Rudolf Friedrichs (9 March 1892 – 13 June 1947) was a German politician who served as the

Minister-President A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. It ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

in the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

from 1945 to his death.

Biography

Friedrichs was born on 9 March 1892 in

Plauen Plauen (; Czech language, Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the larges ...

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxon ...

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. He attended primary school in Plauen, but moved to

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

for secondary school. He then began studying law and economics at

Leipzig University Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...

until 1919, when his studies were interrupted by

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He joined the

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

in 1922 and worked from 1923 as a government assessor and from 1926 as a government councillor in the Saxon Interior Ministry. He was on the Dresden City Council from 1930 to 1933, when the

Nazi Party 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 ...

seized power in Germany. He was relieved of his duties and was briefly detained. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was appointed as

Mayor of Dresden The City Council of Dresden is the elected representative body of the citizens of Dresden that administers the affairs of Dresden a self-governing city ''kreisfreie Stadt'' in the Free State of Saxony. Municipality and city council City coun ...

on 10 May 1945 by the Soviet city commander. There was tension between Friedrichs and the Communist Politician Kurt Fischer, which escalated in 1947 in the form of an open confrontation. This led to rumours of Fischer's involvement in Friedrichs' sudden death. A study conducted in 1999 by the government of

couldn't confirm nor deny the involvement of Fischer in his death. The cause of death of Friedrichs was never clarified. He was buried at the Waldfriedhof Weisser Hirsch, then was reburied in the Municipal Heidefriedof in 1980.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friedrichs, Rudolf 1892 births 1947 deaths People from Plauen Mayors of Dresden Ministers-President of Saxony Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians