Heinz Kessler
Encyclopedia
Heinz Kessler was an Armeegeneral
in the National People's Army
(Nationale Volksarmee - NVA) of the German Democratic Republic
(GDR); Minister of Defense of the GDR; a member of the Politbüro
of the Central Committee
of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
(SED); and a deputy of the GDR's Volkskammer
(parliament
). Convicted for his role in the crimes of the SED regime, he was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison after German reunification
. He was released from prison in 1998.
, Lower Silesia
. He joined the Red Young Pioneers, the youth organization of the KPD
(Communist Party of Germany), at age 6. He later apprenticed as a motor mechanic.
Drafted into the Wehrmacht
in 1940, he deserted to the Soviet Red Army
shortly after the German invasion of the USSR
. Upon returning to Germany in 1945, Kessler joined the KPD in the Soviet occupation zone, which merged with the Social Democratic Party (SPD
) in the Soviet zone in 1946 to form the SED. Also in 1946, Kessler became a member of the SED Central Committee
.
He was appointed Chief of the Air Forces and Air Defense (Luftstreitkräfte/Luftverteidigung
) of the NVA in 1956, and as deputy minister of defense in 1957. He became Chief of the NVA Main Staff (Hauptstab - General Staff) in 1967, with the rank of Generaloberst (Colonel General). Simultaneously, he also became a member of the Military Council of the United High Command of the Warsaw Pact
.
Kessler was promoted from Chief of the Main Political Administration (Chef der Politischen Hauptverwaltung) of the NVA to Defense Minister (with the rank of Armeegeneral) on 3 December 1985 after his predecessor, Armeegeneral Heinz Hoffmann
, died of a heart attack.
Shortly after German reunification on 3 October 1990, Kessler was tried in a German court for incitement to commit intentional homicide, for his role in the deaths of people who tried to flee the GDR between 1971 and 1989. On 16 September 1993, Kessler was found guilty of manslaughter
and was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison.
Kessler filed an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights
, claiming that his actions were in accordance with GDR law and meant to preserve the existence of the GDR. However, his appeal was denied largely on the basis that the GDR's policies violated international human rights.
Kessler served his sentence in Berlin-Hakenfelde prison from 1993 to 1998, and was released after serving nearly five years.
Kessler was expelled from the PDS in 1990. In 2009, he joined the German Communist Party
(DKP).
Armeegeneral
Armeegeneral was a senior military rank of East Germany, used until 1990. It was the equivalent of a Four-Star-General in Western nations and ranked below the Marschall der DDR , although no one was ever promoted to the latter rank.East German officers who achieved the rank of Armeegeneral were:*...
in the 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...
(Nationale Volksarmee - NVA) of the German Democratic Republic
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...
(GDR); Minister of Defense of the GDR; a member of the Politbüro
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
of the Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
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); and a deputy of the GDR's Volkskammer
Volkskammer
The People's Chamber was the unicameral legislature of the German Democratic Republic . From its founding in 1949 until the first free elections on 18 March 1990, all members of the Volkskammer were elected on a slate controlled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany , called the National Front...
(parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
). Convicted for his role in the crimes of the SED regime, he was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison after German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
. He was released from prison in 1998.
Biography
Kessler was born into a communist family in LaubanLuban
Lubań is a town in southwest Poland north of the Jizera Mountains on the Kwisa river, with 22,137 inhabitants . Situated within the historic Upper Lusatia region, it today belongs to the Lower Silesian Voivodeship...
, Lower Silesia
Province of Lower Silesia
The Province of Lower Silesia was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. Between 1938 and 1941 it was reunited with Upper Silesia as the Silesia Province. The capital of Lower Silesia was Breslau...
. He joined the Red Young Pioneers, the youth organization of the KPD
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...
(Communist Party of Germany), at age 6. He later apprenticed as a motor mechanic.
Drafted 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 1940, he deserted to the Soviet Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
shortly after the German invasion of the USSR
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
. Upon returning to Germany in 1945, Kessler joined the KPD in the Soviet occupation zone, which merged with the Social Democratic Party (SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
) in the Soviet zone in 1946 to form the SED. Also in 1946, Kessler became a member of the SED Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
.
He was appointed Chief of the Air Forces and Air Defense (Luftstreitkräfte/Luftverteidigung
Luftstreitkräfte der NVA
The Luftstreitkraefte / Luftverteidigung was the Air Force of East Germany . As with the Landstreitkräfte, the Volksmarine, and the Border troops, it was a military branch of the National People's Army ....
) of the NVA in 1956, and as deputy minister of defense in 1957. He became Chief of the NVA Main Staff (Hauptstab - General Staff) in 1967, with the rank of Generaloberst (Colonel General). Simultaneously, he also became a member of the Military Council of the United High Command of the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
.
Kessler was promoted from Chief of the Main Political Administration (Chef der Politischen Hauptverwaltung) of the NVA to Defense Minister (with the rank of Armeegeneral) on 3 December 1985 after his predecessor, Armeegeneral Heinz Hoffmann
Heinz Hoffmann
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 .-Youth:Hoffmann came from a working class family...
, died of a heart attack.
Shortly after German reunification on 3 October 1990, Kessler was tried in a German court for incitement to commit intentional homicide, for his role in the deaths of people who tried to flee the GDR between 1971 and 1989. On 16 September 1993, Kessler was found guilty of manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
and was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison.
Kessler filed an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
, claiming that his actions were in accordance with GDR law and meant to preserve the existence of the GDR. However, his appeal was denied largely on the basis that the GDR's policies violated international human rights.
Kessler served his sentence in Berlin-Hakenfelde prison from 1993 to 1998, and was released after serving nearly five years.
Kessler was expelled from the PDS in 1990. In 2009, he joined the German Communist Party
German Communist Party
The German Communist Party is a Marxist-Leninist party in Germany.-History:The DKP was formed in West Germany in 1968, in order to fill the place of the Communist Party of Germany , which had been banned by the Federal Constitutional Court in 1956...
(DKP).