Rolf Berger (politician)

Rolf Berger (born May 14, 1921 in Leipzig ; † December 30, 1978 ) was a German trade union official and politician of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). He was chairman of the metal industry union of the GDR , deputy chairman of the Free German Trade Union Federation (FDGB), from 1963 to 1971 a member of the Central Committee (ZK) of the SED and a member of the People's Chamber . Berger was ousted in 1971 because he had demanded more independence for the trade unions in the GDR.

Life

The son of a worker Berger learned the profession of tool lathe after elementary school and was active in this profession until he was drafted into the German armed forces in 1942. Until 1945 he fought with the rank of sergeant in World War II . In October 1945 he was taken prisoner by the British , but was released after the end of the war and returned to Leipzig.

In 1945, Berger, who was again active in his apprenticeship until 1947, became a member of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and the FDGB. In 1946 he became a member of the SED. In 1946 he was chairman of the committee of the National Front in the municipality association of Klosterfelde . From 1947 to 1950 Berger was a full-time secretary for training in the FDGB local board in Leipzig. In 1948 he attended several courses at various union schools.

In 1951 Berger became the local board of IG Metall in Leipzig and in 1952 chairman of the Leipzig district association. From 1953 to 1957 he was, as the successor to Hans Schmidt , chairman of the central board of IG Metall in the GDR. From 1957 to 1960 Berger completed a degree in social sciences at the party college "Karl Marx" , which he graduated with a diploma.

From 1960 to 1971 Berger was again, now as successor to Herbert Dönitz , chairman of the central board of IG Metall. From 1961 to 1971 he was also deputy chairman of the FDGB federal executive board, head of the secretariat and member of its executive committee. From 1963 to 1971 Berger was a member of the Central Committee of the SED and a member of the People's Chamber of the GDR. In 1964 he was at the University of Economics in Berlin as a doctor of economics doctorate .

On July 9, 1971 Berger was dismissed from all posts because of demands for independent, free trade unions and criticism of the centralized planned economy . From 1971 to 1975 he was economic director in a Berlin company in the metallurgy trade and from 1976 until his death in 1978 he was a research assistant at the District Institute for Veterinary Affairs in Frankfurt (Oder) .

Honors

• 1962 Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze
• 1965 Patriotic Order of Merit in silver
• 1969 Medal of Merit of the GDR

Works

• Competition today and tomorrow . Berlin 1964.
• Philosophical problems of trade union work . Berlin 1967.

literature

• Gabriele Baumgartner, Dieter Hebig (Hrsg.): Biographisches Handbuch der SBZ / DDR. 1945–1990 . Volume 1: Abendroth - Lyr . KG Saur, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-598-11176-2 .
• Gerd-Rüdiger Stephan et al. (Ed.): The parties and organizations of the GDR. A manual . Dietz, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-320-01988-0 .
• Helmut Müller-Enbergs :  Berger, Rolf . In: Who was who in the GDR? 5th edition. Volume 1. Ch. Links, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86153-561-4 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Rolf Berger , In: Foundation archive of parties and mass organizations of the GDR in the Federal Archives: FDGB Archive in the Federal Archives , Berlin 2006.
2. ^ In: Neues Deutschland , October 6, 1962, p. 4
3. ^ In: Neues Deutschland , July 7, 1965, p. 2.