Friedrich Dickel
Friedrich Dickel | |
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Dickel in 1983 | |
Minister of the Interior Head of the Volkspolizei | |
In office 15 November 1963 – 17 November 1989 | |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers |
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Deputy |
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Preceded by | Karl Maron |
Succeeded by | Lothar Ahrendt |
Member of the Volkskammer for Auerbach, Klingenthal, Oelsnitz, Plauen-Stadt, Plauen-Land | |
In office 2 July 1967 – 16 November 1989 | |
Preceded by | multi-member district |
Succeeded by | Hans-Ludwig Erlenbeck |
Personal details | |
Born | Vohwinkel, Rhine Province, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire | 9 December 1913
Died | 23 October 1993 Berlin, Germany | (aged 79)
Political party | Socialist Unity Party (1946–1989) |
Other political affiliations | Communist Party of Germany (1931–1946) |
Occupation |
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Central institution membership
Other offices held
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Friedrich Dickel (9 December 1913 – 23 October 1993) was a German politician, veteran of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War and law enforcement administrator who served as the interior minister for nearly twenty-six years, the longest-serving individual to hold that post in East Germany.
Early life
[edit]Dickel was born on 9 December 1913 in Wuppertal-Vohwinkel in the Prussian Rhine Province of the German Empire.[1]
Career
[edit]Dickel joined the Communist Party of Germany in 1931.[2] He fought in the international brigades in the civil war of Spain together with others, including future Stasi chief Erich Mielke.[2][3] Dickel commanded a platoon unit in the civil war in Spain.[4]
After the Nazi rule in Germany, he settled in the Soviet Union where he taught at the Soviet General Staff Academy.[4] He returned to East Germany in 1946[1] and served as the commander of the Officers’ School for Political Work in East Berlin from 1950.[4] He was promoted to the rank of major general in 1956.[4] Next year he was named as the deputy national defense minister.[4]
Dickel became a member of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and of its central committee.[5] His tenure in the SED central committee was between 1967 and 1989.[4] He also served as a police chief in East Berlin.[6]
Dickel was appointed interior minister on 14 November 1963, replacing Karl Maron in the post.[7] He also led the Volkspolizei during his tenure.[5][8] Dickel's term ended on 18 November 1989 when he was dismissed as a result of the atmosphere of change and reform in the country which began leading up to German reunification.[6] He was succeeded by Lothar Ahrendt as interior minister.[8] He was a military officer with the rank of colonel general,[3][9] before being promoted to army general in 1984.[citation needed] In December 1989 Dickel retired from politics.[1]
Dickel was also a member of the Volkskammer for Auerbach, Klingenthal, Oelsnitz, Plauen-Stadt, Plauen-Land between 2 July 1967 and 5 April 1990.[10]
Death
[edit]After a long illness Dickel died in Berlin on 23 October 1993.[11] He was 79.[11]
Awards
[edit]Dickel was the recipient of the Order of Karl Marx which was awarded to him in June 1985 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the German People's Police.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Friedrich Dickel". Chronik der Wende. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ^ a b Nessim Ghouas (2004). The Conditions, Means and Methods of the MfS in the GDR: An Analysis of the Post and Telephone Control. Göttingen: Cuvillier Verlag. p. 139. ISBN 978-3-89873-988-7.
- ^ a b Arnold Krammer (April 2005). "Sammelrez: Internationale Brigaden in der DDR". H-Soz-u-Kult (in German).
- ^ a b c d e f Arnold Krammer (2004). "The Cult of the Spanish Civil War in East Germany". Journal of Contemporary History. 39 (4): 537–539. doi:10.1177/0022009404046753. S2CID 153551151.
- ^ a b Gareth M. Winrow (2009). The Foreign Policy of the GDR in Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-521-12259-7.
- ^ a b Glaeser, Andreas (2000). Divided in Unity: Identity, Germany, and the Berlin Police. London: University of Chicago Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-226-29784-2.
- ^ Hertle, Hans-Hermann . "The Fall of the Wall: The Unintended Dissolution of East Germany's Ruling Regime". Cold War International History Project Bulletin. No. 12–13. 2001. p. 164.
- ^ a b Nancy Travis Wolfe (1992). Policing a Socialist Society: The German Democratic Republic. New York: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-3132-6530-3.
- ^ "Bonn Officials are Barred from Traveling to Berlin". St. Petersburg Times. 10 February 1969. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ^ Arthur Schmidt. "Volkskammer der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik 1986-1990" (PDF). gvoon.de (in German). p. 35. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ a b "Friedrich Dickel". Der Spiegel (in German). No. 44. 1993.
- ^ "Friedrich Dickel mit Karl-Marx-Orden geehrt". Neues Deutschland (in German). Berlin. 29 June 1985. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
External links
[edit]Media related to Friedrich Dickel at Wikimedia Commons
- 1913 births
- 1993 deaths
- Army generals of the National People's Army
- Communist Party of Germany politicians
- German emigrants to the Soviet Union
- German people of the Spanish Civil War
- Government ministers of East Germany
- International Brigades personnel
- Members of the 5th Volkskammer
- Members of the 6th Volkskammer
- Members of the 7th Volkskammer
- Members of the 8th Volkskammer
- Members of the 9th Volkskammer
- Members of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany
- Politicians from Wuppertal
- Politicians from the Rhine Province
- Recipients of the Order of Lenin
- Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner
- Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit (honor clasp)
- Recipients of the Scharnhorst Order
- Rotfrontkämpferbund members