Helmuth Priess
Helmuth Prieß (born March 18, 1939 in Hildesheim , † April 26, 2012 in Bonn ) was a lieutenant colonel a. D. as well as co-founder and spokesman of the Darmstädter Signal working group . He is also posthumously its honorary chairman . As a critical soldier , Prieß came into conflict with his superiors several times.
Life
Prieß graduated from high school early and then completed an apprenticeship as a wholesale merchant . He was then a professional soldier for 32 years . In the Bundeswehr, among other things, he was involved as a company commander in the implementation of nuclear weapons transports. In 1972 he was transferred to the Army Office in Cologne because of his declared opposition to nuclear weapons . Among other things, he was an inspection chief at a military school. In 1992 he was demoted from major to first lieutenant because of the statement that soldiers were potential murderers . The rank reduction has been in the last instance from military service on the Senate Federal Administrative Court repealed and Prieß only a Disziplinarbuße of 500 German marks convicted.
Prieß had been a member of the SPD since 1972, a member of the ÖTV since 1974 and thus later a member of the ver.di union . He has been on the Swisttal municipal council since 1979 and was the first deputy mayor of the municipality for 15 years. In 1983 he was co-founder and, with the exception of 1996/97, speaker of the Darmstadt Signal .
Quotes
“ We joined forces in Darmstadt in September 1983 to protest against the insane stationing of medium-range missiles in East and West that was planned at the time. Also to make it clear that peace in our world cannot be enforced or maintained permanently with weapons, but only with peaceful, non-military steps towards conflict resolution and with policies that promote social justice worldwide. "
“ We have come together to make it clear that temporary and professional soldiers are also on duty within the Bundeswehr, who - even if only as a minority - have critical, disarmament-promoting opinions and also represent them publicly. To this day, this has not been welcomed by the military leadership and defense ministers. Nevertheless: We 'signalers' will continue to exercise our civil right to freedom of expression in a committed manner. "(Retired Lieutenant Colonel Helmut Prieß on behalf of 150 officers and NCOs of the Darmstadt Signal during the Easter March 2001 in Wedel)
Awards
- Gustav Heinemann Citizen Prize (1984)
- Clara Immerwahr Award from IPPNW (1992)
- Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon (1996)
- Medal of Honor with a needle from the municipality of Swisttal (2011)
Web links
- Helmuth Prieß: Fighter for justice died , Kölnische Rundschau , April 27, 2012
- Lieutenant Colonel a. D. Helmuth Prieß . Darmstadt signal . Archived from the original on March 28, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Board of the sponsorship group. In: https://www.darmstaedter-signal.de/ . Retrieved January 26, 2019 .
- ↑ JUDGMENT: Helmuth Prieß . In: Der Spiegel . No. 52 , 1992 ( online - 21 December 1992 ).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Priess, Helmuth |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German military and local politicians (SPD), co-founder and spokesman of the "Darmstädter Signal" working group |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 18, 1939 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hildesheim |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 26, 2012 |
| Place of death | Bonn |