Harald Ludwig

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Harald Ludwig (born April 30, 1930 in Waltershausen ; † April 29, 2018 in Strausberg ) was a German officer and lieutenant general of the National People's Army (NVA) of the German Democratic Republic .

Life

Ludwig came from a working-class family, his father was a fighter against fascism, his mother was persecuted by the Nazi regime. After completing 8th grade, he learned a commercial profession. On August 25, 1949, he joined the German People's Police as a candidate for the VP and served there until 1955. In 1951 he became a member of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED).

Military career

From 1955 to 1960 he studied at the Military Academy of the USSR. After his return from the USSR he served in the Motorized Rifle Regiment 24 in Erfurt until 1961 . From 1962 to 1963 he was commander of the Motorized Rifle Regiment 18 in Weißenfels . He then served in the cadre administration in the Ministry of National Defense , initially as a department head and from 1965 as deputy to the head of the cadre administration for planning. In 1976 he was appointed major general. In 1979 he took over as the successor to Ottomar Pech as head of the management team. He thus became a member of the College of the Ministry of National Defense. In 1981 he was promoted to lieutenant general and his post was renamed chief cadre . On April 30, 1990 he was released from the NVA.

Charges and convictions for assisted manslaughter

Ludwig was on 1 March 1994 in the wake of Wall Protect processes together with other former NVA officers before the Court of Berlin indicted for complicity in homicide and attempted homicide. The public prosecutor's office relied on annual orders on measures on the inner-German border , which Ludwig, as a member of the College of the Ministry for National Defense of the GDR, had also decided. He was accused of being jointly responsible for the order to fire and the self-firing systems at the border. On May 30, 1997, he was sentenced to 3 years and 3 months in prison. In the same process Joachim Goldbach , Heinz Handke and Fritz Peter were also convicted.

Ludwig was married and the father of two children. Ludwig died one day before his 88th birthday and was buried in the forest cemetery in Strausberg / Eggersdorf.

Awards

literature

  • Klaus Froh, Rüdiger Wenzke : The generals and admirals of the NVA. A biographical manual. 4th edition. Ch. Links, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-86153-209-3 , pp. 139f., Online in the Google book search.
  • Toralf Rummler, Petra Schäfter: Acts of violence on the German-German border. In: Klaus Marxen , Gerhard Werle (ed.): Criminal justice and GDR injustice. Volume 2, 2nd part. De Gruyter, Berlin 2002, ISBN 978-3-89949-007-7 , p. 1022, online in the Google book search.
  • Roman Grafe : German Justice: Trials against GDR border guards and their commanders . Siedler Verlag, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-88680-819-X , p. 54, online in the Google book search.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Biography in the women's magazine Für Dich No. 9/1982.
  2. ↑ Michael Mielke: NVA generals blow a certificate to withdraw. In: Die Welt , August 17, 1995, accessed September 9, 2018
  3. ^ Karl-Wilhelm Fricke: Border violators are to be arrested or destroyed. , Website of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation . Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  4. ^ Tribune spoke to Lieutenant General Harald Ludwig . In: Tribune of November 5, 1982.
  5. ^ Obituary notice in the Märkische Oderzeitung from May 12, 2018 (accessed on October 27, 2018).
personal data
SURNAME Ludwig, Harald
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer, lieutenant general of the National People's Army (NVA) of the GDR
DATE OF BIRTH April 30, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Waltershausen
DATE OF DEATH April 29, 2018
Place of death Strausberg