Otto Arndt

Otto Arndt, 1986

Otto Arndt (born July 19, 1920 in Aschersleben ; † February 3, 1992 ) was Minister for Transport in the GDR and a member of the Central Committee of the SED .

Life

As the son of the Aschersleber locomotive driver and later Lord Mayor Otto Arndt, Arndt trained as a locksmith at the Deutsche Reichsbahn from 1936 to 1939 and was corporal in the Air Force during World War II .

After the Second World War he joined the SPD and became a founding member of the SED through its forced union with the KPD . He was able to resume his work at the Deutsche Reichsbahn. He completed an inspector's training and quickly made a career for the Deutsche Reichsbahn . In 1950 he became a board member of the Reichsbahnamt Aschersleben in his hometown, 1951 - at the age of 31 - Vice President of the Reichsbahndirektion Dresden and 1952 of the Reichsbahndirektion Halle . After attending the party college from 1960 to 1961, he became President of the Reich Railway Directorate in Berlin and, from 1964, Deputy Minister for Transport and First Deputy Director General of the Deutsche Reichsbahn. In 1969 he was awarded the title of engineer for railway, industrial and traffic engineering . On December 15, 1970, he succeeded Erwin Kramer as Minister of Transport and Director General of the Deutsche Reichsbahn.

Since June 1971 he was a candidate, since June 1975 a member of the Central Committee of the SED and since 1976 a member of the People's Chamber .

On the occasion of his 65th birthday, Arndt wanted to retire in 1985. Günter Mittag , Economic Secretary in the Politburo of the SED, however, asked him to stay.

On November 7, 1989, he resigned with the entire Council of Ministers of the GDR .

Despite his 19-year term in office, his options as a minister and railroad worker remained limited. The general conditions for the development of the Deutsche Reichsbahn were determined by the Politburo of the SED - and not by the Minister of Transport - or they resulted from the respective foreign trade dependencies.

Awards

• 1964 Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze and 1980 in gold
• 1970 and 1974 Order Banner of Labor
• 1985 Honorary Title Hero of Labor
• Otto Arndt was also the holder of the honorary titles Honored Inventor , Honored Railway Worker of the German Democratic Republic , Honored Employee of the Customs Administration of the German Democratic Republic and Honored Member of the National People's Army .

literature

• Elke Reuter, Helmut Müller-Enbergs :  Arndt, Otto . In: Who was who in the GDR? 5th edition. Volume 1. Ch. Links, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86153-561-4 .
• The People's Chamber of the German Democratic Republic, 7th electoral period , Staatsverlag der DDR Berlin, 1977
• The People's Chamber of the German Democratic Republic, 9th electoral period , Staatsverlag der DDR Berlin, 1987

Web links

Commons : Otto Arndt  - Collection of images, videos and audio files