Action vermin

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Memorial stone for the village of Stresow, which was cleared during the action
Memorial stone of the former double village Zicherie (today Lower Saxony) - Böckwitz (Saxony-Anhalt), parts of the village of Böckwitz, which was on GDR territory, were demolished in 1952

Aktion Vergeziefer and Aktion Festigung ( MfS camouflage name), also called Aktion Kornblume , denote two large operations in the GDR , which were organized according to general staff, in June 1952 as "Aktion Ungeziefer" and in October 1961 as "Aktion Festigung" and "Aktion Kornblume" were carried out with the aim of removing people who were considered politically unreliable from the restricted area along the inner-German border .

Action vermin

The "Aktion Ungeziefer" was a camouflage name (the terms Aktion Grenz and Aktion G were also in use ) of a forced resettlement operation prepared by the Ministry for State Security (MfS) of the GDR and carried out by the People's Police , during which it was carried out between May and June 1952 by the government Citizens who were assessed as “politically unreliable” were forcibly relocated with their families from the inner-German border to the interior of the country. The basis and trigger of this action was the "Ordinance on Measures on the Demarcation Line between the German Democratic Republic and the Western Occupation Zones of Germany" passed by the Council of Ministers on May 26, 1952 ( Law Gazette [Gazette] of the GDR No. 65 of May 27, 1952 [ Issue Date], p. 405). Officially, the “strengthening” of the inner-German border was named as the goal. The State Secretary to the Prime Minister of the GDR and former Thuringian Prime Minister Werner Eggerath was in charge of the action .

The Thuringian Minister of the Interior and Acting Prime Minister Willy Gebhardt was responsible for the implementation of the "Verge Action" in Thuringia . His handwritten note to Otto Funke , who was then 2nd state chairman and state secretary of the SED in Thuringia, about the number of people who were forcibly relocated from the border areas to the interior of the GDR “Otto, Gen. King passed on. That would be the result of the commission's work to eliminate the vermin. ”Is often described as an expression of the inhuman or even dehumanizing view of the GDR leadership.

In another tradition, the above handwritten message from the Thuringian Interior Minister Willy Gebhard dated June 9, 1952 to the 2nd State Secretary of the SED in Thuringia, Otto Funke, received the first big wave of forced resettlement, the "Action X" and its follow-up action " X ", later the legendary name" Aktion Ungeziefer ". Gebhard noted on the letter to the coordination and control body for the working and administrative bodies in Berlin. Final report on the resettlement in the state of Thuringia: “Otto, Gen. King passed on. That would be the result of the work of the Commission to eliminate the vermin. "

Action consolidation / cornflower

Report of the People's Police Leadership on the execution of Order No. 35/61 on the occasion of the Festigung Aktion. Exhibited in the House of History

A similar action, which was called differently by the operations management in the districts, such as: in the Erfurt district "Aktion Kornblume", in the Magdeburg district "Aktion Neues Leben", in the district Suhl "Aktion Blümchen", in the district Karl-Marx-Stadt " Action Fresh Air ”, in the Gera district “ Action Border ”and in the districts of Rostock and Schwerin “ Action East ”took place in October 1961.

execution

Letter from a person concerned about the course of the strengthening campaign to secure peace on October 11, 1961. Exhibited in the House of History

The assessment of “political unreliability” was often arbitrary (in part also through denunciations from neighbors), so that citizens with Western contacts, churchgoers, former members of the NSDAP and its branches, but also farmers who did not meet their delivery requirement to the state , from the forced resettlement , and people who had expressed themselves negatively about the state in any way were recorded. Occasionally, entire villages opposed these coercive measures, so that the resettlement could only take place with the use of reinforcement forces and delayed by a few days. Those affected say that they were loaded onto a rail freight wagon along with their belongings; they drove off without knowing a destination. When they arrived, they were assigned an apartment or house that in terms of value by no means corresponded to what they had been deprived of.

