List of honorary citizens of Berlin

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coat of arms of the city of Berlin

The Berlin honorary citizenship is the Berlin Senate in agreement with the Berlin House of Representatives awarded.

Since 1813, the city ​​of Berlin has granted citizenship to 131 people, initially on an honorary basis without paying a citizen's fee . From 1851 onwards, citizens of Berlin were granted honorary citizenship for the first time . They are listed chronologically according to the date of award.
Revoked titles are shown in italics .

Privileges

The Berlin honorary citizenship is a personal award that does not contain any special rights or obligations. However, in accordance with the guidelines passed on August 20, 1956, certain advantages are granted without legal entitlement. These include invitations to representative events in the State of Berlin, such as receptions, balls and commemorative ceremonies, an annual free ticket for the Berlin public transport company , if necessary, an honorary pension for the awardee and his surviving dependents, a burial at state expense and an honorary grave in a Berlin cemetery . In addition, the award-winning people can be portrayed by an artist of their choice, the associated paintings are exhibited in the building of the House of Representatives .

The honorary citizens of the city of Berlin

Honorary citizenship

Senior Consistorial Councilor and Provost of Berlin
Awarded on July 6, 1813
Ribbeck distinguished itself by reducing the suffering of Berlin citizens during the French occupation in 1806.
Accountant of the city debt fund
Awarded on February 28, 1815
Gebhard von Blücher
Field Marshal General of the Prussian Army
Awarded on January 31, 1816
Von Blücher was honored for his significant contribution to the victory at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Ernst Ludwig Heim
doctor
Awarded on April 15, 1822
Awarded on the occasion of the 50th doctor's anniversary. Heim was one of the founders of modern medicine, introduced the smallpox vaccination and treated thousands of poor people annually free of charge.
General von Brauchitsch
Lieutenant General of the Prussian Army, City Commander of Berlin
Awarded on May 19, 1822
Von Brauchitsch organized the Berlin Landsturm during the Wars of Liberation .
Prussian Minister of State (Interior Minister) and member of the Prussian State Council
Awarded on January 11, 1829
Awarded on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of service.
Carl Friedrich Ludwig von Gontard
Lieutenant Colonel in the Prussian Army, Platzmajor von Berlin
Awarded on July 31, 1829
Awarded on the occasion of the 50th military anniversary. Von Gontard made a great contribution to the well-being of the citizens during the French occupation of the city.
Choir director
Awarded on October 28, 1829
Awarded on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the singing institute he founded.
Prussian State Chancellor , General of the Infantry
Awarded on April 9, 1834
Awarded on the occasion of the 50th military anniversary.
Karl von Gerlach
Police President of Berlin 1832–1839
Awarded on October 3, 1834
Von Gerlach earned the trust of the magistrate and the sympathy of the population to a large extent.
Head of the Prussian State Bank
Awarded on February 4, 1835
Awarded on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of service. Von Staegemann made a special contribution to the implementation of the Stein-Hardenberg reforms .
Council of Justice
Awarded on January 20, 1837
Awarded on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of service. Neumann's most important project was the reform of the process procedure.
Tsar Nicholas I.
Emperor of Russia
Awarded on October 18, 1837
Awarded on the occasion of his acquisition of the property of the Russian Embassy in Berlin .
Chief President of the Prussian Chamber of Accounts
Awarded on November 26, 1839
Awarded on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of service. Von Ladenberg headed the State Commission for the Improvement of the State Organism.
Real secret minister of state and justice
Awarded on March 24, 1840
Awarded on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of service. As a lawyer, von Kamptz strove to defend the existing system - especially against impulses of freedom.
Gustav von Rauch
General of the Prussian Army, Minister of War
Awarded on April 6, 1840
Von Rauch made particular efforts to establish war schools and to develop the engineering, fortification and pioneering system of the Prussian army.
Upper President of the Province of Brandenburg
Awarded on March 31, 1842
Awarded on the occasion of his resignation for health reasons.
Karl von Müffling
President of the Council of State, Governor of Berlin
Awarded on November 15, 1842
Awarded on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of service.
Minister of War
Awarded on November 19, 1842
Von Boyen was considered a much-criticized but ambitious reformer in Prussia.
Carl extensor foot
Real Secret Upper Government Councilor
Awarded on March 9, 1843
Awarded on the occasion of his resignation from civil service. Streckfuß made a name for itself especially through Italian translations, such as Dante's Divine Comedy .
Official in the Berlin City Court
Awarded on May 14, 1843
Awarded on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of service in the service of the City Court.
Ludwig von Borstell
General of the Prussian Army
Awarded September 6, 1843
Awarded on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Battle of Dennewitz . Von Borstell's victory over the French troops prevented a renewed occupation of Berlin.
