Hans-Joachim "Achim" Böhme (29 December 1929 – 4 September 2012) was an

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

politician and high-ranking 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). In the 1980s, he served as First Secretary of the SED in

Bezirk Halle The Bezirk Halle was a district (''Bezirk'') of East Germany. The administrative seat and the main town was Halle. History The district was established, with the other 13, on 25 July 1952, substituting the old German states. After 3 October 19 ...

, center of the GDR's large and important chemical industry, and eventually became a full member of the SED Politburo. Described as "The Little King of Halle", Böhme was notorious for his particularly totalitarian leadership style.

Life and career

Early career

The son of a

working-class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

family, Böhme worked as a civil servant in the district of Bernburg after the

Second World War 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 ...

. In 1945, he became a member of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(SPD), which was forcibly merged with the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (, ; KPD ) was a major Far-left politics, far-left political party in the Weimar Republic during the interwar period, German resistance to Nazism, underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and minor party ...

(KPD) to form the

Socialist Unity Party of Germany 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 Mar ...

(SED) in 1946. Böhme briefly served as Chairman of the

Free German Youth The Free German Youth (; FDJ) is a youth movement in Germany. Formerly, it was the official youth wing of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. The organization was meant for young adults, both male a ...

(FDJ) in the district of Bernburg in 1948/49. Afterward, Böhme became a full-time SED party functionary. Böhme served as department head of the SED in the district of Bernburg and the VEB Mansfeld Kombinat

Wilhelm Pieck Friedrich Wilhelm Reinhold Pieck (; 3 January 1876 – 7 September 1960) was a German communist politician who served as the Leadership of East Germany, chairman of the Socialist Unity Party from 1946 to 1950 and as the only president of the Ger ...

and later deputy department head of the

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

and, after the states were abolished in 1952, the

SED. From 1955 to 1958, he studied at the SED's "Karl Marx" Party Academy in Berlin, graduating with a diploma in

social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

s ( Dipl.-Ges.-Wiss.). He subsequently served as a secretary of the SED in

Weißenfels Weißenfels (; often written in English as Weissenfels) is the largest town of the Burgenlandkreis district, in southern Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, approximately south of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle. His ...

until 1963.

Bezirk Halle SED career

Böhme moved to the Bezirk Halle SED in 1963, working his way up in the department for agitation and propaganda, eventually becoming department head. Bezirksleitung-Halle

In 1967, he obtained his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

( Dr. phil.) from the

University of Halle Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

with a

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

on the topic "Political Consciousness Formation in Socialism – Issues of political consciousness formation in the period of comprehensive socialism development in the GDR and its management by the Marxist–Leninist party, illustrated by the activities of the SED leadership in Bezirk Halle". A year later, he succeeded Werner Felfe as Secretary for Agitation and Propaganda of the Bezirk party and when Dieter Itzerott was transferred to study at the "Karl Marx" Party Academy in February 1974, Böhme succeeded him as Second Secretary. In May 1981, Böhme rose to the position of the First Secretary of the SED in

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Werner Felfe joining the Central Committee Secretariat as Secretary responsible for Agriculture. From April 1981 ( X. Party Congress) until its collective resignation in December 1989, Böhme was a full member of the Central Committee of the SED. From 21 April 1986 ( XI. Party Congress) until his resignation in November 1989, he was also a full member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the SED, the ''de facto'' highest leadership body in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

being an important center of the

chemical industry The chemical industry comprises the companies and other organizations that develop and produce industrial, specialty and other chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, the chemical industry converts raw materials ( oil, natural gas, air, ...

. He additionally became a member of the Volkskammer in 1981, nominally representing constituencies in his Bezirk, first

Halle/Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Magdeburg as well as th ...

and

Halle-Neustadt Halle-Neustadt (), popularly known as HaNeu (, like Hanoi), was a city in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). It was established as a new town on 12 May 1967, as an independent and autonomous city. The population in 1972 was 51,600 an ...

, then the district of Merseburg. Böhme's eight-year rule of Bezirk Halle was viewed extremely negatively. His leadership style was authoritarian, occasionally described as absolutist, and he was viewed as a hardliner. Unlike other First Secretaries such as

Hans Modrow Hans Modrow (; 27 January 1928 – 10 February 2023) was a German politician best known as the last communist premier of East Germany. Coming into office amidst the Peaceful Revolution, he was the ''de facto'' leader of East Germany through ...

and Werner Walde, he lived a lavish lifestyle. Böhme additionally was accused of

embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

and personal enrichment, among other things funneling 45.000

East German mark The East German mark ( ), commonly called the eastern mark ( ) in West Germany and after German reunification, reunification, was the currency of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (East Germany). Its ISO 4217, ISO 4217 currency code w ...

public money into the construction of a Blankenburg Forest lodge. Despite evidence, he was acquitted in 1990 and 1993 after spending two months in pre-trial detention. Böhme was awarded the

Patriotic Order of Merit The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...

in 1969 and 1980, and the

Order of Karl Marx The Order of Karl Marx () was the most important order in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The award of the order also included a prize of 20,000 East German marks. The order was founded on May 5, 1953 on the occasion of Karl Marx's 135th ...

in 1984.

Peaceful Revolution

Early during the

Peaceful Revolution The Peaceful Revolution () – also, in German called ' (, "the turning point") – was one of the peaceful revolutions of 1989 at the peak of the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in the late 1980s. A process of sociopolitical change that led to, am ...

, Herbert Heber, First Secretary of the SED in the Bezirk Halle district of Köthen, wanted to resign amid intense public pressure. Böhme refused his request, instead berating, insulting and threatening him. On 4 November 1989, Heber shot himself. Two days later, in his last public appearance as First Secretary, Böhme tried to address protesters in Halle, but he was only booed and even spat at. Protestors also blamed him for Heber's suicide. On 8 November 1989, on the eve of the

fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (, ) on 9 November in German history, 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, marked the beginning of the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain, as East Berlin transit restrictions we ...

, Böhme was reelected to the Politburo at the 9th Meeting of the Central Committee, though he had by far the largest number of votes against him of all elected members, 66 votes against of 157 voting. Only a day later, the Bezirk Halle SED removed him 64 to 4 from the position of First Secretary and installed reformer Roland Claus as his successor. Böhme's removal was a topic of Günter Schabowski's infamous press conference that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Böhme consequently resigned from the Politburo he had just been reelected to. He was removed by his party from 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 ...

a week later, on 16 November 1989. Böhme did not take any personal responsibility for the failure of the SED, blaming the other SED

Secretariat members. On 20 January 1990, he was expelled ''in absentia'', still being in pre-trial detention, from the now-renamed SED-PDS party in a unanimous vote, the party Central Arbitration Commission citing personal enrichment and his reaction to the demonstrations.

Reunified Germany

Like other former Politburo members, Böhme was charged with "complicity in

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

" (political responsibility for the fatal shootings at the Berlin Wall) by the Berlin Regional Court in the Berlin Wall shooting trials. After initially being

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an o ...

in 2000, Böhme was sentenced on 6 August 2004 to 15 months of

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

. Böhme at no point offered an explanation for his activities in the GDR. He lived withdrawn as a retiree in

, dying in a nursing home in 2012.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Böhme, Hans-Joachim 1929 births 2012 deaths People from Bernburg People from the Free State of Anhalt Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Members of the Volkskammer Members of the 8th Volkskammer Members of the 9th Volkskammer Members of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Recipients of the Order of Karl Marx German communists University of Halle alumni German politicians convicted of crimes German people convicted of manslaughter