The Vergeziefer campaign took place after the general contract with the Federal Republic of Germany was signed to establish the new GDR border regime, while the Kornblume campaign took place on the basis of the ordinance on residence restrictions of August 24, 1961. At the new places of residence, the neighbors were told that they were criminals, As a result, they were initially unable to have a normal social life there. For those affected, however, the forced resettlement was justified as a necessary measure to ensure peace. The aim of these lies was to cover up the political reasons for the resettlement.

In connection with the forced resettlement from the border area, six suicides have been proven.

Historical reception

Historians assume that between 11,000 and 12,000 people were resettled during the "Verziefer" (1952) and "Festigung" (1961) campaigns and that around 3,000 people escaped this measure by fleeing the GDR . The joint escape of 34 people from Billmuthausen in June 1952 and 53 people from Böseckendorf in October 1961 caused a stir . Both places are in Thuringia . There were several discussions in the media about a lack of compensation for those displaced by the resettlement campaigns in the GDR.

Affected locations (incomplete)

In Brandenburg and (East) Berlin

  • Lenzen and Lenzer Wische on the Elbe, formerly Westprignitz district (from 1953 Schwerin district, since 1992 Brandenburg again, Prignitz district) located in the four-country corner with Meckl./Vorpom.-Niedersachsen-Sachsen/Anhalt. In 1952 over 250 "pests" were resettled from the city alone, for 1961 the list in the state archive in Schwerin contains 94 undesirable residents. In both actions it was mostly independent craftsmen, business people and farmers with their families who were forcibly evacuated within a few hours - see p. Literature.

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

  • formerly Bardowiek , now the municipality of Selmsdorf , razed 1977–1989, transformer building as a memorial and an information board received, is located in the district of Northwest Mecklenburg about two kilometers from Lübeck's city limits, district of Northwest Mecklenburg (formerly Grevesmühlen)
  • former Bothenhorst , razed in 1961, part of the municipality of Lüdersdorf , on the Wakenitz between Lake Ratzeburg and Lübeck , district of Northwest Mecklenburg
  • former Brunshorst , razed in 1961, part of the municipality of Lüdersdorf , on the Wakenitz between the Ratzeburger See and Lübeck , district of Northwest Mecklenburg
  • formerly Huntenhorst (opposite Müggenbusch), razed in 1961, part of the municipality of Lüdersdorf , on the Wakenitz between Lake Ratzeburg and Lübeck , district of Northwest Mecklenburg
  • Former Koosdorf , single farmstead in the north of the Jasmund peninsula , forcibly relocated and demolished, the farmstead was located 1400 m west of Bisdamitz and about 225 m south of the steep coast to the Baltic Sea, the nearest place is Bobbin about 2.5 km south, district of Vorpommern-Rügen , Baltic coast
  • formerly Lankow (near Mustin), forcibly resettled from 1952, demolished in 1976, near the Dechow community, remains of buildings, fruit trees and a memorial stone from 2009 preserved, district of Northwest Mecklenburg
  • former Lenschow , district of Lüdersdorf , looped, district of Northwest Mecklenburg (formerly Grevesmühlen district)
  • former place Neuhof near Gadebusch , looped, district of Northwest Mecklenburg
  • formerly Neu-Zweedorf , forced resettlement from 1952, a total of 9 farming and 5 working-class families were evacuated, demolished by 1982, in 2011 the new Zweedorf chapel opened , part of Schwanheide , Ludwigslust-Parchim district
  • Rüterberg , district of the city of Dömitz , partially demolished, forced resettlement from 1952, 26 plots of land were leveled in 1961, Rüterberg village republic proclaimed in1989, monument to the division of Germany , southern district of Ludwigslust-Parchim
  • formerly Stoffershorst , part of the municipality of Lüdersdorf , razed in 1961, on the Wakenitz between the Ratzeburger See and Lübeck , Stoffershorst was on the east bank of the Wakenitz directly across from Absalonshorst, today the Wakenitzniederung nature reserve , no remnants, district of Northwest Mecklenburg
  • Sülsdorf , district of Selmsdorf , in the northwest of the district of Northwest Mecklenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
  • former Wahlsdorf (also: Wahlstorf), district of Lüdersdorf , looped, district of Northwest Mecklenburg (formerly Grevesmühlen district)
  • formerly Wendisch Lieps , looped, near Gresse , Ludwigslust-Parchim district

