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Hans-Joachim Böhme

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Hans-Joachim Böhme
Böhme in 1986
First Secretary of the
Socialist Unity Party in Bezirk Halle
In office
5 May 1981 – 9 November 1989
Second Secretary
  • Walter Kitzing
Preceded byWerner Felfe
Succeeded byRoland Claus
Second Secretary of the
Socialist Unity Party in Bezirk Halle
In office
1974–1981
First Secretary
Preceded byDieter Itzerott
Succeeded byWalter Kitzing
Volkskammer
Member of the Volkskammer
for Merseburg
(Halle/Saale, Halle-Neustadt; 1981–1986)
In office
25 June 1981 – 16 November 1989
Preceded bymulti-member district
Succeeded byEberhard Sandmann
Personal details
Born
Hans-Joachim Böhme

(1929-12-29)29 December 1929
Bernburg (Saale), Free State of Anhalt, Weimar Republic (now Saxony-Anhalt, Germany)
Died4 September 2012(2012-09-04) (aged 82)
Halle (Saale), Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Political partySED-PDS
(1989–1990)
Other political
affiliations		Socialist Unity Party
(1946–1989)
Social Democratic Party
(1945–1946)
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Politician
  • Party Functionary
  • Civil Servant
Awards
Central institution membership
Other offices held

Hans-Joachim "Achim"[1] Böhme (29 December 1929 – 4 September 2012) was a German politician and high-ranking party functionary of the Socialist Unity Party (SED).

In the German Democratic Republic, he served as the longtime First Secretary of the SED in Bezirk Halle and was a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the SED.

Life and career

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Early career

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Until 1955, Böhme served as an SED party staff member initially at the district level (Bernburg), later in Bezirk Halle. From 1955 to 1958, he obtained a diploma in social sciences at the "Karl Marx" Party Academy. Afterwards, he served as the First Secretary of the SED in Weißenfels until 1963.[2][3]

Bezirk Halle SED career

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In 1967, he obtained his doctorate (Dr. phil.) from the University of Halle with a thesis on Political Consciousness Formation in Socialism – Issues of political consciousness formation in the period of comprehensive socialism development in the GDR and its management by the Marxist–Leninist party, illustrated by the activities of the SED leadership in Bezirk Halle.[4]

From 1968 to 1974, he was the Secretary for Agitation and Propaganda and, from 1974, the Second Secretary of the SED in Bezirk Halle.[2]

Böhme (right of center) and Stasi head Erich Mielke (left of center) visiting dairy farmers in Nessa in May 1981

In May 1981, Böhme rose to the position of the First Secretary of the SED in Bezirk Halle,[2][3][5][6] incumbent Werner Felfe joining the Central Committee Secretariat as Secretary responsible for Agriculture.[7]

From April 1981 (X. Party Congress) until its collective resignation in December 1989, Böhme was a member of the Central Committee of the SED and a member of the Volkskammer. From 21 April 1986 (XI. Party Congress) until his resignation in November 1989, he was a full member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the SED,[2][3] the de facto highest leadership body in East Germany, Bezirk Halle being an important centre for the chemical industry.[4]

Former Bezirk Halle SED building, still known today as "Café Böhme" in local vernacular, in May 2006

Böhme's tenure was viewed negatively. His leadership style was authoritarian, occasionally described as absolutist,[3][4][6] and he was viewed as a hardliner.[3] Unlike other First Secretaries such as Hans Modrow and Werner Walde, he lived a lavish lifestyle.[3][4][6] Böhme additionally was accused of embezzlement and personal enrichment, among other things funneling 45000 East German mark public money into the construction of a lodge. Despite evidence, he was acquitted after spending two months in pre-trial detention.[2][4]

Böhme was awarded the Patriotic Order of Merit in 1969 and 1980, and the Karl Marx Order in 1984.[2]

Peaceful Revolution

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During the Wende, on 9 November 1989, the SED in Halle removed him from the position of First Secretary and installed reformer Roland Claus as his successor.[8][9] Böhme consequently resigned from the Politburo he had just been reelected to. He was removed by his party from the Volkskammer a week later, on 16 November 1989.[10]

Böhme did not take personal responsibility for the failure of the SED, blaming the other SED Bezirk Halle leadership members.[3] On 20 January 1990, he was expelled in absentia from the now-renamed SED-PDS party in an unanimous vote, the party Central Arbitration Commission citing personal enrichment and his reaction to the demonstrations.[11]

Reunified Germany

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Like other former Politburo members, Böhme was charged with "complicity in manslaughter" (political responsibility for the fatal shootings at the Berlin Wall) by the Berlin Regional Court in the Berlin Wall shooting trials.[12] After initially being acquitted in 2000, Böhme was sentenced on 6 August 2004, to 15 months of probation.[2][4][13]

He lived as a retiree in Halle-Neustadt.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Eberle, Henrik; Wesenberg, Denise, eds. (1999). Einverstanden, E.H: parteiinterne Hausmitteilungen, Briefe, Akten und Intrigen aus der Honecker-Zeit (in German). Berlin: Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf. p. 174. ISBN 978-3-89602-188-5. OCLC 42041591.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Böhme, Hans-Joachim". www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de. Wer war wer in der DDR? (in German). Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship. 2009. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Honig, Steffen (2019-09-03). "Der kleine König von Halle". www.volksstimme.de (in German). Volksstimme. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Könau, Steffen (2012-09-06). "Halle: Ehemaliger SED-Chef Hans-Joachim Böhme ist tot". www.mz.de (in German). Mitteldeutsche Zeitung. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  5. ^ "Beschlüsse des Parteitages werden zielstrebig erfüllt". www.nd-archiv.de (in German). Neues Deutschland. 1981-05-05. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  6. ^ a b c Mächtig: Die SED in Leuna und Halle (Television production). Panorama (in German). Norddeutscher Rundfunk. 1989-12-12. Retrieved 2024-08-07 – via www.ndr.de.
  7. ^ "Vierter Mann". Der Spiegel (in German). 1988-09-11. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  8. ^ "Rücktritte der 1. Sekretäre der SED-Bezirksleitungen im November 1989". ddr89.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  9. ^ "Bezirksleitung Halle der SED (1952 - 1990)". www.bundesarchiv.de (in German). German Federal Archives. 2006. Retrieved 2024-06-13.
  10. ^ "Chronik der DDR Donnerstag 16. November 1989". www.ddr89.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-07-30.
  11. ^ "Hans-Joachim Böhme", Ausschluss. Das Politbüro vor dem Parteigericht (in German), Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, retrieved 2023-12-02
  12. ^ "Chronologie der Prozesse gegen DDR-Funktionäre wegen der Schüsse an der Grenze zur BRD. | TP-Presseagentur" (in German). 2016-03-25. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  13. ^ "Politik: Bewährung für SED-Politiker im letzten Mauer-Prozess". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). 2004-08-07. ISSN 1865-2263. Retrieved 2023-12-02.

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