Werner Böhnke (resistance fighter)
Werner Böhnke (born May 10, 1911 in Berlin ; † August 13, 1997 there ) was a German communist , resistance fighter against the Nazi regime and a diplomat of the GDR .
Life
Böhnke, son of a coachman and a laundress, learned the profession of typesetter . He joined the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and the Red Aid of Germany in 1931 . He was a listener at the Marxist Workers' School . From late 1931 or early 1932 he was political director of a street cell of the KPD. From mid-1932 Böhnke was responsible for the theoretical training of members of the KPD.
After the " seizure of power " by the National Socialists in 1933, he worked illegally as a courier between the KPD district management Berlin-Brandenburg and the sub-district management Berlin-Gesundbrunnen . Among other things, he was involved in the production and distribution of the “ Red Flag ”. He was arrested in May 1933 and had been in custody in Moabit Prison since June 29, 1933. On August 2, 1934, he was charged with preparation for high treason and later sentenced to two years in prison. In prison he learned the Russian language in self-study . After his release from prison, he and his wife Klara were a member of the resistance group around Rudolf Eichler and Max Nobody in Berlin-Pankow .
In 1940 Böhnke was drafted into the army for military service. In July 1944 he defected to the Red Army in Belarus . In the Soviet captivity , he became a member of the Antifa camp and attended an Antifa school . As a representative of the National Committee “Free Germany” (NKFD) he was sent to the front. In February or March 1945 he jumped over the Schorfheide together with a radio operator and radio . Böhnke managed to reach Berlin. On behalf of the NKFD, he contacted resistance groups. From the basement of his sister Erna Wimmer's apartment in Berlin-Köpenick, he established a radio link to the Soviet Army in order to report troop locations.
After the end of the war he took up a position in the German Central Administration for Labor and Social Welfare. From 1953 to 1959 Böhnke was cultural attaché at the GDR embassy in Moscow . He then worked as head of the international relations department at the central board of the Society for German-Soviet Friendship .
Werner Böhnke had been married to Ursula Werner since 1965 and last lived in Glienicke / Nordbahn . He was buried in the central cemetery in Berlin-Friedrichsfelde in the VdN complex.
Awards
- 1972 Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze
- 1987 Order of the " Star of Friendship of Nations " in silver
- 1989 Order of the Great Patriotic War (USSR)
literature
- Hans-Joachim Fieber et al. (Ed.): Resistance in Berlin against the Nazi regime 1933 to 1945. A biographical lexicon . Volume 1: Abegg - Byl. Trafo Verlag, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-89626-351-X , p. 198.
- Gottfried Hamacher et al. (Ed.): Against Hitler. Germans in the Resistance, in the armed forces of the anti-Hitler coalition and the "Free Germany" movement. Short biographies (= manuscripts / Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. Volume 53) . 2., corr. Edition. Dietz, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-320-02941-X , p. 34.
Web links
- Werner Böhnke in the DRAFD Wiki.
- Werner and Klara Böhnke on the page "Historical personalities in Berlin cemetery".
Individual evidence
- ^ Moscow cable workers in Berlin. In: New Germany . October 25, 1961, p. 8.
- ↑ High awards given. In: New Time . June 26, 1987, p. 2.
- ↑ Friedrichsfelde Central Cemetery. Birthdays and deaths of those buried in the cemetery in 2011 .
- ↑ Protocol No. 20/89 of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the SED of February 23, 1989 - BArch DY 30 / J IV 2/3/4363.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Böhnke, Werner |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German resistance fighter, diplomat of the GDR |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 10, 1911 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 13, 1997 |
| Place of death | Berlin |