In Mecklenburg / Lower Saxony

In 1952, the SED , the People's Police and the State Security forcibly relocated people from 23 villages belonging to the Neuhaus Office as part of the “Border Action”. Their houses and farms were on the F 195 (today: B 195 ) and above all on the Elbe .
In the autumn of 1961, the forced resettlement of the “Aktion Festigung” in the Neuhaus district affected 17 families with 59 relatives from 14 places, including Tripkau , Kaarßen , Zeetze , Haar , Neu Wendischthun , Niendorf , Darchau , Privelack and Sumte . The border towns of Vockfey and Kolepant were razed, in Pommau and Neu Schutschur there were only a few houses left.

In Saxony

In Saxony-Anhalt

  • Böckwitz , district of Klötze , forced resettlement around 1952 and some houses demolished, former Böckwitz-Zicherie double village, memorial stone from 1958 in Zicherie and border nature trail in Böckwitz, Altmarkkreis Salzwedel
  • formerly Grabenstedt and / or Groß-Grabenstedt , looped, part of the municipality of Henningen , Altmarkkreis Salzwedel
  • Hötensleben , 1952 forced resettlement, Hötensleben border monument with originally preserved GDR border systems and memorial, Börde district
  • Former Jahrsau , 1952–1961 forced resettlement, demolished in 1970, northeast of Salzwedel , old cobblestone road with fruit trees and remains of walls preserved, as well as information board
  • Former Stresow , forcibly resettled in 1952, demolished in 1974, in the district of Aulosen in the municipality of Aland , two kilometers north-north-west of Aulosen, 13 kilometers north-west of Krüden, Stresow memorial and meeting place, district of Stendal

