Egon Grüning

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Egon Grüning (born September 30, 1931 ; † October 15, 2017 in Berlin ) was a German police officer. He was the last chief of the staff of the German People's Police in the GDR .

Life

Grüning joined the SED and became a member of the German People's Police on May 19, 1950. On October 7, 1974 he was promoted to colonel in the VP. From July 1, 1980 he was head of operational planning in the staff of the Ministry of the Interior of the GDR (MdI). In June 1985 he was appointed major general by the Chairman of the National Defense Council of the GDR , Erich Honecker , and as the successor to Friedhelm Rausch, he was appointed 1st Deputy Head of Staff of the MdI. He was promoted to lieutenant general on June 21, 1989.

Grüning was involved in the drafting of the draft travel law, checked and signed the draft on November 9, 1989, and passed it on to his superior, Colonel General Karl-Heinz Wagner . The new travel regulations should not be published until November 10, 1989. Günter Schabowski's press conference on the evening of November 9th, 1989, at which he announced the new travel regulations and replied to a reporter's question that this would come into force "immediately, immediately", triggered a mass onslaught of GDR travelers that same evening. Citizens on the border to West Berlin, which led to the unplanned opening of the wall.

Grüning was a member of the government commission formed on December 18, 1989 for the preparation and implementation of administrative reform in the GDR under Peter Moreth .

On January 1, 1990, he replaced Karl-Heinz Wagner as deputy minister and chief of staff at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. After the change of government, he was released from his position as Deputy Minister with effect from April 18, 1990, but remained - from May 1, 1990 as Inspector General - until October 2, 1990 in the Ministry. Among other things, he was responsible for the Special Operations Command (SEK) of the GDR, which at that time consisted of around 140 people, mostly former MfS employees.

He lived in Berlin-Pankow since the end of 1965 and was a member of ISOR . Egon Grüning died on October 15, 2017 in Berlin.

Award

literature

  • Hans-Hermann Hertle : Chronicle of the fall of the wall: The dramatic events around November 9, 1989 , Christoph Links Verlag, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-86153-113-5 , p. 152.
  • Michael Richter : The formation of the Free State of Saxony: Peaceful Revolution, Federalism, German Unity 1989/90 , Volume 1, Vandenbroeck & Ruprecht in Göttingen 2004, ISBN 3-525-36900-X , p. 106f.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Erich Honecker promoted and appointed generals in the People's Police . In: Neues Deutschland , June 29, 1985, p. 1.
  2. ↑ Generals of the People's Police appointed and promoted . In: Berliner Zeitung , June 22, 1989, p. 1.
  3. ↑ Cadre retired from active service . In: Neues Deutschland, January 2, 1990, p. 2.
  4. ↑ Junge Welt , May 22, 1990, p. 2.
  5. ↑ Final report of the Second Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry of the State Parliament of Saxony-Anhalt from June 9, 1996, p. 38.
  6. ↑ Congratulations on your 75th birthday in ISORaktuell No. 9 - September 2006 .
personal data
SURNAME Grüning, Egon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German police officer
DATE OF BIRTH September 30, 1931
DATE OF DEATH 15th October 2017
Place of death Berlin