Hermann Rentzsch (General)
Hermann Rentzsch (born May 27, 1913 in Schmiedeberg ; † April 12, 1978 in Berlin ) was major general of the Barracked People's Police and the National People's Army . Later he was among other things Deputy Minister for Heavy Machinery and Plant Engineering in the GDR .
Life
Rentzsch, son of a worker, did an apprenticeship as a carpenter after elementary school and worked in this profession. Between 1927 and 1933 he was a member of the Socialist Youth Workers . In 1934 he became a soldier in the Reichswehr , which was renamed the Wehrmacht in 1935 , served in various fog thrower departments and was promoted to sergeant. During the Second World War he was proposed for the officer career. Rentzsch became a lieutenant in 1940 and first lieutenant in 1942, then a captain. In Stalingrad he got in 1943 in Soviet captivity. He became a member of the National Committee for Free Germany . For this organization he worked as a front officer of the 6th Guard Army.
In July 1945, after a brief visit to the Antifa school in Rüdersdorf near Berlin, he joined the KPD and had been a member of the SED since 1946 . Rentzsch was mayor of Stollberg / Erzgeb from 1945 to 1947 . In 1947 and 1948 he was district administrator of the Stollberg district .
In 1948 Rentzsch joined the German People's Police and in 1948/49 was chief inspector and head of the border / readiness department in the German interior administration. After a corresponding further military training in the Soviet Union, he became Major General of the Barracked People's Police and Commander of the Territorial Administration North in October 1952. After the founding of the National People's Army in 1956, he became the commander of the V military district . In 1957 he became head of the training department at the Ministry of National Defense. In 1959 he was head of the artillery administration at the NVA staff.
In connection with the dismissal of former members of the Wehrmacht, Rentzsch was transferred to the reserve in 1959. Instead, he became the main director of the Union of Publicly Owned Enterprises (VVB) UNIMAK. Among other things, he was responsible for various ammunition factories and chemical plants. Between 1961 and 1965 he was deputy chairman of the Economics Council of the GDR and in 1966/67 deputy minister for heavy machinery and plant engineering. Between 1967 and 1972 Rentzsch was head of the administration for defense economics of the main administration I with the chairman of the council of ministers. After all, from 1972 to 1976 he was head of a department at the Ministry of National Defense.
Awards and honors
- 1943 German cross in gold
- 1963 Order Banner of Labor
- 1973 Patriotic Order of Merit in Gold
- 1976 Scharnhorst Order
- Battle medals "For services to the people and fatherland" in silver
- 1987 received the missile launcher department 1 (GeWA-1) of the 1st motorized rifle division the honorary name "Hermann Rentzsch"
literature
- Klaus Froh, Rüdiger Wenzke : The generals and admirals of the NVA. A biographical manual. 5th revised edition. Links, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-86153-438-9 , p. 163f.
- Hermann Rentzsch in the Munzinger archive , accessed on April 15, 2014 ( beginning of article freely accessible)
- Bernd-Rainer Barth , Andreas Herbst : Rentzsch, Hermann . In: Who was who in the GDR? 5th edition. Volume 2. Ch. Links, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86153-561-4 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Daniel Niemetz: The field-gray legacy. The Wehrmacht Influences in the Military of the Soviet Zone / GDR. 2006, ISBN 3861534215 , p. 222
- ↑ Daniel Niemetz: The field-gray legacy. The Wehrmacht Influences in the Military of the Soviet Zone / GDR. 2006, ISBN 3861534215 , p. 19
- ↑ Berliner Zeitung of March 2, 1987
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Rentzsch, Hermann |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German military, officer of the NVA |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 27, 1913 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Schmiedeberg |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 12, 1978 |
| Place of death | Berlin |