Heinz Keßler
Heinz Keßler (26 January 1920 – 2 May 2017) was a German communist politician and military officer in East Germany. His career in the military started when he was conscripted into the Wehrmacht, the armed forces of Nazi Germany, in WWII. Due to his communist convictions, he deserted the Wehrmacht and fought for the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front. Upon his return to East Germany, he was given the rank of '' Armeegeneral'' in the National People's Army (''Nationale Volksarmee''). Later, he was 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 deaths of defectors along the Berlin wall, he was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison after German reunification, and served his sentence in Hakenfelde Prison. He was released from prison in 1998 after serving only two years. Biography Early life Kes ...
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Army General (East Germany)
''Army general'' (german: Armeegeneral), was the highest peacetime general officer rank in the so-called ''armed organs of the GDR'' (), that is, the Ministry of National Defence (East Germany), Ministry of National Defence, the Stasi, and the Ministry of the Interior (East Germany), Ministry of the Interior. It is comparable to the four-star rank in many NATO armed forces. It was aligned with Soviet military doctrine and other armed forces of the Warsaw Pact. The rank was reserved to minister level exclusively. Consequently, in the National People's Army Military branch, service branches, Land Forces of the National People's Army, Landstreitkräfte, Air Forces of the National People's Army, Luftstreitkräfte/ Luftverteidigung, Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic, Border troops, and Volksmarine there was no equivalent. However, if a Navy flag officer was designated or appointed Minister of National Defence he would be promoted to Flottenadmiral. When the armed organ ...
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