In Thuringia

  • Berkach , in 1952 18 families were forcibly resettled, part of the German-German open air museum , part of Grabfeld , district of Schmalkalden-Meiningen
  • formerly Billmuthausen in Heldburger Land , between Heldburg in Thuringia and Gauerstadt in Bavaria, district Hildburghausen , on the river Rodach , 1951 mass exodus, 1961 two families were forcibly relocated and until 1978 the place was razed, preserved: transformer tower and cemetery, newly built: memorial chapel, memorial cross , Commemorative plaque
  • Böseckendorf , district of Teistungen , mass exodus in 1961 and 1963, establishment of the Neu-Böseckendorf settlementin Angerstein in Lower Saxonyon the initiative of a West German pastor
  • formerly Christian green near Tettau , looped, district of Sonneberg
  • Dankmarshausen , forced resettlement after 1961, ( Werra-Suhl-Tal ), Wartburg district
  • Dippach ?, Wartburg district
  • former Dornholz , ground between 1965 and 1982, in the southern Saale-Orla district in Thuringia. The former scattered settlement Dornholz belonged to the then municipality Venzka near Hirschberg
  • Emstadt , partial demolition, district of Schalkau , forced relocation and 1976 demolition of many empty farms, district of Sonneberg
  • formerly Erlebach , former district of Ummerstadt , in the Heldburger Land , between Ummerstadt and Lindenau in Thuringia, razed 1975–1986, village pond and memorial plaque preserved, district of Hildburghausen
  • formerly Eschenborn near Ebenau , Buchenau community , forcibly relocated and demolished from 1962 to 1964, formerly part of the Creuzburg community , Wartburg district
  • Gerstungen ?, Probably affected from 1961, Wartburg district
  • Görsdorf ?, Town of Schalkau , border monument Görsdorf , district of Sonneberg
  • Former Gut Greifenstein below Greifenstein Castle in Eichsfeld near Großtöpfer , looped, Eichsfeld district
  • Großensee , certainly affected by forced resettlements because it is located directly in the restricted border area, Wartburg district
  • formerly Heiligenroda , 1961 the first residents were forcibly evacuated as part of the "Aktion Kornblume", in 1975 the last buildings in Heiligenroda were demolished and leveled, formerly part of Oberzella near the town of Vacha , the place was 338 m above sea level on the local road from Oberzella to Vitzeroda, Wartburg district
  • Heubisch , district of Föritz , twelve families forcibly resettled in 1952, Sonneberg district
  • formerly Ihlefeld on the ridge of the Hainich , due to the NVA's expansion plans for the Weberstedt shooting range, Ihlefeld had to be evacuated in 1964. The building stock of the Ihlefeld and Vorwerk Reckenbühl settlement was leveled by a demolition command, Mülverstedt municipality , Unstrut-Hainich district
  • Former Vorwerk Karnberg (of the Kleintöpfer manor) on the mountain of the same name , razed in 1952, there are still some old linden trees and cellar remains on the former farm, in the immediate vicinity a GDR border tower , about 1.5 kilometers west of Wendehausen , part of the community Südeichsfeld , Unstrut-Hainich district
  • formerly Kaulsroth , dismantled 1961–1962, was located south of Mogger on the border with Bavaria, in the district of Sonneberg
  • Former manor and Keudelstein Castle , demolished in 1978, remains of vaulted cellars and a newly created pond, about two kilometers east-southeast of the village of Döringsdorf under the Keudelskuppe mountain , Eichsfeld district
  • Former small potters , demolished in 1964 including brickworks, Gut and Vorwerk Karnberg , area now part of Wendehausen , Unstrut-Hainich district
  • formerly Kohlbachshof , a four-sided farm, forced resettlement in 1952 and 1972, demolished, now Schleid municipality , about two kilometers southeast of the Thuringian town of Andenhausen , Wartburgkreis, Thuringia
  • former Korberoth , forcibly resettled and razed from 1972 to 1984, village pond preserved, memorial stone erected in 1991, annual memorial service, in the southern district of Sonneberg (Thuringia) in the area of ​​the community of Frankenblick
  • Former hamlet of Langimmern , forcibly relocated and demolished in 1972, community of Motzlar , Wartburg district
  • formerly Leitenhausen , manor with other houses, in the Heldburger Land near Gompertshausen , razed 1971–1972, memorial stone erected in 1993, district Hildburghausen
  • formerly Lentershagen near Schachtebich , demolished after the death of the last residents in 1982 due to proximity to the border, Eichsfeld district