Accounting officer of the poor directorate
Awarded in 1844
Heegewaldt managed to significantly increase donations for the poor.
Higher regional judge
Awarded on June 12, 1845
Awarded for his commitment to many charitable organizations.
Eugen von Puttkamer
Police President of Berlin
Awarded on July 27, 1847
Awarded on the occasion of his move to Frankfurt (Oder) . The award sparked protests just before the March Revolution , as von Puttkamer was considered a right-wing aristocrat.
Finance minister
Awarded on October 14, 1847
Awarded on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of service. Von Rother was distinguished by the revival of Prussian trade and industry after the coalition wars.
Heinrich von Gagern
President of the Frankfurt National Assembly
Awarded on March 19, 1849
Von Gagern received the honorary citizenship due to his commitment to a united, free Germany.
Prussian Prime Minister
Awarded on February 6, 1850
Carrier of reaction in Prussia. As Prime Minister he introduced a constitution that strengthened the power of the king.
Prussian Minister of the Interior
Awarded on February 6, 1850
Carrier of reaction in Prussia.
Field Marshal General of the Prussian Army
Awarded on September 24, 1850
Carrier of reaction in Prussia. Von Wrangel advanced into the city with his troops, imposed a state of emergency and thus restored the king's authority.

Honorary citizenship

sculptor
Awarded on May 31, 1851
Awarded on the occasion of the inauguration of the equestrian statue of Frederick the Great at the beginning of the boulevard Unter den Linden . First citizen of Berlin to receive honorary citizenship.
Alexander von Humboldt
Naturalist and explorer
Awarded on January 24, 1856
Von Humboldt is considered one of the co-founders of geography as an empirical science.
President of various Prussian provinces
Awarded on February 16, 1856
Awarded on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of service.
August Boeckh
Antiquity researcher, professor at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität
Awarded on March 15, 1857
Awarded on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of service. Boeckh was also instrumental in the first complete edition of the works of Frederick II .
Superintendent of the Reformed and Lutheran Diocese of Friedrichswerder ; Co-author of the Berlin hymn book from 1829.
Awarded on July 1, 1858
Awarded on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of service.
Heinrich Wilhelm Krausnick
Lord Mayor of Berlin
Awarded on December 30, 1862
Awarded on the occasion of his resignation after 26 years in office.
Chief of the General Staff of the Prussian Army
Awarded on March 18, 1871
Awarded on the occasion of the victories in the German Wars of Unification .
Otto von Bismarck
Chancellor
Awarded on March 27, 1871
Awarded on the occasion of the founding of the German Empire .
City Councilor of Berlin
Awarded on January 14, 1875
Awarded on the occasion of leaving office. Kochhahn had devoted himself to elementary schooling and the introduction of free instruction.
Antiquarian
Awarded on July 7, 1881
Awarded on the occasion of the donation of his Trojan gold treasures to the German people and their exhibition in Berlin.
Leopold von Ranke
Historian, professor at the University of Berlin
Awarded on March 31, 1885
Awarded on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of service. Von Ranke is considered to be the founder of the source-critical method in historical research.
Physician, director of the Hygiene Institute of the Friedrich Wilhelm University
Awarded on November 21, 1890
Awarded on the occasion of the presentation of the “ Tuberculin ” vaccine . Koch discovered the tubercle bacterium , the cholera pathogen and the vectors of plague and malaria .
Rudolf Virchow
Physicians and social politicians
Awarded on October 13, 1891
Awarded on the occasion of his 70th birthday. As a member of the German Progressive Party in the Prussian House of Representatives, Virchow fought to improve the hygienic conditions in the city.
Graphic artist and draftsman
Awarded on December 8, 1895
Awarded on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Menzel was an important representative of bourgeois realism . He was considered an appointed painter of the works of King Frederick II.
Physician, mayor of Berlin city council
Awarded on May 25, 1900
Awarded on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Langerhans dealt with general health care and sponsored, among other things, the construction of the Berlin sewer system.
Heinrich Bertram
City School Board
Awarded on December 23, 1900
Awarded on the occasion of his resignation for health reasons. Bertram was particularly committed to reforms in the primary school system. He promoted object lessons, advocated drawing and gymnastics lessons and founded the seven-class community school.
Lord Mayor of Berlin
Awarded on August 14, 1904
Awarded on the occasion of his 80th birthday. During his tenure as Lord Mayor, he ensured that state roads and bridges became the property of the city. He took care of a modern sewer system and promoted education and nursing.
