Horst Brünner (1929–2008) was deputy Defense Minister in the

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 ...

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

and chief of the Central Political Administration of the

National People's Army The National People's Army (, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (DDR) from 1956 until 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) and the (Bord ...

Life

The son of a bricklayer, Brünner trained between 1943 and 1946 for a career in industry and commerce. In 1945 the frontier between Poland and Germany moved west and Brünner was one of the millions of Germans obliged to relocate as part of this militarily and politically driven process, ending up in 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 ...

of Germany which was in the process of becoming the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). In 1947 he switched to railway construction work. He joined the FDJ in 1946, Junge Generation (newspaper) Nr. 2 / 1981 and the new country's ruling SED (party) in 1948. He joined the Volkspolizei (police), and was based at

Löbau Löbau (; , ) is a city in the east of Saxony, Germany, in the traditional region of Upper Lusatia. It is situated between the slopes of the Löbauer Berg and the fertile hilly area of the Upper Lusatian Mountains. It is the gateway to this volca ...

. Between 1949 and 1951 he worked as a Political commissar at the Police academy in nearby

Pirna Pirna (; , ) is a town in Saxony, Germany and capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. The town's population is over 37,000. Pirna is located near Dresden and is an important district town as well as a ''Große ...

. Brünner served in various positions with the

police service The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citizens ...

before becoming, in 1956, Deputy Commander and Leader of the (quasi-military) Police section of the Sixth Motorised Protection Division at

Prenzlau Prenzlau (; ) is a town in Brandenburg, in north-eastern Germany, the administrative seat of Uckermark District. It is also the centre of the historic Uckermark region. Geography The town is located on the Ucker river, about north of Berlin. ...

. Then for three years, from 1959 till 1962, he studied for and received a Military Diploma at the prestigious Friedrich Engels Military Academy at

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. Following this, from 1962 till 1965, Brünner was departmental head in the Political Central Administration of the East German Ministry for National Defence. In 1964 he was promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. Between 1965 and 1968 he served in the National Border Troops. After this he spent two years 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 ...

at the Soviet Military Academy, returning with a degree in military sciences. He was promoted in March 1971 to the rank of major general and became deputy head of Military District III (

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

) and head of political administration. In 1972 he transferred back to the national Ministry for Defence, where he served in the Main Political Bureau. Brünner was able to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the

with another promotion in March 1976, this time to the rank of lieutenant general. In the same year he was nominated as a candidate for The Party Central Committee: appointment to the committee followed in 1986. In 1985 he succeeded Heinz Kessler as Deputy Minister for National Defense and Chief of the Central Political Administration. He remained in this post till 1989, receiving a further military promotion, to

Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German '' Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. The rank w ...

, in 1987. Horst Brünner was one of only eleven officers to be promoted to this level during the lifetime of the

German Democratic Republic 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 ...

. From 1986 till 1989 Brünner was a member of the country's powerful National Defense Council, and for approximately the same period, from 1986 till 17 March 1989, he sat as a member of the

People's Chamber 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 initial ...

. Following

the events ''Derren Brown: The Events'' is a Channel 4 television series featuring the illusionist Derren Brown. Filmed in front of a live studio audience, this series is made up of four one-hour specials, during which Brown attempted what he had describe ...

during the closing weeks of 1989, however, on 31 December 1989 Horst Brünner was released from active service, along with his fellow

Colonel General Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

s Horst Stechbarth and

Wolfgang Reinhold Wolfgang Reinhold (16 April 1923 - 2 September 2012) was a German Colonel General. He was a Deputy Minister of Defence and, between 1972 and 1989, head of the Kommando LSK/LV (Airforce branch) of the National People's Army in the German Democr ...

. On 9 November 1989, as the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

came down, and the government spokesman

Günter Schabowski Günter Schabowski (; 4 January 1929 – 1 November 2015) was a German politician who served as an official of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (''Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands'' abbreviated ''SED''), the ruling party during m ...

announced at a press conference (mistakenly, as it later transpired) that the government leadership intended the wall to be opened with immediate effect (''"sofort, unverzüglich"''), Horst Brünner was reported to be one of several horrified government hardliners calling for the immediate closure of all the East German borders in order to save The Republic. In the end the call of the hardliners went unheeded. Horst Brünner later appeared in one of the series of trials of former

senior officials accused of involvement in the murder of people killed while trying to cross the

from

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

. In the early summer of 1998 the Berlin Regional Court sentenced Brünner, along with his co-accused

Manfred Grätz ''Manfred: A dramatic poem'' is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron. It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of Gothic fiction. Byro ...

, Wolfgang Herger and Heinz Tappert, to a two-year suspended jail term.

Awards

* 1978

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 Silver * 1980 Ernst Schneller Medal in Gold * 1981 Honoured member of the National People's Army * 1984 Scharnhorst Order * 1986

in Gold * 1989

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brünner, Horst 1929 births 2008 deaths People from Karkonosze County People from the Province of Lower Silesia Members of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Members of the 9th Volkskammer Colonel generals of the National People's Army (Ground Forces) Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union alumni Recipients of the Scharnhorst Order Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold