Heinrich Albertz was a German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 clergyman, theologian

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

 and politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. He was born in Breslau, today , to a pastor as the younger half brother of Resistance

German Resistance

The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...

 fighter Martin Albertz

Martin Albertz

Martin Albertz was a German clergyman and teacher. As Superintendent of the deanery of Spandau within the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union he - clinging to the Confessing Church - opposed the Nazis. He was imprisoned by the Nazis during the Second World War for his church activities....

. As a member of the Confessing Church

Confessing Church

The Confessing Church was a Protestant schismatic church in Nazi Germany that arose in opposition to government-sponsored efforts to nazify the German Protestant church.-Demographics:...

 he opposed the Nazis

Nazism

Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...

, was arrested several times and conscripted into the Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht

The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

 in 1941.

In 1946 Albertz joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany

Social Democratic Party of Germany

The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...

 (SPD) and was minister in the cabinet

Cabinet (government)

A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...

 of Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony

Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...

 under Minister-President Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf

Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf

thumb|right|Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf 1948Hinrich Wilhelm Kopf was a German politician, who served as Prime Minister of Lower Saxony from 1946 to 1955 and from 1959 to 1961...

 from 1948 to 1955. In 1961 he became Senator (minister) of the interior in West Berlin

West Berlin

West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...

 under Mayor Willy Brandt

Willy Brandt

Willy Brandt, born Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm , was a German politician, Mayor of West Berlin 1957–1966, Chancellor of West Germany 1969–1974, and leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany 1964–1987....

, whom he succeeded as mayor in 1966. Nevertheless he was forced to resign one year later after an investigation into the police's role in the killing of Benno Ohnesorg

Benno Ohnesorg

Benno Ohnesorg was a German university student killed by a policeman during a demonstration in West Berlin.- Death :On June 2, 1967, Ohnesorg participated in a protest held near the Deutsche Oper, aimed against the state visit of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was attending a...

, a 28 year-old German literature student at a protest against the Shah of Iran

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...

, an incident that became a turning point in the devolution of the German student movement

German student movement

The German student movement was a protest movement that took place during the late 1960s in West Germany. It was largely a reaction against the perceived authoritarianism and hypocrisy of the German government and other Western governments, and the poor living conditions of students...

.

From 1970 to 1979 he worked as a pastor in Berlin. When on 27 February 1975 the Movement 2 June

Movement 2 June

Movement 2 June was a West German terrorist organization that was based out of West Berlin. Active only from 1971–1980, the anarchist group was one of the few violent groups at the time in West Germany. Although Movement 2 June did not share the same ideology as the Red Army Faction , these...

 militant group (named after the obit of Benno Ohnesorg) abducted the Christian Democrat

Christian Democratic Union (Germany)

The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...

 candidate for Mayor of West Berlin Peter Lorenz

Peter Lorenz

Peter Lorenz was a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union .In 1975 Lorenz was a candidate for mayor of West Berlin. He was kidnapped by the militant Movement 2 June group three days before the elections on 27 February...

, Albertz agreed to accompany the exchanged prisoners, among them Verena Becker

Verena Becker

Verena Becker was a West German member of the Movement 2 June and later the Red Army Faction. She was under the control of West German intelligence since 1972 at least.-Terrorist career:...

 and Gabriele Kröcher-Tiedemann

Gabriele Kröcher-Tiedemann

Gabriele Kröcher-Tiedemann was a West German political militant associated with Movement 2 June and the Second Generation Red Army Faction. She was the wife of the J2M terrorist Norbert Kröcher.-Early life:...

, on their flight to the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen

People's Democratic Republic of Yemen

The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen — also referred to as South Yemen, Democratic Yemen or Yemen — was a socialist republic in the present-day southern and eastern Provinces of Yemen...

. In the 1980s he joined the German peace movement

Peace movement

A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war , minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of achieving world peace...

 and several protests against the 1979 NATO Double-Track Decision

NATO Double-Track Decision

The NATO Double-Track Decision is the decision of NATO from December 12, 1979 to offer the Warsaw Pact a mutual limitation of Medium-range ballistic missiles and Intermediate-range ballistic missiles combined with the threat that in case of disagreement NATO would deploy more middle range nuclear...

.