Rudolf Helmer
_Rudolf_Helmer.jpg)
Rudolf Helmer (born February 22, 1914 in Markranstädt ; † March 3, 2007 ) was a German resistance fighter against National Socialism and a diplomat . He was the GDR's ambassador in Hungary .
Life
Rudolf Helmer was the son of a locksmith and a seamstress. After his parents separated, he went to Berlin with his mother and two sisters in 1925. In 1928 he began an apprenticeship as a technical draftsman . Rudolf Helmer's parents had been members of the Communist Party since 1921, and in 1931 he also joined the KPD. From 1932 he lived in Berlin-Kreuzberg. After the seizure of power by the National Socialists and the banning of the KPD, he participated in the organization of illegal labor. In June 1933 he was arrested by the Gestapo and severely ill-treated. In August he was sentenced to two years in prison for “preparing to commit high treason”, which he served in the Cottbus central youth prison. Although he was under police supervision for a long time after his release in August 1935, he continued to work illegally. From 1936 to 1940 he worked for various Berlin companies as a technical draftsman, heating technician and detail designer.
In August 1941 he was arrested again through treason and after five months in Gestapo imprisonment, he was sent to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp . Helmer had the prisoner number 41321. After a short time he was sent to a sub-camp as a heating technician on an outside command in Berlin-Lichterfelde , and later assigned to a work command of the Reich Post Research Institute in Kleinmachnow .
Helmer went back to Berlin and became a member of the KPD again. From 1945 to 1947 he served as a district councilor for social affairs in Berlin-Kreuzberg . In April 1946 he became a member of the SED . In the first post-war elections in October 1946, he was elected as a district councilor in the Kreuzberg district assembly, of which he was a member until 1948. From 1947 to 1949 he studied social sciences at the University of Leipzig and then attended a course at the German Administration Academy .
From 1950 he held leading positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the GDR (MfAA). He was head of the western department and head of the Southeastern Europe (Hungary-Bulgaria-Romania) department of main department I. From 1954 to 1956 he worked as counselor at the embassy in Poland. From July 1956 to August 1959 he was ambassador to Hungary. After his return he was head of the 2nd European Department or the Department of Neighboring Countries in the MfAA until 1976. In January 1976 he was confirmed as a member of the Presidium and Secretary of the Central Management of the Committee of Antifascist Resistance Fighters of the GDR . On April 13, 1985, he was elected Secretary General of the International Sachsenhausen Committee to succeed Heinrich Külckens .
On June 12, 2019 , a stumbling block was laid in front of his former place of residence, Berlin-Kreuzberg , Böckhstraße 5 .
Awards
- 1964 Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze, 1974 in silver and 1979 in gold
- 1984 Gold Star of Friendship of Nations
- 1989 Gold Medal for the Patriotic Order of Merit
Web links
literature
- Günther Buch: Names and dates of important people in the GDR. 4th, revised and expanded edition. Dietz, Berlin (West) / Bonn 1987, ISBN 3-8012-0121-X , p. 115.
- 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 , p. 298 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
- Gerd-Rüdiger Stephan, Andreas Herbst , Christine Krauss, Daniel Küchenmeister (eds.): The parties and organizations of the GDR. A manual . Dietz Verlag, Berlin, 2002, ISBN 3-320-01988-0 . P. 964.
- Siegfried Bock , Ingrid Muth , Hermann Schwiesau: The GDR foreign policy, an overview. Data, facts, people (III) . LIT Verlag Dr. W. Hopf, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-643-10559-2 , p. 312.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Minutes No. 8/76 of the meeting of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the SED on January 26, 1976 - BArch DY 30 / J IV 2/3/2410.
- ^ Appeal of the International Sachsenhausen Committee . In: Berliner Zeitung , April 15, 1985, p. 4.
Erich Kops (1949–1951) | Stefan Heymann (1951–1953) | Sepp Schwab (1954–1956) | Rudolf Helmer (1956–1959) | Walter Vesper (1959–1961) | Wilhelm Meißner (1961–1967) | Herbert Plaschke (1967–1973) | Günter Kohrt (1973–1974) | Gerhard Reinert (1974–1979) | Rudolf Rossmeisl (1979–1983) | Karl-Heinz Lugenheim (1983–1988) | Gerd Vehres (1988–1990)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Helmer, Rudolf |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German diplomat, ambassador of the GDR in Hungary |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 22, 1914 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Markranstädt |
| DATE OF DEATH | 20th century or 21st century |