Johanna Töpfer (née Schrocko; 3 April 1929 – 7 January 1990), 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 Deputy Director of the

FDGB The Free German Trade Union Federation ( or ''FDGB'') was the sole national trade union centre of the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) which existed from 1946 to 1990. As a mass organisation of the GDR, nominally representing al ...

Biography

Töpfer was born in Schneidemühl ( Posen-West Prussia; today

Piła Piła (; ) is a city in northwestern Poland and the capital of Piła County, situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Its population was 71,846, making it the city in the voivodeship after Poznań and Kalisz and the largest city in the north ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

) and started to work as a Waggon cleaner for the

Deutsche Reichsbahn (East Germany) The Deutsche Reichsbahn (, ) or DR was the operating name of state owned railways in East Germany, and after German reunification until 1 January 1994. In 1949, occupied Germany's railways were returned to German control after four years of ...

in 1945. She became a secretary in the cadre-department of the Reichsbahn administration in

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 was educated at the teacher seminary 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 ...

in 1951/52 with a correspondence course at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

passing a graduation as ''Diplom-Wirtschaftlerin'' in 1955. Since 1952 Töpfer worked as a teacher and received her doctorate at the "Academy of Sociology at the Central Committee of 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)".FDGB-Lexikon
Töpfer was a member of the

Free German Trade Union Federation The Free German Trade Union Federation ( or ''FDGB'') was the sole national trade union centre of the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) which existed from 1946 to 1990. As a mass organisation of the GDR, nominally representing al ...

(FDGB) since 1945 and of the SED since 1949. In 1955 she became the deputy director of the FDGB-schools of

Beesenstedt Beesenstedt is a village and a former municipality in the district Saalekreis, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since January 1, 2010, it has been part of the municipality Salzatal Salzatal is a municipality in the Saalekreis district, Saxony-Anhalt ...

and Grünheide. Töpfer was a member of the executive board of the FDGB in 1956-59 and a member of the FDGB-presidium in 1968-89. She worked as a lecturer and later Professor at the FDGB-college "Fritz Heckert". In 1971 she also became a member of the Central Committee of the SED (until 1989) and in 1976 a member of the East German Parliament "

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 ...

". Töpfer committed suicide on 7 January 1990.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Topfer, Johanna 1929 births 1990 deaths People from Piła People from Posen–West Prussia Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Free German Trade Union Federation members Members of the State Council of East Germany Members of the 7th Volkskammer Members of the 8th Volkskammer Members of the 9th Volkskammer Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit (honor clasp) German politicians who died by suicide German women trade unionists