Max Berger

Max Berger (born July 11, 1893 in Freiwaldau , Silesia ; † May 25, 1970 ) was a German lawyer and from 1956 to 1958 senior military prosecutor of the National People's Army (NVA) of the GDR .

Life

Berger, the son of a worker, became a box cutter after attending primary school. At the age of 14 he joined the Socialist Workers' Youth (SAJ) and became a member of the SPD in 1912 . From 1915 to 1918 he fought in the First World War . From 1920 to 1923 he was a legal representative in the Berlin tenants' association "Königstor", of which he became chairman in 1926. In 1924 Berger left the SPD and switched to the KPD in 1926 . From 1925 to 1933 he ran his own law firm in Berlin . 1932/33 Berger was also head of the legal department of the "Combat Association for Red Sports Units".

After the transfer of power to the National Socialists and the ban on the KPD, Berger also supported the party in illegality. Until 1934 he worked for the KPD in Lower Silesia . On January 30, 1936 Berger was from the Gestapo arrested on 26 January 1937 for "conspiracy to high treason " to 32 months ' imprisonment sentenced that he served. From 1939 until the end of the war, Berger worked as a cardboard box worker and assistant controller.

After the end of the Second World War , Berger took part in the rebuilding of the KPD in Berlin and became a public prosecutor in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg on the orders of the Soviet headquarters . In October 1945 he was fired. The reason given by Berger's superior at the time, Attorney General Wilhelm Kühnast , was Berger's “lack of academic education”. Berger protested against the decision to the Soviet occupation forces and was appointed by them as a public prosecutor in Berlin-Mitte .

In 1946 Berger joined the SED and in November 1948 became a sector attorney for the Soviet sector of Berlin and in February 1949 attorney general at the Berlin district court . From July 1950, Berger was senior public prosecutor for East Berlin. In 1950 Berger went to the German People's Police , later barracked People's Police , from 1956 to the NVA. From March 1, 1953, Berger was assigned the rank of colonel of the KVP with the formation of the public prosecutor's office in the military of the GDR. He became chief public prosecutor of the People's Police and a member of the College of the Ministry of the Interior and the College of the KVP's service area. In 1956 he became head of the administration of the military prosecutor in the Ministry of National Defense and the first military prosecutor in the GDR. Until 1957 he was assigned a Soviet military advisor. Berger retired on September 30, 1958. Until his death in 1970 he worked for the National Council of the National Front (NF) of the GDR.

Awards

• 1955 Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze
• 1963 Patriotic Order of Merit in silver
• 1968 Patriotic Order of Merit in Gold
• Medal for fighters against fascism 1933 to 1945

literature

• Andreas Herbst :  Max Berger . In: Who was who in the GDR? 5th edition. Volume 2. Ch. Links, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86153-561-4 .
• Roger Engelmann, Clemens Vollnhals (ed.): Justice in the service of party rule . Legal Practice and State Security in the GDR. Ch. Links Verlag , Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-86153-184-4 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
• Ernst Reuss , millionaires don't ride bicycles. Everyday justice in post-war Berlin. Past Publishing, Berlin 2012. ISBN 978-3-86408-092-0 .
• Ernst Reuss , Berlin Justice History. A factual investigation into everyday criminal justice in Berlin from 1945–1952, presented on the basis of the criminal jurisdiction of the Berlin-Mitte District Court. Nomos, Berlin / Baden-Baden, 2000.
• Klaus Froh & Rüdiger Wenzke, (ed.): The generals and admirals of the NVA: A biographical manual. 5th, through. Edition. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-86153-438-9 , pp. 245f.

Individual evidence

1. ^ New Germany , May 7, 1955, p. 2
2. ^ New Germany, September 3, 1963, p. 2
3. ↑ Neues Deutschland, August 30, 1968, p. 4
4. ^ Obituary notice in Neues Deutschland, June 1, 1970, p. 6