  • Albert Haack (born September 20, 1832 in Berlin; † March 14, 1906 there; ▭ cemetery of the Sophienkirche parish, Gesundbrunnen )
City Councilor, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Water Works
Awarded on January 22, 1905
Awarded on the occasion of the 35th anniversary as an unpaid city councilor in the service of Berlin.
City council
Awarded on January 26, 1911
Awarded on the occasion of the completion of the Berlin sewer system, which he planned together with Rudolf Virchow and Arthur Hobrecht. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees for Lighting Matters, which put the first electric lamps into operation at Potsdamer Platz in 1882 .
Martin Kirschner
Lord Mayor of Berlin
Awarded on May 15, 1912
Awarded on the occasion of his resignation for health reasons. As Lord Mayor, Kirschner had commissioned the construction of the Virchow Hospital and the mental hospital in Buch . He also had the urban northern railway, the east port and the Schillerpark built.
Paul Michelet
Head of the City Council of Berlin
Awarded on January 20, 1914
Awarded on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of service.
City Councilor of Berlin
Awarded on January 20, 1914
Awarded on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of service.
City Medical Council
Award ceremony on 17./18. December 1915
Straßmann's merits lay in promoting disinfection, sanitation and the construction of new hospitals and mental health institutions.
Ludwig Hoffmann
Architect and City Councilor
Awarded on March 13, 1924
Awarded on the occasion of his resignation from office. Hoffmann built 111 structures in Berlin with a total of 300 individual buildings, including the Rudolf Virchow Hospital and the Buch mental hospital.
City councilor of Berlin, member of the Reichstag
Awarded on June 24, 1926, again on December 4, 1947
Heimann donated a library and reading room to the city of Berlin in 1919.
Since Heimann was of Jewish origin, honorary citizenship was revoked by the National Socialists, and in 1947 Heimann was reinstated as an honorary citizen
Commercial judge, chairman of the Berlin Red Cross Association
Awarded on June 26, 1926
Bamberg made a name for itself especially through its work on the supervisory boards of the Sparkasse, Stadtbank and the exhibition company.
Max Liebermann
President of the Berlin Secession and the Prussian Academy of the Arts
Awarded on June 30, 1927
Awarded on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Max Liebermann was considered a master of impressionism .
Prussian General Field Marshal, Reich President
Awarded in 1933; revoked on January 30, 2020
Awarded on the occasion of Hitler's appointment as Reich Chancellor . Paul von Hindenburg was considered a legendary military man who had been an officer since the 1860s. During the First World War he was celebrated as the "Held von Tannenberg " who prevented the occupation of East Prussia by Russian troops. During his time as Reich President , he particularly embodied the conservative forces in the country. By appointing Hitler as Reich Chancellor and signing the Enabling Act , he contributed significantly to the downfall of the Weimar Republic. Honorary citizenship was controversial and was revoked on January 30, 2020.
"Führer" and Reich Chancellor
Awarded on April 1, 1933; revoked on December 16, 1948
Adolf Hitler was hailed as the leader of the National Socialist movement, which had set itself the goal of making Germany the dominant power in Europe at the expense of other states. The National Socialists murdered at least 6 million Jews in the Holocaust on the basis of their racial ideology . Over 50 million people continued to die as a result of the Second World War , triggered by Hitler .
He committed suicide just before the end of World War II.
Prussian Prime Minister, Reichstag President , Commander in Chief of the Air Force
Awarded in 1934; revoked on December 16, 1948
Goering was one of the leading figures in the National Socialist movement. The International Military Tribunal found him guilty of conspiracy against world peace, waging war of aggression, crimes against martial law and crimes against humanity.
Reich Minister of Propaganda, Gauleiter of Berlin
Awarded in 1934; revoked on December 16, 1948
Goebbels' task in the National Socialist Reich was the targeted indoctrination of the German people. Shortly after the seizure of power, all newspapers were subordinated to the Ministry of Propaganda. Goebbels initiated the November pogroms in 1938 and in 1943, in the face of a hopeless military situation, propagated total war among the German people.
He committed suicide just before the end of World War II.
Reich Minister of the Interior
Awarded in March 1937; revoked on December 16, 1948
As Minister of the Interior in the Nazi state, Wilhelm Frick was responsible for drafting the laws that were intended to undermine the Weimar Constitution and cement the National Socialist leadership. Among other things, the Reichstag Fire Ordinance came from him . The International Military Tribunal found him guilty of preparing for war of aggression, directing and participating in war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
composer
Awarded on November 7, 1941
Awarded on the occasion of his 75th birthday. Paul Lincke was a celebrated operetta composer who had worked for many years at the Berlin variety theater "Apollo". Among other things, the march “Berliner Luft” came from him. In the 1930s, his works were rediscovered on the radio.
