Heinz Hoffmann
Encyclopedia
Heinz Hoffmann was Minister of National Defense in the Council of Ministers of the German Democratic Republic
, and since October 2, 1973 Member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party
(SED).
, he spent the 1925 - 1930 period learning to be an engine fitter at MWM (Motoren Werke Mannheim AG)
. From 1926 to 1930 he was a member of the Young Communist League of Germany
, followed by membership in the Communist Party of Germany
(KPD). During this time Hoffman served several short prison sentences for participating in demonstrations and fights.
Battalion. He took command of the Battalion after his commander was wounded. He himself was severely wounded in the legs and abdomen by infantry gunfire south of Quijorna. Hoffmann was hospitalized in Madrid for a few months then later moved to a clinic in Eaubone, France where he recovered from 1938 to 1939. From April 1939 to November 1940, he was on rest and convalescence in Soviet Union.
in Pushkino
, northwest of Moscow
. In addition to an extensive social science training he was also taught military subjects. This included training in rear area sabotage with other German exiles. He was medically disqualified from training after parachute jumps aggravated his earlier leg wounds. Hoffman was then selected to work in German prisoner of war camps after assisting the Soviet NKVD
in interrogating prisoners. From 1942 to 1944, Hoffmann was a teacher at the Antifascist School, first in the territory of Gorky, and later in Krasnogorsk
. By 1945, Hoffman headed the Party School No. 12 in Moscow.
, and later the staff of Walter Ulbricht
. From 1950 until his death, Heinz Hoffmann was a member of parliament and was a candidate or a member of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party. In 1952 he joined the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party. Hoffmann belonged to the Politburo of the Socialist Unity Party from 1973 until his death in 1985.
, he was on July 1, 1952 made their chief being promoted Lieutenant-General on October 1952. Hoffmann held that position until 1955. From 1955 to 1957 Hoffmann studied at the Voroshilov General Staff Academy of the Soviet Union. Due to this training he was not in East Germany when the new National People's Army
was founded.
After his return from the Soviet Union, he served from 1957 to 1960 as the first Deputy Minister of National Defense, and from 1958 to 1960 also serving as the Chief of Staff. In 1959 he was promoted to Colonel-General and in 1961 to Army General. In 1960, Hoffmann was promoted as the successor of Willi Stoph
as Minister of National Defense of the GDR serving in that position until his death. With the elevation to the office of the Minister, he also became a member of the National Defense Council.
After his death, the 9th Armored Division of the East German Army was named after Heinz Hoffmann, as well as the Grottkauer Straße in Berlin district of Hellersdorf
was renamed Heinz-Hoffmann-Straße.
In 1954, Hoffmann married a nurse, Halina, who worked in a government hospital. They had two children and divorced in 1964.
Later in 1964 he married his chief secretary, Master Sergeant Gisela Sauer. They had three children and remained married until his death in 1985.
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
, and since October 2, 1973 Member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
(SED).
Youth
Hoffmann came from a working class family. After attending school in MannheimMannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
, he spent the 1925 - 1930 period learning to be an engine fitter at MWM (Motoren Werke Mannheim AG)
MWM (Motoren Werke Mannheim AG)
The MWM GmbH is a mechanical engineering company, based in Mannheim. For many years it was known as Motoren-Werke Mannheim...
. From 1926 to 1930 he was a member of the Young Communist League of Germany
Young Communist League of Germany
The Young Communist League of Germany was a political youth organization in Germany. It was formed in 1920 from the Free Socialist Youth of the Communist Party of Germany, which itself was formed in October 1918, with support from the Spartacus League . The KJVD was created in 1925...
, followed by membership in the Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
(KPD). During this time Hoffman served several short prison sentences for participating in demonstrations and fights.
Immigration
After the rise of the Nazi party in 1933, he was faced with a warrant for his arrest. Hoffmann fled Germany and immigrated to the Soviet Union by the way of Switzerland and Czechoslovakia. Until 1945 he used the alias “Heinz Roth,” which is the reason why he used Heinz as his first name rather than his given name Karl-Heinz. In the Soviet Union he attended the International Lenin School in Moscow.Service in the Spanish Civil War
For a few months in 1936 and 1937 he attended military school in Ryazan conducted by the Frunze Military Academy in preparation for service with the Republican forces in Spain. Upon graduation he was given the rank of Lieutenant. From 1937-1938 he served in the 11th International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. He was a Battery Commissar in the Hans BeimlerHans Beimler (Communist)
Hans Beimler was an active member of the German Communist Party and a deputy in the Reichstag.Beimler was born in Munich and served in the Kaiserliche Marine during the First World War...
Battalion. He took command of the Battalion after his commander was wounded. He himself was severely wounded in the legs and abdomen by infantry gunfire south of Quijorna. Hoffmann was hospitalized in Madrid for a few months then later moved to a clinic in Eaubone, France where he recovered from 1938 to 1939. From April 1939 to November 1940, he was on rest and convalescence in Soviet Union.