  • former Liebau , 1952 mass exodus to the FRG, razed in 1975, new memorial stone, in the extreme south of Thuringia in the district of Sonneberg (on the district of Föritz ), only a few dozen meters from the Thuringian-Bavarian border
  • Former Marschlerhof , demolished in the 1950s, today the “Feldablick” grill hut is located on the site and there has also been a sign since 2012, the Dreiseithof was located on the Hinteren Hut 2.8 km west of Kaltennordheim on the Pinzler plateau, municipality Kaltennordheim , district of Schmalkalden-Meiningen
  • formerly Mihlberg , forcibly relocated and demolished from 1962 to 1964, the small settlement was located east of Creuzburg and south of Buchenau on the Mihlberg , formerly part of the community of Creuzburg, Wartburgkreis
  • Mödlareuth , partly forced resettlement in 1952. The border village was preserved with a fortified border and was therefore also called Little Berlin .
  • former homestead Mückenhof, near the municipality of Geisa , around 1973? Forcibly relocated and demolished, Wartburg district, Thuringia
  • (formerly Neuhof , presumably former district of Heldburg , Hildburghausen district)?
  • former Niederndorf , forcibly relocated in 1961, demolished until 1975, a gravel pit to supply the GDR border systems then largely destroyed the former location, former district of Oberzella near the city of Vacha , it was close to the edge of the forest under the Niederndorfer Graben, a ravine on the western flank of the Hohe Wart mountain , Wartburg district
  • Former Oberharles , both farmsteads demolished around 1975, Oberharles was two kilometers as the crow flies south of the core municipality of Henneberg on the upper reaches of the Harlesbach at an altitude of 367 m, municipality of Henneberg , district of Schmalkalden-Meiningen
  • former Schwenge , forcibly resettled in 1961 and 1974, demolished in 1974, former district of Oberzella near the town of Vacha , Schwenge was about one kilometer north of Oberzella on the local road to Vitzeroda, Wartburg district
  • Former Vorwerk Reckenbühl on the ridge of the Hainich , due to the NVA's expansion plans for the Weberstedt shooting range, Ihlefeld had to be evacuated in 1964. The building stock of the Ihlefeld and Vorwerk Reckenbühl settlement was leveled by a demolition command, Mülverstedt municipality , Unstrut-Hainich district
  • formerly Ruppers , looped, was a village near Stedtlingen in the district of Schmalkalden-Meiningen, southern Thuringia
  • Former Gut Scharfloh , forcibly relocated and torn down in 1972, there are still two old linden trees on the property's former farm, a newly built shed and a memorial stone, about 1.5 kilometers northwest of Wendehausen , part of the community of Südeichsfeld , Unstrut-Hainich district
  • formerly Schmerbach , in 1974 razed to the cemetery, new memorial stone available, was a village near Helmershausen , district of Schmalkalden-Meiningen, southern Thuringia
  • Formerly the Seeleshof homestead near Walkes , Geisa community , forcibly relocated and demolished in 1973, Wartburg district
  • City of Sonneberg , 500 people from the Sonneberg district left their homeland for West Germany at the beginning of June 1952. In 1952 and 1961 forced resettlement, on June 6, 1952 a total of 381 people were brought to the Jena district. In 1961, 33 people were affected in the city and 22 people in the villages of the Sonneberg district.
  • Streufdorf , district of Straufhain , 1952 a. 1961 Forced relocation of 18 families and massive protest against it, memorial stone in the village, Hildburghausen district
  • Sülzfeld , Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, Thuringia
  • former Taubenthal manor , razed around 1980, formerly part of the village of Falken near Treffurt , Wartburg district
  • Truckendorf near Schalkau , "Weihersmühle" demolished in 1961 due to proximity to the border, Sonneberg district
  • City of Ummerstadt , 1952–1953 forced resettlement, Hildburghausen district
  • Untersuhl ?, Gerstungen town , Wartburg district
  • Former homestead Weidhof (or also: Waidhof), around 1973? Forcibly relocated and demolished, former Motzlar community , part of Schleid , Wartburg district
  • Wiesenfeld , June 5, 1952 Forced relocation of 19 people planned; These 19 and a further 123 fled that day across the "Green Border" to Setzelbach, Hesse. After intensive advertising events by the district council in the following weeks, some of the 123 people went back.

