the death... For the comedy film of the same name, see Head of State (film). ...

Under Honecker's leadership, the GDR adopted a program of "consumer socialism," which resulted in a marked improvement in living standards—already the highest among the Eastern bloc countries. More attention was placed on the availability of consumer goods, and the construction of new housing was accelerated, with Honecker promising to "settle the housing problem as an issue of social relevance." [1] Yet, despite improved living conditions, internal dissent was not tolerated. Around 125 East German citizens were killed during this period while trying to cross the border into West Berlin. A map of the Eastern Bloc 1948-1989. ... Boroughs of West Berlin West Berlin was the name given to the western part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. ...

In foreign relations, Honecker renounced the objective of a unified Germany and adopted the "defensive" position of ideological Abgrenzung (demarcation). He combined loyalty to the USSR with flexibility toward détente, especially in relation to rapprochement with West Germany. In September 1987, he became the first East German head of state to visit West Germany. Détente is a French term, meaning a relaxing or easing; the term has been used in international politics since the early 1970s. ...

In the late 1980s Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced glasnost and perestroika, reforms to liberalize communism. Honecker and the East German government, however, refused to implement similar reforms in the GDR, with Honecker reportedly telling Gorbachev: "We have done our perestroika, we have nothing to restructure." [2] However, as the reform movement spread throughout Central and Eastern Europe, mass demonstrations against the East German government erupted, most prominently the 1989 Monday demonstrations in Leipzig. Faced with civil unrest, Honecker's Politbüro comrades colluded to replace him. The elderly and ill Honecker was forced to resign on 18 October 1989, and was replaced by Egon Krenz. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev[1] (Russian: , IPA: ; born 2 March 1931) is a Russian politician. ... //   (Russian: IPA: ) is politics of maximal openness, transparency of activity of all official (governmental) institutes, and freedom of information. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Monday demonstration in Leipzig The 1989 Monday demonstrations in the East German city of Leipzig were a series of peaceful political protests against the East German government. ... Leipzig ( ; Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk from the Sorbian word for Tilia) is, with a population of over 506,000, the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany. ... Civil disorder is a broad term that is typically used by law enforcement to describe one or more forms of disturbance caused by a group of people. ... is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Egon Krenz (born 19 March 1937) is a former German Communist politician, who briefly served as leader of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1989 before the end of Communist rule. ...

Post-1989

After the GDR was dissolved in October 1990, the Honeckers stayed with the family of the Lutheran pastor Uwe Holmer. Honecker then stayed in a Soviet military hospital near Berlin before later fleeing with Margot Honecker to Moscow, to avoid prosecution over charges of Cold War crimes. He was accused by the German government of involvement in the deaths of 192 East Germans who tried to leave the GDR. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, Honecker took refuge in the Chilean embassy in Moscow, but was extradited by the Yeltsin administration to Germany in 1992. However, when the trial formally opened in early 1993, Honecker was released due to ill health and on 13 January of that year moved to Chile to live with his daughter Sonja, her Chilean husband Leo Yáñez, and their son Roberto. He died in exile of liver cancer in Santiago on 29 May 1994. His body was cremated and the remains are believed to be in the possession of his widow Margot. For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... The rise of Gorbachev Although reform stalled between 1964–1982, the generational shift gave new momentum for reform. ... “Yeltsin” redirects here. ... Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, also called hepatoma or hepatocarcinogenesis) is a primary malignancy (cancer) of the liver. ... Satellite image of Santiago Santiago (full form Santiago de Chile) is the capital of Chile. ... is the 149th day of the year (150th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ...

Personal

Honecker married Edith Baumann in 1950 and divorced her in 1953. They had a daughter, Erika (b. 1950). In 1953 he married Margot Feist and they remained married until his death. They had a daughter, Sonja, born in 1952. Margot Honecker served for several years as the GDR Minister for People's Education. Margot Honecker née Feist (born April 17, 1927 in Halle/Saale, Germany) is a German Communist politician who served as Minister for National Education in East Germany (1963-1989). ... The Stadthaus in Berlin, seat of the Ministerrat der DDR from 1961 until 1990 The Ministerrat (Council of Ministers) was the chief executive body of the East Germany since November 1950 until East Germany dissolved in 1990. ...

Famous quotes

• "The Wall will be standing in 50 and even in 100 years, if the reasons for it are not removed." (Berlin, 19 January 1989)

(Original: "Die Mauer wird in 50 und auch in 100 Jahren noch bestehen bleiben, wenn die dazu vorhandenen Gründe noch nicht beseitigt sind") is the 19th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ...

• "Neither an ox nor a donkey is able to stop the progress of socialism."

(Original: "Den Sozialismus in seinem Lauf, halten weder Ochs' noch Esel auf", Berlin, 7 October 1989) is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ...

• "The future belongs to socialism" (Original: Die Zukunft gehört dem Sozialismus) (early 1980's)

Literature

Honecker's autobiography Aus meinem Leben is translated into English as From my life. New York : Pergamon, 1981. ISBN 0080245323

• Fulbrook, Mary, The people's state : East German society from Hitler to Honecker, Yale University Press, c2005.

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Erich Honecker

• CNN Cold War - Profile: Erich Honecker
• Honecker im Internet (in German)
• [3] (in Russian)
• Welcoming Address to 1979 Session of the World Peace Council Erich Honecker's speech to the WPC
• A Successful Policy Seared to the Needs of the People Volkskammer pamphlet including material by Honecker

v • d • e Heads of State of the German Democratic Republic
Wilhelm Pieck · Walter Ulbricht · Willi Stoph · Erich Honecker · Egon Krenz · Manfred Gerlach · Sabine Bergmann-Pohl