Member of the Presidium of the Communist International , member of the Reichstag
Awarded on January 3, 1946; revoked in West Berlin on December 16, 1948, in East Berlin until 1992.
Awarded on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Pieck was a member of the KPD and the Spartakusbund in the Weimar Republic . In 1946 he pushed the unification of the KPD and SPD to form the SED and became the first President of the German Democratic Republic .
Member of the Reichstag, Reich Labor Minister 1928–1932
Awarded on March 8, 1949 in West Berlin
Awarded on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Wissell had campaigned for the expansion of the welfare state and was striving for a democratic-social basic order.
Federal President
Awarded on October 31, 1949 in West Berlin
Theodor Heuss had already been district chairman of Schöneberg in the 1920s . For the DDP he sat in the Reichstag until 1933. After the war he became first chairman of the FDP .
Paul Löbe
President of the Reichstag, senior president of the Bundestag
Awarded on December 14, 1955 in West Berlin
Awarded on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Paul Löbe had been a member of the Reichstag throughout the Weimar Republic. After the failed assassination attempt on July 20, 1944 , he was taken to the Groß-Rosen concentration camp . In 1948 he became a member of the Parliamentary Council .
Member of the Reichstag, Lord Mayor of Berlin 1947/1948
Awarded on April 2, 1957 in West Berlin
Awarded on the occasion of her 70th birthday. Louise Schroeder was a member of the Reichstag from 1920 to 1933. In 1947 she was the last mayor of all of Berlin.
Jakob Kaiser, 1950
Member of the Reichstag, Federal Minister for All-German Issues
Awarded on February 8, 1958 in West Berlin
Awarded on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Jakob Kaiser was a member of the Reichstag in 1933. After the war he founded the CDU in the Soviet occupation zone , but went to the West after conflicts with the occupying power. In 1949 he was elected to the German Bundestag.
Bishop of Berlin
Awarded on May 15, 1958 in West Berlin
Awarded on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Otto Dibelius had been bishop of Berlin and Brandenburg since 1945, but was no longer allowed to enter the GDR. In 1948 he was the first German to be elected to the World Council of Churches . From 1949 to 1961 he was also Chairman of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany.
Member of the Reichstag, age president of the Bundestag
Awarded on June 25, 1958 in West Berlin
Awarded on the occasion of her 80th birthday. The women's rights activist and democrat Lüders was the first woman in Germany to receive a doctorate. From 1919 to 1933 she was a member of the Reichstag. From 1953 to 1961 she was a member of the German Bundestag.
Federal President
Awarded on April 30, 1962 in West Berlin
Awarded in recognition of Lübke's solidarity with the city of Berlin.
Lucius D. Clay
General of the US Army, military governor in Germany
Awarded on May 5, 1962 in West Berlin
Awarded on the occasion of his departure as special envoy in Berlin. General Clay was governor of the American zone of occupation after the war. In 1948 he initiated the Berlin Airlift , which supplied the cut off citizens of the western sectors.
Chairman of the State Council of the GDR
Awarded on June 29, 1963 in East Berlin, revoked on September 29, 1992
Awarded on the occasion of his 70th birthday. The Berlin Wall had been built two years earlier under the leadership of Walter Ulbricht .
Head of the Institute for Cell Physiology in Berlin-Dahlem
Awarded on October 8, 1963 in West Berlin
Awarded on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. At Warburg's suggestion, the Institute for Cell Physiology was founded in 1931, which he headed himself. In 1949 he returned to this post after research trips to the USA.
Konrad Adenauer
Chancellor
Awarded on October 10, 1963 in West Berlin
Awarded on the occasion of his departure from office as the first Federal Chancellor after 14 years. During his term of office there was the economic miracle - the reconstruction of the destroyed West Germany - as well as the reconciliation with France, Great Britain and the USA and the integration of the Federal Republic into the Western European Union .
Political member of the SMAD War Council
Awarded on April 30, 1965 in East Berlin; revoked on September 29, 1992
Awarded on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Battle of Berlin . As a political member of the War Council, Bokow was responsible for the political line of military administration in the Soviet occupation zone .
Sergeant of the Red Army
Awarded on May 8, 1965 in East Berlin; revoked on September 29, 1992
Awarded on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the total surrender of the Wehrmacht . Jegorow had hoisted the victory flag on the Reichstag building in Berlin together with Kantaria .
Sergeant of the Red Army
Awarded on May 8, 1965 in East Berlin; revoked on September 29, 1992
Awarded on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the total surrender of the Wehrmacht. Kantaria had hoisted the victory flag together with Yegorov on the Reichstag building in Berlin.
