Hans Reichelt (born 30 March 1925) is a former German politician of the

Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany The Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany (german: Demokratische Bauernpartei Deutschlands, DBD) was an East German political party. The DBD was founded in 1948. It had 52 representatives in the Volkskammer, as part of the National Front. The DBD ...

(DBD), a

GDR East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

Bloc party Bloc Party are an English Rock music, rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Loui ...

. He was Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in 1953 and from 1955 to 1963, and from 1972 to January 1990, Minister of Environmental Protection and Water Management, as well as Deputy Chairman of the

Council of Ministers of the GDR The Council of Ministers (German: ''Ministerrat der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik'') was the cabinet and executive branch of the German Democratic Republic from November 1950 until the country was reunified on 3 October 1990.Starcevi, Nesha ( ...

Life

Hans Reichelt was born on March 30, 1925, in Proskau. He attended secondary school in

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city loc ...

. He was a member of the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

and the

Reich Labour Service The Reich Labour Service (''Reichsarbeitsdienst''; RAD) was a major organisation established in Nazi Germany as an agency to help mitigate the effects of unemployment on the German economy, militarise the workforce and indoctrinate it with Nazi ...

. On 20 April 1943 (

Hitler's birthday Holidays in Nazi Germany were primarily centred on important political events, serving as a form of political education and reinforcing propaganda themes. Major national holidays were therefore controlled by Joseph Goebbels at the Reich Propaganda ...

), he joined the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

( Membership Number 9,454,165). He served as a soldier in the German

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...

(ultimately holding the rank of

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

) and was in Soviet POW camps until 1949, during which he attended an Antifa school. Upon returning to Germany, he became a member of the

(DBD) and held various positions (president since 1955) in the party leadership. He was a member of the People's Chamber from 1950. In 1953, he briefly served as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, succeeding

Wilhelm Schröder Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...

. After attending the Central School for Agricultural Policy of the Central Committee of the SED in

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch dialect, Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germany, second-largest city of the northeastern States of Germany, German ...

, on 29 October 1953, he was appointed Secretary of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry by Prime Minister Otto Grotewohl. From 1955 to 1963, he again served as Minister of Agriculture, Procurement, and Forestry, succeeding

Paul Scholz Paul Scholz (2 October 1902 – 23 June 1995) was a German journalist and politician. He held various cabinet posts in East Germany. Early life and education Scholz was born in Brunów, Lwówek Śląski County, Braunau on 2 October 1902, and his ...

. From 1963 to 1964, he pursued higher education studies, and in 1971, he earned his doctorate at the Berlin School of Economics and Law with the thesis ''The Role and Position of Land Improvement in the Intensification of Agricultural Production and the Social Development of Socialist Agriculture and Some Fundamental Problems of the Further Application of the Economic System of Socialism in the Period up to 1980''. From 1963 to 1972, he was Deputy Chairman of the Agriculture Council, and in 1971/1972, he was Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Food. In this capacity, he was involved in what environmental activist Carlo Jordan called "environmentally disastrous decisions" in the areas of forced collectivization, agricultural industrialization, and land improvement.Carlo Jordan: ''Environmental Destruction and Environmental Policy in the GDR'', Enquete Commission on the reappraisal of the history and consequences of the SED dictatorship in Germany, published by the German Bundestag, 12th legislative period, Vol. II/3, p. 1785.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reichelt, Hans 1925 births Living people People from Opole County Deputy prime ministers of East Germany Government ministers of East Germany East German politicians Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany politicians