Hermann Flade

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Hermann Joseph Flade (born May 22, 1932 in Würzburg ; † May 16, 1980 ) was a German political scientist who became known for his arrest and conviction in a show trial in the GDR for political reasons .

Life

Childhood and youth

Hermann Flade was born in Würzburg. His mother moved with his stepfather to Olbernhau , where he started school in 1938. Flade was raised Catholic by his parents . In 1942 he moved to Dresden with his mother . In the same year he became a member of the German Young People . In 1944 he resigned from this organization, which was an unusual and courageous step at the time. In 1944, Flade started high school. After the destruction of Dresden , Flade moved back to Olbernhau with his mother. In 1949 he broke off attending high school and worked in uranium ore mining , where he got to know the disastrous working conditions of miners. In 1950 he became a member of the FDJ . At the same time he was friends with a Catholic priest who had fled from Silesia , Arthur Lange, who had a great influence on him.

Leaflet campaign

Attempted murder of a people's policeman, 5000 DM reward - wanted poster for Hermann Flade

On October 15, 1950, the first elections to the People's Chamber as well as to the state parliaments and local councils took place in the GDR . Contrary to the requirements of the GDR constitution, the election was not free, instead only a unified list of the National Front was put to the vote, whereby there was no possibility to vote with "No".

Flade did not agree with this undemocratic election process. With the help of a student print box, the then 18-year-old produced a total of 186 leaflets on which he protested against the election. On one leaflet he denounced the “electoral fraud”, on another, satirically designed, leaflet with the heading “The Goose” he caricatured the conditions in the GDR , alluding to the high reparations that had to be paid to the Soviet Union : “ The goose traips like Pieck , chatters like Grotewohl and is plucked like the German people ”. He stuck these leaflets on house walls, lamp posts and walls in Olbernhau between October 10 and 14, 1950. On the night of October 14-15, 1950, Flade was surprised by a civil strike by the People's Police . Flade resisted arrest with a penknife by stabbing one of the policemen in the upper arm and back, who was slightly injured. Pita escaped initially, but was arrested after a massive manhunt on 16 October 1950 and in custody taken.

Criminal proceedings

Death sentence

In January 1951, the criminal proceedings against Hermann Flade took place before the Dresden Regional Court . The main hearing was organized by the politically responsible SED as a show trial and took place in the Tivoli restaurant , which had the largest hall in Olbernhau. Flade was charged with attempted murder , among other things , with the prosecution untruthfully accusing Flade of stabbing the policeman with a hunting knife. In the process, Flade succeeded in gaining the sympathy of the audience by denouncing the conditions in uranium ore mining and admitting to actively fighting against the GDR. After two days of trial, Flade was sentenced to death on January 10, 1951 for " boycotting against democratic institutions and organizations in unity with militaristic propaganda, attempted murder and resistance against law enforcement officers " .

Revision procedure

The death sentence against Flade caused horror inside and outside the GDR. In the GDR the verdict was protested in leaflets, wall inscriptions and letters. So, too, protested high school students who were sentenced to long prison terms. In West Berlin , a large rally took place in the exhibition halls at the radio tower , at which the mayor Ernst Reuter gave a speech. Federal Minister Jakob Kaiser spoke of a "pure terrorist judgment" and Federal Chancellor Konrad Adenauer described the judgment as a "terrorist act".

In view of these reactions, the SED now considered it appropriate to press for an amendment to the judgment. Therefore, the hearing on Flade's appeal before the Dresden Higher Regional Court was set for January 29, 1951, so that Flade's defense lawyer was only able to submit the reasons for the appeal to the court less than 24 hours before the hearing. The Higher Regional Court confirmed the guilty verdict, but changed the sentence to 15 years in prison . A cassation appeal Flades was unsuccessful.

Penal system

Hermann Flade was imprisoned until 1960, including solitary confinement until May 18, 1954. He was imprisoned in Bautzen , Torgau - where he contracted tuberculosis - and Waldheim . His parents fled to the West immediately after his conviction. An offer from the Stasi that he could be released from prison if he induces his parents to return to the GDR was rejected by Flade. In custody pita began, inspired by contact with an imprisoned professor of mathematics, with mathematics to deal. On February 5, 1958, he signed up to appear as an unofficial employee of the State Security, hoping to be released in this way. The state security, however, saw through Flade's intention to deceive and broke off the cooperation. It was not until early November 1960 that Flade was released from prison following an amnesty .

Life After Release

After his release from prison, Hermann Flade initially moved to Greiz , but soon moved to live with his parents in Traunstein . He made up his Abitur , studied political science and philosophy , submitted his dissertation on the subject of "Political Theory" in 1967 and was awarded a Dr. phil. PhD. From April 1, 1968, he worked as a research assistant for the Association for the Reunification of Germany, and from 1969 as an employee of the All-German Institute . Hermann Flade had been a member of the Junge Union since 1961 , but never joined a Union party. He was married and had three children.

Fonts

  • Germans against Germans - experience report from the Soviet zone prison , publisher: Herder Freiburg, 1963. Paperback 284 pages

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Facsimile of the leaflet on jugendopposition.de ( Federal Center for Civic Education / Robert Havemann Society eV), viewed on March 6, 2017.
  2. ↑ a b Hermann Joseph Flade on jugendopposition.de ( Federal Agency for Civic Education / Robert Havemann Society eV), viewed on March 6, 2017.
  3. ↑ Flyer against Flade's imprisonment from January 1951 in the SAG Wismut Facsimile on jugendopposition.de ( Federal Center for Civic Education / Robert Havemann Society eV), viewed on March 6, 2017.
  4. ↑ Video of a contemporary witness interview Achim Beyer on the death sentence against Hermann Joseph Flade on jugendopposition.de ( Federal Agency for Civic Education / Robert Havemann Society eV), viewed on March 6, 2017.
  5. ↑ Photo from custody Act of Hermann Joseph flat in Waldheim prison on jugendopposition.de ( Federal Agency for Civic Education / Robert-Havemann-Gesellschaft eV), spotted on 6 March 2017th
personal data
SURNAME Flade, Hermann
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Flade, Hermann Joseph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German dissident in the GDR
DATE OF BIRTH May 22, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Wurzburg
DATE OF DEATH May 16, 1980