Eduard Götzl (18 February 1921 – 16 January 1986) was a German-Czech politician and party functionary of the

Socialist Unity Party The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (, ; SED, ) was the founding and ruling party of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from the country's foundation in 1949 until its dissolution after the Peaceful Revolution in 1989. It was a Ma ...

(SED). He moved to the

Soviet occupation zone The Soviet occupation zone in Germany ( or , ; ) was an area of Germany that was occupied by the Soviet Union as a communist area, established as a result of the Potsdam Agreement on 2 August 1945. On 7 October 1949 the German Democratic Republ ...

after the war, where he became a SED functionary. He most notably served as First Secretary of the Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) SED in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Götzl was however removed from office in August 1961 and only held minor positions afterwards.

Life and career

Czechoslovakia

Götzl, the son of a worker, attended elementary school in

Bečov nad Teplou Bečov nad Teplou () is a town in Karlovy Vary District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 900 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as urban monument zone. Administrative div ...

and vocational school in

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...

. He trained as a mechanic and worked in that profession afterward. In 1936, he became a member of the Socialist Workers' Youth of Czechoslovakia. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Götzl was initially conscripted into military service and then worked as an armaments worker in the aircraft industry from 1943 to 1945.

Early career

In 1945, he moved to the

. That year, he joined the KPD (Communist Party of Germany), and after the forced merger of the KPD and

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together wi ...

(Social Democratic Party of Germany) in April 1946, he became a member of the SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany). From 1945 to 1946, he served in the

Volkspolizei The (DVP, German for "German People's Police"), commonly known as the or VoPo, was the national uniformed police force of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1945 to 1990. The Volkspolizei was a highly- centralized agency re ...

. Between 1946 and 1949, he worked as an instructor for the

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

SED. He was made a full member of its leadership in 1949. From 1949 to 1950, he studied at the SED's "Karl Marx" Party Academy in Berlin, after which he was made a candidate member of the Central Committee of the SED in July 1950 ( III. Party Congress) and party secretary at the steel and rolling mill Maxhütte in

Unterwellenborn Unterwellenborn is a municipality in the district Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, in Thuringia, Germany. It was created on 1 February 2006 by fusion of the municipalities , Goßwitz, Könitz, Lausnitz bei Pößneck Lausnitz (official name: ''Lausnitz bei ...

. In July 1951, Götzl was promoted to First Secretary of the SED in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

, but was transferred to

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

in August, where he was made director of the steel and rolling mill in

Brandenburg an der Havel Brandenburg an der Havel (; ) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which served as the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was replaced by Berlin in 1417. With a population of 72,040 (as of 2020), it is located on the banks of the ...

Bezirk Potsdam SED

After being made a full member of the Central Committee of the SED in April 1954 ( IV. Party Congress), Götzl left his position as director in August to study at the CPSU Higher Party School "W. I. Lenin" in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. He returned in July 1955 and was made secretary for economic affairs of the Bezirk Potsdam SED in September 1955. Götzl served as acting First Secretary of the Bezirk Potsdam SED from April 1956 to August 1957 while Seibt attended the CPSU Higher Party School. After Seibt’s return, Götzl resumed his role as secretary for economic affairs until March 1958.

Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) SED First Secretary

In April 1958, Götzl was promoted to First Secretary of the SED in neighbouring Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder), succeeding Gerhard Grüneberg, who had joined the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

and

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who was the ninth winn ...

of the Central Committee of the SED. He additionally became member of the

Volkskammer The Volkskammer (, "People's Chamber") was the supreme power organ of East Germany. It was the only branch of government in the state, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it. The Volkskammer was initia ...

later that year.

Long retirement

Götzl was dismissed on 2 August 1961 by the Central Committee Secretariat because he could not ensure "the strict implementation of party resolutions". He was replaced by

Erich Mückenberger Erich Mückenberger (8 June 1910 – 10 February 1998) was a German socialist politician. He began his political career in the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). He became a member of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) when the Eas ...

, who had lost his position as SED Agriculture Secretary to Grüneberg in the year prior. Götzl had to retire from both the Central Committee and Volkskammer, in January 1963 ( VI. Party Congress) and

November 1963 The following events occurred in November 1963: November 1, 1963 (Friday) *At 1:15 p.m. in Saigon, three Marine battalions of South Vietnam began their seizure of communications throughout the capital city, taking control of the city's r ...

respectively. He was transferred back to Bezirk Potsdam, serving as First Deputy Chairman of the Bezirk government from September 1961 to August 1963. A major demotion considering Bezirk governments were completely subservient to their respective local SED leadership. From September 1963 to January 1970, he headed the Workers' and Farmers' Inspection in Bezirk Potsdam. He only rejoined the SED's

nomenklatura The ''nomenklatura'' (; from , system of names) were a category of people within the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries who held various key administrative positions in the bureaucracy, running all spheres of those countries' activity: ...

in February 1970 when he was made First Secretary of the SED in Rathenow district, a mostly rural district in the western part of Bezirk Potsdam. He was relieved of his duties for health reasons in January 1979. Götzl was married and had two children. He lived as a widower in Potsdam and passed away at the age of 64. His urn was interred in the New Cemetery in Potsdam.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gotzl, Eduard 1921 births 1986 deaths People from Bečov nad Teplou German Army soldiers of World War II Czechoslovak politicians Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Members of the Volkskammer Members of the 3rd Volkskammer Candidate members of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Members of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold German communists