Kurt Wilhelm Mercenary

Kurt Wilhelm Söldner at the age of 65

Kurt Wilhelm Söldner (born December 19, 1927 in Amsterdam ; † February 26, 2015 in Bad Waldsee ) was a long-time member of the board and later an honorary board member of the Berlin-Brandenburg regional association of the social association VdK Germany . His life was decisively shaped by his experiences in the Second World War, where as a 17-year-old soldier he was wounded several times and was taken prisoner by the Soviets.

social commitment

Kurt Söldner was a co-founder of a war-disabled organization and was active in caring for the brain injured for decades. During his almost 30 years in the public service as a manager in the human resources department at the Senate Department for Building and Housing , he took special care of the severely disabled. In addition, he has served as an honorary judge at the Social Court in Berlin since 1972 , and from 1984 repeatedly as an honorary judge at the Federal Social Court in Kassel . In 1984 he was elected 2nd chairman of the BDKK (Association of German War Victims, Physically Disabled People and Social Pensioners). In 1992 the Berlin regional association of the BDKK, which he now led, merged with the VdK regional association Berlin-Brandenburg. Here he was a long-time member of the board and finally an honorary board member.
In all these functions, Kurt Söldner has volunteered for over 65 years with great commitment and convincing personality for the concerns of socially disadvantaged people in general, and of people with disabilities and war victims in particular. For his voluntary work he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit and the Berlin Badge of Honor.
In the last years of his life he gradually gave up his positions and retired together with his wife Margott Nippe-Söldner to Bad Waldsee, where he died in 2015 with his family.

Awards (excerpt)

Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon (1981)
Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class (1987)
Federal Cross of Merit (1999)
Berlin badge of honor for special social commitment (2009)

Web links

References and comments

personal data
SURNAME	Mercenary, Kurt Wilhelm
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German bearer of the Great Federal Order of Merit
DATE OF BIRTH	December 19, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH	Amsterdam
DATE OF DEATH	February 26, 2015
Place of death	Bad Waldsee

[1] Portrait of Kurt W. Söldner at the age of 65 (1992)

[2] Steinhoff, Georg (VdK Berlin-Brandenburg): Honorary board member Kurt Söldner speaks about politics, perspectives of the VdK and private plans. VdK newspaper 04/2014.

[3] BDKK, at that time still: Association of German War Disabled and War survivors

[4] Söldner, Kurt: Always keep an eye on the welfare of the VdK. Acknowledgments and farewells from active participation. VdK newspaper 12/2012

[5] VdK Berlin-Brandenburg: We have lost a great soul. VdK newspaper 03/2015.

[6] Senate Department for Integration, Labor and Social Affairs of the State of Berlin: Press release of December 7, 2009. Badges of honor awarded for special social commitment in Berlin.