Known / celebrities forcibly resettled

  • Walter Scheler (1923–2008) - June 6, 1952 as part of the “Ungeziefer” campaign, forced relocation with his wife and son to Jena; There accountant, participant and victim of the uprising of June 17, 1953, honorary citizen of Jena
  • Konrad Elmer-Herzig (* 1949) - 1961 forced relocation of the family from the border area of ​​Sülzhayn (southern Harz) to Bleicherode (Nordhausen district)

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Action Vermin  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Heiner Emde: Forgotten victims on the border . In: Focus Online , February 22, 1993, accessed January 15, 2012.
  2. ↑ ISSN  0232-5993 , DNB 010697810 , OCLC 231207495 .
  3. ↑ Susanne von Schenck: "Kornblume" campaign - forced resettlement on the inner-German border. (MP3; 3.4 MB) Sent on October 1, 2011 in the local time program on Deutschlandradio Kultur , accessed on March 12, 2012.
  4. ^ Thuringian Institute for Teacher Training, Curriculum Development and Media (ThILLM): The hushed up terror. Forced resettlement in the GDR. (PDF; 28 MB) 2nd edition; Publication series: Thillm: materials, 82; Bad Berka, April 2006; Pp. 18 + 58; ISBN 3-934761-50-X .
  5. ↑ Axel Reitel : Night censorship, GDR and Eastern Europe between revolt and reactor catastrophe, p. 90 https://www.verlag-koester.de/index.php?id=114&tx_fbmagento%5bshop%5d%5broute%5d=catalog&tx_fbmagento%5bshop%5d % 5bcontroller% 5d = product & tx_fbmagento% 5bshop% 5d% 5baction% 5d = view & tx_fbmagento% 5bshop% 5d% 5bid% 5d = 1161 & tx_fbmagento% 5bshop% 5d% 5bs% 5d = nachtzensur-ddr-between-revolt-europe-and-revolt-east-europe
  6. ↑ Bernd Wagner: "To the elimination of vermin", Der Landesbeauftragte des Freistaates Thüringen, 1992, p. 24.
  7. ^ Thuringian Institute for Teacher Training, Curriculum Development and Media (ThILLM): The hushed up terror. Forced resettlement in the GDR. (PDF; 28 MB) 2nd edition; Publication series: Thillm: materials, 82; Bad Berka, April 2006; P. 19; ISBN 3-934761-50-X .
  8. ↑ Yvonne Doms: "Action Vermin": "Man is nothing - command is everything". The forced resettlements in 1952 in the GDR, taking into account the reports in the West and East German press as well as the local historical view of the events in the southern Thuringian area University of Bamberg 2014, p. 7 ff.
  9. ↑ Susanne von Schenck: "Kornblume" campaign - forced resettlement on the inner-German border. (MP3; 3.4 MB) Sent on October 1, 2011 in the local time program on Deutschlandradio Kultur , accessed on July 21, 2014.
  10. ↑ WDR deadline: [1] Sent on October 3, 2011 in the program “deadline”, accessed on July 21, 2014.
  11. ↑ Study: A total of 327 men, women and children from East and West fell victim to the GDR border regime at the inner-German border. Scientific processing of deaths at the inner-German border by the research association SED-Staat completed. June 7, 2017, accessed February 22, 2018 .
  12. ↑ Dietmar Schultke : Nobody gets through. The history of the inner-German border 1945–1990 . Aufbau Verlag , Berlin 1999, pp. 31–45, ISBN 3-7466-8041-7 .
  13. ↑ Volker Koop : Destroy the enemy: The border security of the GDR . Bouvier, Bonn 1996, ISBN 3-416-02633-0 .
  14. ^ Norbert Klaus Fuchs : Billmuthausen - The condemned village . Greifenverlag zu Rudolstadt & Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-86939-004-8 .
  15. ↑ Jürgen Aretz , Wolfgang Clement : The GDR called them "pests" , in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, February 1, 2018 online
  16. ↑ Sebastian Haak: "Action Vermin" - without compensation? - Prime Minister Ramelow wants to contribute to justice, victims of the GDR border eviction policy are skeptical , in: Neues Deutschland, February 1, 2016 online
  17. ↑ Michael Cramer : The SED's "Action Ungeziefer" , in: Die Welt, May 26, 2012 online
  18. ^ Rainer Potratz: Exclusion of the victims and intimidation of those left behind - the forced resettlement from the border area of ​​the GDR on the inner-German border 1952–1989 . In: Karin Toben: Home tendons: Forced resettlements on the Elbe between 1952 and 1975; a memory book . Association for Citizens' Encounters in the Neuhaus Office, Neuhaus 2008, pp. 9–16.
  19. ↑ Andreas Ziener: Grass grew over Christian green ... February 20, 2016, accessed on August 5, 2018 .

Remarks

  1. ↑ so called at the state authority of Thuringia of the Ministry for State Security (MfS); see Thuringian Institute for Teacher Training, Curriculum Development and Media (ThILLM): The hushed up terror. Forced resettlement in the GDR. (PDF; 28 MB) 2nd edition; Publication series: Thillm: materials, 82; Bad Berka, April 2006; P. 18; ISBN 3-934761-50-X
  2. ↑ so called in the district of Erfurt; see Thuringian Institute for Teacher Training, Curriculum Development and Media (ThILLM): The hushed up terror. Forced resettlement in the GDR. (PDF; 28 MB) 2nd edition; Publication series: Thillm: materials, 82; Bad Berka, April 2006; P. 19; ISBN 3-934761-50-X