Colonel General of the Red Army
Awarded on May 8, 1965 in East Berlin; revoked on September 29, 1992
Awarded on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the total surrender of the Wehrmacht. Katukov was Commander in Chief of the victorious 1st Guards Armored Army in the Battle of Berlin .
Marshal of the Soviet Union
Awarded on May 8, 1965 in East Berlin; revoked on September 29, 1992
Awarded on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the total surrender of the Wehrmacht. Konew was commander in chief of the troops that liberated Auschwitz and took part in the Battle of Berlin. Konew is accused of at least tolerating attacks on the civilian population by his soldiers.
Major General of the Red Army, City Commander of Berlin
Awarded on May 8, 1965 in East Berlin; revoked on September 29, 1992
Awarded on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the total surrender of the Wehrmacht. Kotikow was the Soviet city commander who suppressed the election of the city council in east Berlin and thus caused the political division of the city.
Red Army officer
Awarded on May 8, 1965 in East Berlin; revoked on September 29, 1992
Awarded on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the total surrender of the Wehrmacht.
High Commissioner in Germany
Awarded on May 8, 1965 in East Berlin; revoked on September 29, 1992
Awarded on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the total surrender of the Wehrmacht. Semjonow had initiated the formalism dispute through a newspaper article in the Daily Rundschau , which led to the "fight against formalism in literature and culture" and to the promotion of socialist realism .
Military governor of the SBZ
Awarded on May 8, 1965 in East Berlin; revoked on September 29, 1992
Awarded on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the total surrender of the Wehrmacht. As military governor, Sokolowski was the head of the Soviet military administration in Germany from 1946 to 1949.
Red Army officer
Awarded on May 8, 1965 in East Berlin; revoked on September 29, 1992
Awarded on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the total surrender of the Wehrmacht.
Marshal of the Red Army
Awarded on May 8, 1965 in East Berlin; withdrawn September 29, 1992
Awarded on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the total surrender of the Wehrmacht. Chuikov and his troops took part in the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Berlin. From 1949 to 1953 he was commander in chief of the Soviet troops in the GDR.
Lord Mayor of East Berlin
Awarded on July 5, 1967 in East Berlin; revoked on September 29, 1992
Friedrich Ebert, son of the former Reich President Friedrich Ebert , had been appointed Lord Mayor of Berlin on November 30, 1948 after the split in the Berlin City Council ; the representatives of the western military authorities limited this to the eastern sector, which cemented the division of Berlin . In the western sectors, Ernst Reuter was elected and confirmed mayor by the democratically elected city council on December 7, 1948.
Writer
Awarded on July 14, 1967 in West Berlin
With her work, Nelly Sachs took part in the literary reappraisal of the National Socialist era . In 1966 she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for this.
Chemist
Awarded on June 17, 1968 in West Berlin
Otto Hahn, the founder of nuclear chemistry , discovered a. a. the nuclear fission of the heavy elements uranium and thorium , for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1944. In 1959 the new institute for nuclear research created in Berlin-Wannsee was named Hahn-Meitner-Institut . From 1946 to 1948 he was the last president of the Kaiser Wilhelm Society and from 1948 to 1960 he was the founder and first president of the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science that emerged from it . Hahn was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize several times by international organizations because of his post-war commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons .
Architect, President of the Academy of Arts in Berlin (West)
Awarded on February 26, 1969 in West Berlin
Scharoun was one of the most important modern architects. His works in Berlin include the Siemensstadt housing estate and the Philharmonie .
Painter, President of the German Academy of the Arts in Berlin (East)
Awarded posthumously on February 4, 1970 in East Berlin
Otto Nagel was particularly concerned with the working class in his pictures. Despite being banned from his profession after 1933, he created numerous views of Berlin before its destruction in World War II.
Heinrich Zille
Illustrator
Awarded posthumously on February 4, 1970 in East Berlin
In his work Heinrich Zille particularly recorded the milieu of the Berlin tenements and their residents.
painter
Awarded on April 10, 1970 in West Berlin
Karl Schmidt-Rottluff was the founder of the artists' association " Brücke " and one of the most important representatives of Expressionism. On his 80th birthday, he bequeathed a large number of works to Berlin, which are exhibited in the specially founded Brücke Museum .
Heinrich Grüber
Theologian and resistance fighter
Awarded on May 8, 1970 in West Berlin
Awarded on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the total surrender of the Wehrmacht. With his “Bureau Grüber” he helped persecuted Christians in Germany from 1937. From 1940 to 1943 he was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen or Dachau concentration camp . After the war he was the representative of the Evangelical Church in the GDR government and tried to find a balance and understanding, but had to leave the GDR in 1958. In 1966 Grüber became honorary president of the German-Israeli Society .