Training in the Soviet Union
Starting in March 1941, he attended a special course of the CominternComintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
in Pushkino
Pushkino
Pushkino may refer to:*Pushkino, Armenia, an inhabited locality in Armenia*Pushkino, Russia, name of several inhabited localities in Russia*Pushkino, former name of the city of Biləsuvar in Azerbaijan...
, northwest of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. In addition to an extensive social science training he was also taught military subjects. This included training in rear area sabotage with other German exiles. He was medically disqualified from training after parachute jumps aggravated his earlier leg wounds. Hoffman was then selected to work in German prisoner of war camps after assisting the Soviet NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
in interrogating prisoners. From 1942 to 1944, Hoffmann was a teacher at the Antifascist School, first in the territory of Gorky, and later in Krasnogorsk
Krasnogorsk
Krasnogorsk may refer to one of the following:*Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast, a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia*Krasnogorsk, Uzbekistan, a town in Uzbekistan...
. By 1945, Hoffman headed the Party School No. 12 in Moscow.
Party functionary in the Soviet Occupation Zone
In January 1946, he returned to Berlin and was initially on the personal staff of Wilhelm PieckWilhelm Pieck
Friedrich Wilhelm Reinhold Pieck was a German politician and a Communist. In 1949, he became the first President of the German Democratic Republic, an office abolished upon his death. He was succeeded by Walter Ulbricht, who served as Chairman of the Council of States.-Biography:Pieck was born to...
, and later the staff of Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht was a German communist politician. As First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971 , he played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany and later in the early development and...
. From 1950 until his death, Heinz Hoffmann was a member of parliament and was a candidate or a member of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party. In 1952 he joined the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party. Hoffmann belonged to the Politburo of the Socialist Unity Party from 1973 until his death in 1985.
Military career
Starting in 1949, Hoffmann was involved in the establishment of the East German armed forces. He was first Vice President of the German Administration of the Interior and Head of the Department of Political Culture with the rank of Inspector General. In 1950, Hoffmann was appointed Head of the Main Administration for Training (HVA), the immediate predecessor of the Barracked People's Police. During the establishment of Kasernierte Volkspolizei (KVP)Kasernierte Volkspolizei
Kasernierte Volkspolizei were the military units of the Volkspolizei in the German Democratic Republic...
, he was on July 1, 1952 made their chief being promoted Lieutenant-General on October 1952. Hoffmann held that position until 1955. From 1955 to 1957 Hoffmann studied at the Voroshilov General Staff Academy of the Soviet Union. Due to this training he was not in East Germany when the new National People's Army
National People's Army
The National People’s Army were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic .The NVA was established in 1956 and disestablished in 1990. There were frequent reports of East German advisors with Communist African countries during the Cold War...
was founded.
After his return from the Soviet Union, he served from 1957 to 1960 as the first Deputy Minister of National Defense, and from 1958 to 1960 also serving as the Chief of Staff. In 1959 he was promoted to Colonel-General and in 1961 to Army General. In 1960, Hoffmann was promoted as the successor of Willi Stoph
Willi Stoph
Willi Stoph was an East German politician. He served as Prime Minister of the German Democratic Republic from 1964 to 1973, and again from 1976 until 1989.-Biography:...
as Minister of National Defense of the GDR serving in that position until his death. With the elevation to the office of the Minister, he also became a member of the National Defense Council.
After his death, the 9th Armored Division of the East German Army was named after Heinz Hoffmann, as well as the Grottkauer Straße in Berlin district of Hellersdorf
Hellersdorf
Hellersdorf is a locality in the borough of Marzahn-Hellersdorf in Berlin. Between 1986 and Berlin's 2001 administrative reform, it was a borough in its own right, consisting of the current area of Hellersdorf as well as Kaulsdorf and Mahlsdorf.-History:...
was renamed Heinz-Hoffmann-Straße.
Family
Hoffman married Klavdiya “Klava” Ivanovna Knjazeva whom he met in 1940 while living in Peredelkino. She died on March 28, 1952. They had two sons, Jura and Sascha. The youngest son, Sascha, died 20 years later in a traffic accident soon after graduating from officer training as a Lieutenant in the National People's Army.In 1954, Hoffmann married a nurse, Halina, who worked in a government hospital. They had two children and divorced in 1964.
Later in 1964 he married his chief secretary, Master Sergeant Gisela Sauer. They had three children and remained married until his death in 1985.
Awards and honors
- 1954: Vaterländischer Verdienstorden
- 1965: Order of the Red BannerOrder of the Red BannerThe Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
- 1970: Order of Karl MarxOrder of Karl MarxThe Order of Karl Marx was the most important order in the German Democratic Republic . Award of the order also included a prize of 20,000 East German marks....
- 1974: Order of LeninOrder of LeninThe Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
- 1974: Scharnhorst Order
- 1975: Hero of the German Democratic Republic
- 1975: Honorary doctorate degree (Dr. h.c.) in philosophy from the Party University “Karl Marx”
- 1980: Hero of the German Democratic Republic
- 1980: Order of Karl Marx
- 1980: Order of Lenin
- 1985: Order of Karl Marx