Christoph Seitz

Christoph Seitz (born November 20, 1914 in Munich ; † July 14, 1985 in Mühldorf am Inn ) was a German politician ( SED ) and in 1945 the first Lord Mayor of Rostock after the Second World War .

Life

Christoph Seitz was born the son of a worker. After attending elementary school, he completed an apprenticeship as a metal worker and belt maker . Seitz then worked in this profession. In 1932 he joined the Communist Youth Association of Germany , which was banned in 1933. In 1937, Christoph Seitz was committed to the Reich Labor Service . After the beginning of the Second World War he was drafted into the Wehrmacht . In 1942 he deserted and was taken prisoner by the Soviets. Here Seitz became a member of the National Committee for Free Germany , where he was the front representative of the 3rd Army of the Belarusian Front from April 1944 to April 1945. After the Red Army marched in in May 1945, Christoph Seitz was appointed Lord Mayor of Rostock. He held this office until November 1945. This was followed by the position of Lord Mayor of Schwerin . In 1945 he joined the KPD , in 1946 after the merger with the SPD Seitz became a member of the SED. In his capacity as a local politician, he took part in the first course of the German Administration Academy in Forst Zinna .

In December 1949, Christoph Seitz became an employee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the GDR (MfAA). On March 3, 1950, the Provisional Government of the GDR decided, at the suggestion of Foreign Minister Georg Dertinger , to appoint Seitz to the Second Mission Council of the GDR Diplomatic Mission to the Czech Republic's government in Prague with effect from December 16, 1949 . From 1952 to 1956 he served as counselor and business agent at the GDR embassy in Moscow . On March 6, 1953, as counselor and chargé d'affaires of the diplomatic mission in the USSR, on the occasion of the death of Josef Stalin , Seitz was received by the Deputy Foreign Minister of the USSR, Jakob Malik , for a condolence visit. From 1956 to 1957 he studied at the party college and from 1957 to 1960 he was secretary of the SED district party organization in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After a planned mission as ambassador in Albania did not take place in 1960, Seitz was appointed head of the First European Department of the MfAA in October 1960. In January 1961, Christoph Seitz fled to West Germany.

Awards

• 1955 Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze

literature

• Andreas Herbst :  Seitz, Christoph . In: Who was who in the GDR? 5th edition. Volume 2. Ch. Links, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86153-561-4 .
• Grete Grewolls: Who was who in Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania. The dictionary of persons . Hinstorff Verlag, Rostock 2011, ISBN 978-3-356-01301-6 , p. 9363 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Entry in the DRAFD Wiki viewed on November 12, 2011
2. ↑ 17th meeting of the Provisional Government of the GDR on March 2, 1950 - BArch DC 20-I / 3/13.
3. ^ GDR representative at JA Malik . In: Berliner Zeitung , March 8, 1953, p. 2.
4. ↑ Protocol No. 37/60 of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the SED of October 3, 1960 - BArch DY 30 / J IV 2/3/705.
5. ↑ Awarded the Patriotic Order of Merit . In: Berliner Zeitung, May 7, 1955, p. 5.