Willy Brandt
Governing Mayor of West Berlin, Federal Chancellor
Awarded on December 12, 1970 in West Berlin
Willy Brandt was mayor at the time the wall was built . As Federal Chancellor, he tried to strike a balance between the western and eastern states within the framework of Ostpolitik . The Moscow and Warsaw treaties concluded in 1970 were equivalent to peace treaties between the Federal Republic of Germany and Poland and the Soviet Union , respectively .
Soviet ambassador to the GDR
Awarded in September 1971 in East Berlin; revoked on September 29, 1992
Abrassimov played a key role in bringing about the Berlin Agreement , which was supposed to secure the status quo for Berlin and prevent further conflicts. Erich Honecker later asked in Moscow for Abrassimov's replacement because of his increasingly self-important and patronizing demeanor towards the GDR government.
Member of the Reichstag, acting Lord Mayor of Berlin in 1948
Awarded on October 20, 1971 in West Berlin
Ferdinand Friedensburg was the acting Lord Mayor when the city was divided. He stayed in the Berlin City Hall (located in the eastern part) until he had to be removed from the building by force. Friedensburg later represented West Berlin as a member of the German Bundestag.
  • Franz Neumann (born August 14, 1904 in Berlin; † October 9, 1974 in West Berlin)
Resistance fighter against the Nazi regime, member of the Bundestag
Awarded on October 20, 1971 in West Berlin
Franz Neumann worked as a youth welfare officer for the Berlin magistrate until 1933. Because of his resistance work for the SPD, he was sentenced in 1936 for preparation for high treason. After 1945 he re-established the SPD Reinickendorf and was involved in preventing the compulsory unification of the SPD and KPD in the western sectors of Berlin. From 1949 to 1960 Neumann was a member of the Bundestag for West Berlin and supported the reconstruction of the Technical University of Berlin .
Member of the Parliamentary Council , Member of the Bundestag and Member of the Berlin Parliament
Awarded on October 20, 1971 in West Berlin
Hans Reif represented West Berlin in the German Bundestag in Bonn from 1949 to 1957. From 1953 he also taught European politics at the German University of Politics in Berlin. From 1963 to 1971 he was also a member of the House of Representatives.
Head of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Awarded on November 23, 1973 in West Berlin
Von Karajan was connected to Berlin as a conductor for over 50 years. His breakthrough came in 1938 with a performance of Fidelio at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden . From 1941 to 1944 he was their Kapellmeister. In 1955 he returned to Berlin and was musical director of the Berliner Philharmoniker until 1989 , with which he also celebrated great international success.
Gustav Heinemann
Federal President
Awarded on February 18, 1974 in West Berlin
Heinemann was one of the leading men in the Confessing Church during the Nazi era . In Bonn he was first Federal Minister of the Interior, but resigned this office in protest against the rearmament of the Federal Republic. From 1966 he was Federal Minister of Justice and Federal President from 1969 to 1974. He was granted honorary citizenship shortly before the end of his term of office.
Colonel General of the Red Army , first city commandant of Berlin
Awarded posthumously on May 2, 1975 in East Berlin; deleted on September 29, 1992; resumed February 11, 2003
Awarded on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Berlin . Colonel-General Bersarin endeavored well beyond his official duty to prevent attacks by Soviet soldiers on the civilian population, organized the food supply for the population and the repair of roads, electricity and water pipes and also promoted the rebuilding of cultural life in Berlin.
Anna Seghers
Writer
Awarded on November 19, 1975 in East Berlin
Anna Seghers was one of the most famous German writers who dealt with the time of National Socialism. Her novels Transit and The Seventh Cross became world famous. From 1952 to 1978 she was president of the GDR Writers' Association.
Valery Bykovsky
Cosmonaut
Awarded on September 21, 1978 in East Berlin
Valery Bykovsky started out into space in 1963 as the fifth person. As the commander of the Soyuz 31 spaceship , he flew into space with Sigmund Jähn, for which he was granted honorary citizenship. From 1988 to 1990 he was director of the House of Soviet Science and Culture in Berlin.
Sigmund Jähn
Cosmonaut
Awarded on September 21, 1978 in East Berlin
Sigmund Jähn started as a research cosmonaut on board Soyuz 31 in 1978 as the first German to go into space. Its flight lasted eight days. Jähn later worked for the European Space Agency ESA .
Federal Foreign Minister, Federal President
Awarded on November 27, 1978 in West Berlin
As Foreign Minister, Walter Scheel was involved in the implementation of Ostpolitik and détente in the Cold War . He was given honorary citizenship for his commitment to the city.
