Georg Ewald (30 October 1926 – 14 September 1973) was a German politician and high-ranking party functionary of the Socialist Unity Party (SED). In the German Democratic Republic, he briefly served as the First Secretary of the SED in

Bezirk Neubrandenburg The Bezirk Neubrandenburg was a district (''Bezirk'') of East Germany. The administrative seat and the main town was Neubrandenburg. History The district was established, with the other 13, on 25 July 1952, substituting the old German states. Aft ...

and, most notably, as the longtime GDR Agriculture Minister and as a candidate member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the SED. Ewald died in a car accident in 1973.

Life and career

Early career

After attending agricultural school, Ewald worked in his parents' farm until he was drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1943. From 1946 to 1949, Ewald was a farmworker and joined the

Free German Youth The Free German Youth (german: Freie Deutsche Jugend; FDJ) is a youth movement in Germany. Formerly, it was the official youth movement of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. The organization was meant ...

(FDJ) and the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED) in 1946. In 1949/1950, he was the mayor of his hometown and from 1950 to 1953, he was the district councilor for agriculture, a member of the district council of Stralsund, and a member of the SED district leadership. From 1953 to 1954, Ewald attended the "Karl Marx" Party Academy and then served as First Secretary of the SED in the districts of Bad Doberan and Rügen.

Bezirk Neubrandenburg SED career

In October 1960, he succeeded Max Steffen as First Secretary of the

SED leadership. Steffen was demoted to First Secretary of the SED in the Lübbenau coal power plant. From January 1963 ( VI. Party Congress) until his death, he was a full member of the Central Committee of the SED and a candidate member of its

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

, the ''de facto'' highest leadership body in East Germany.

Agriculture Minister

In February 1963, the GDR's Ministry of Agriculture was abolished and replaced by the Agricultural Council, later renamed Council for Agricultural Production and Food Economy, its chairman holding ministerial rank. Karl-Heinz Bartsch, appointed on 7 February, was forced to resign only two days later, on 9 February, after West German media revealed that he had concealed his membership in the Waffen-SS. Ewald replaced him, additionally becoming a member of the Presidium of the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

and a member of the Volkskammer later that year. In 1971, the Ministry of Agriculture was reestablished as Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Ewald becoming Minister. His tenure was marked by further collectivization efforts. During his leadership, he frequently clashed with SED Agriculture Secretary

Gerhard Grüneberg Gerhard is a name of Germanic origin and may refer to: Given name * Gerhard (bishop of Passau) (fl. 932–946), German prelate * Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (1292–1340), German prince, regent of Denmark * Gerhard Barkhorn (1919–1 ...

, who implemented many ideas aimed at industrializing the collectively managed agriculture in the 1960s. The most significant aspect became the gradual separation of animal and plant production, which was a failure. Ewald was awarded the Medal of Merit of the GDR, and the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver in 1960 and 1964 and the

Banner of Labor The Banner of Labor () was an order issued in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was given for "excellent and long-standing service in strengthening and consolidating the GDR, especially for achieving outstanding results for the national e ...

in 1969.

Death

Ewald died in a car accident on the morning of 14 September 1973, near Gotha. Two other SED functionaries, members of the

Bezirk Erfurt The Bezirk Erfurt was a district (''Bezirk'') of East Germany. The administrative seat and the main town was Erfurt. History The district was established, along with the other 13, on 25 July 1952, substituting the old German states. After 3 Octob ...

SED leadership, also died in the accident. Immediately afterwards, the

Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the Intelligence agency, state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maint ...

confiscated documents relating to his activities as candidate member of the Politburo of the SED Central Committee and his ministerial office from the work rooms. He was interred at the ''Memorial of the Socialists'' at the Friedrichsfelde Central Cemetery in Berlin-Lichtenberg. In Gotha's local vernacular, the stretch of road where Ewald died (a long curve of the B 247 between the A4 motorway exit and the entrance to Gotha) is still known today as ''Minister's Curve'' (german: Ministerkurve).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ewald, Georg 1926 births 1973 deaths Road incident deaths in Germany Politicians from the Province of Pomerania Mayors of places in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Members of the 4th Volkskammer Members of the 5th Volkskammer Members of the 6th Volkskammer Members of the Volkskammer Government ministers of East Germany Members of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Candidate members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Recipients of the Medal of Merit of the GDR Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver Recipients of the Banner of Labor German communists