Head of the Berlin office of the CDU in exile, member of the Bundestag
Awarded on April 28, 1982 in West Berlin
Gradl co-founded the CDU in the Soviet occupation zone in 1945. He was banned from speaking by the SMAD in 1947 and had to leave the East. He then founded the CDU in exile in West Berlin. From 1957 to 1980 he was also a Berlin member of the German Bundestag in Bonn. Gradl was always an advocate of German unity.
Chairman of the State Council of the GDR
Awarded on August 25, 1982 in East Berlin, revoked in 1989
Erich Honecker was the first man in the GDR since 1975. His accomplishments include the establishment of the GDR, in the form of the basic treaty and membership of the United Nations . During his term of office, however, there was also the economic decline of the country, which in connection with the political system, which large parts of the GDR population perceived as illegal, ultimately led to the political change and the dissolution of the GDR.
Director of the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies in Berlin
Awarded on March 24, 1983 in West Berlin
Stone was very dedicated to promoting Berlin and German-American friendship. In 1974 he came to the city as director of the branch of the Aspen Institute he had suggested and led numerous conferences there.
Wolfgang Heinz
actor
Awarded on September 30, 1983 in East Berlin
Heinz came to the city in 1956 and worked at the Deutsches Theater , whose director he became in 1963. In 1966 he was appointed President of the Association of Theater Professionals of the GDR. After 1968 he mainly worked at the Berliner Ensemble .
Federal President
Awarded on April 3, 1984 in West Berlin
High Commissioner in Germany
Awarded on April 1, 1985 in West Berlin
Awarded on the occasion of his 90th birthday. As US High Commissioner, McCloy played a decisive role in the preparation of the Marshall Plan , which laid the foundation for the reconstruction of the West German economy. In 1963, as an advisor to President John F. Kennedy , he initiated his famous visit to Berlin.
Artist
Awarded on April 11, 1986 in East Berlin
Herzfelde founded the Berlin “Dada movement”. During the time of National Socialism he edited the anti-fascist "Neue Deutschen Blätter" with Anna Seghers and Oskar Maria Graf in Prague. In New York City he founded the Aurora publishing house with Thomas Mann . In 1949 he returned to Berlin as a professor of sociology in modern literature. Herzfelde was awarded honorary citizenship for founding Malik-Verlag .
Chairman of the Jewish Community in Berlin
Awarded on November 26, 1987 in West Berlin
Awarded on the occasion of his 75th birthday. Heinz Galinski and his family were deported to Auschwitz concentration camp in 1943. As the only survivor of his family, he was liberated in 1945. Back in Berlin he founded a new Jewish community, which initially had the aim of enabling surviving Jews to emigrate to Israel or the USA . Soon, however, the community was no longer interested in leaving, but in rebuilding. Heinz Galinski always tried to establish the Jewish community and a new democratic society.
Deputy Mayor of East Berlin
Awarded on July 9, 1989 in East Berlin, revoked on September 29, 1992
Awarded on the occasion of her 100th birthday.
Helmut Schmidt
Chancellor
Awarded on December 13, 1989 in West Berlin
As Federal Chancellor, he created the conditions for the détente between the two German states. The expansion of transit routes and the facilitation of entry into the GDR, which he achieved, benefited West Berlin in particular.
Governing Mayor , Federal President
Awarded on June 29, 1990 in West Berlin
Richard von Weizsäcker was Governing Mayor of West Berlin from 1981 to 1984. In 1984 he was elected Federal President and became the first head of state of united Germany. Von Weizsäcker confessed to the Germans' guilt for the Holocaust and was the first German president to visit Israel . Even before the corresponding decision in 1991, von Weizsäcker was expressly in favor of Berlin as the new federal capital.
General Secretary of the CPSU, President of the Soviet Union
Awarded on November 9, 1992
Awarded on the 3rd anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall . With his perestroika, Gorbachev paved the way for political change in the GDR. The two plus four treaty he co-signed in 1990 was the prerequisite for the subsequent reunification of the two German states.
Chancellor
Awarded on November 9, 1992
Awarded on the third anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall . Kohl was one of the most important "architects" of German reunification and was re-elected in 1990 as the first all-German Federal Chancellor.
Ronald Reagan
President of the United States of America
Awarded on November 9, 1992
Awarded on the third anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall . His rapprochement with Gorbachev and the Soviet Union contributed significantly to the end of the Cold War . His visit to the Wall in 1987 is well known.
Federal Foreign Minister
Awarded on September 9, 1993
In response to Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika, Hans-Dietrich Genscher sought a more active policy of détente.
Entrepreneur
Awarded on May 20, 1998
The son of the former mayor Ernst Reuter is considered the "architect" of the new Potsdamer Platz . Even before German reunification , as Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler-Benz , he decided to purchase the property that today houses the QuartierDaimler . Edzard Reuter has always stood up for Berlin as a center of science, economy and culture.
Federal President
Awarded on February 3, 1999
Awarded on the occasion of his resignation from office. Roman Herzog was particularly committed to promoting the internal unity of Germany.
George Bush
President of the United States of America
Awarded on November 8, 1999
Awarded ten years after the fall of the Berlin Wall . George Bush was a great advocate for the reunification of Germany .
Singer (baritone), conductor, painter, music writer and reciter
Awarded on December 6, 2000
The singer, referred to by the Times as the “best song singer in the world”, began his career at the Städtische Oper Berlin and until 1992 often celebrated great successes on stage.
Speaker of the Berlin Senate , adviser to Federal Chancellor Brandt
Awarded on March 18, 2002
Egon Bahr was considered one of Willy Brandt's closest confidants . He was co-author of the basic treaty between the GDR and the Federal Republic and advocated a policy of détente. Through his work he achieved at least some relief for the people in divided Germany.
actress and singer
Awarded posthumously on May 6, 2002
Awarded on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of her death. Marlene Dietrich celebrated international success as an actress in The Blue Angel and other cinema productions. During the time of National Socialism , she was strongly committed to the Nazi regime.
Johannes Rau
Federal President
Awarded on March 15, 2004
Johannes Rau always lived according to his motto "reconcile instead of divide". He was first prime minister of North Rhine-Westphalia for many years . In this office he was the first Prime Minister to visit the GDR. In 1999, like his mentor Gustav Heinemann , he was elected Federal President.
Art patron
Awarded on June 9, 2004
Heinz Berggruen is honored with an honorary citizen for his services to classical modernism , which he promoted with various important exhibitions.
Wolf Biermann
Songwriter and poet
Awarded on March 26, 2007
Wolf Biermann was honored for his services “as a torch of enlightenment in the fog of dictatorship”. Wolf Biermann moved to the GDR as a teenager. He was banned from working in the GDR in 1965 and expatriated by the SED in 1976 . There were months of discussions in Berlin state politics about his honor.
Entrepreneur
Awarded on August 11, 2009
As one of the economic pioneers, Werner Otto was instrumental in the reconstruction of the German economy after the Second World War.
Federal President
Awarded on November 19, 2014
Joachim Gauck received honorary citizenship for his constant advocacy for freedom and democracy as well as against dictatorship and oppression.
W. Michael Blumenthal
Founding director of the Jewish Museum Berlin
Awarded on April 24, 2015
W. Michael Blumenthal has "made a decisive contribution to the fact that Berlin [is] perceived as a metropolis that faces its history and thus avows itself to freedom, tolerance and cosmopolitanism."
Federal Minister for Special Tasks, Head of the Federal Chancellery, Federal Minister of the Interior, Federal Minister of Finance, President of the Bundestag
Award ceremony on June 14, 2016
Journalist and author
Award ceremony on June 26, 2018
Holocaust survivor
Award ceremony on June 26, 2018

literature

  • Birgit Fleischmann: The honorary citizens of Berlin . Haude and Spener, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-7759-0380-1 (209 pages with numerous illustrations).
  • Thorsten Müller: Berlin's honorary citizen. From Conrad Ribbeck to Nelly Sachs . In: Berlin reminiscences . No. 18 . Haude and Spener, West Berlin 1968, DNB  457650389 (156 p. With ill.).
  • Brigitte Schellmann (ed.): Honorary citizens of Berlin 1813–2002 (=  Brigitte Schellmann's Who's Top - time tables ). Schellmann, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-931230-11-2 (174 pages; produced as required).
  • Horst Ulrich, Uwe Prell, Ernst Luuk: honorary citizens . In: Berlin Handbook. The lexicon of the federal capital . FAB-Verlag, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-927551-27-9 , p. 316-319 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gallery of Honorary Citizens. (PDF, 1 MB) (No longer available online.) In: Berlin House of Representatives. The President of the Berlin House of Representatives, November 22, 2007, archived from the original on February 20, 2013 ; Retrieved December 9, 2011 .
  2. ↑ Horst Ulrich, u. a .: Berlin Handbook . 1992, p. 316.
  3. ↑ Awards and honors from the State of Berlin. berlin.de, accessed on May 12, 2015 .
  4. ^ Hindenburg is removed from Berlin's list of honorary citizens
  5. ^ Coalition wants to remove Hindenburg from the list of honorary citizens
  6. ^ Berlin strikes Hindenburg from the list of honorary citizens. In: tagesspiegel.de. January 30, 2020, accessed February 2, 2020 .
  7. ^ Awarded honorary citizenship to W. Michael Blumenthal