Erich Mielke - Revision history

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	[[Category:European history]]		[[Category:European history]]
	~~[[de:Mielke, Erich]]~~

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	~~[[Category:People from Berlin]]~~
	[[Category:Communists]]		[[Category:Communists]]
	[[Category:Soviet Union]]		[[Category:Soviet Union]]

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	It is said that in fact Mielke became a member of the [[Communist Party of Germany]] in 1920, and worked as a reporter for the [[communist]] newspaper ''[[Rote Fahne]]'' (''Red Flag'') from 1928 to 1931. He then joined the ''Parteiselbstschutz'' ("Party Self Defense Unit").<ref>Cate, Curtis, ''The Ides of August'': The Berlin Wall Crisis 1961, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1978, p.37. ISBN: 0-297-77451-4</ref>		It is said that in fact Mielke became a member of the [[Communist Party of Germany]] in 1920, and worked as a reporter for the [[communist]] newspaper ''[[Rote Fahne]]'' (''Red Flag'') from 1928 to 1931. He then joined the ''Parteiselbstschutz'' ("Party Self Defense Unit").<ref>Cate, Curtis, ''The Ides of August'': The Berlin Wall Crisis 1961, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1978, p.37. ISBN: 0-297-77451-4</ref>

	According to Koehler, <blockquote>The ''Selbstschutz'' men were thugs who served as bouncers at Party meetings and specialized in cracking heads during street battles with political enemies such as the [[National Socialists]] and other radical ~~nationalist~~ parties. They always carried a ''Stahlrute'', two steel springs that telescoped into a tube seven inches long, which when extended became a deadly, fourteen inch weapon. Not to be outdone by the NS, these street-fighters were often armed with pistols as well.<ref>Koehler, 1999, p.38.</ref></blockquote>		According to Koehler, <blockquote>The ''Selbstschutz'' men were thugs who served as bouncers at Party meetings and specialized in cracking heads during street battles with political enemies such as the [[National Socialists]] and other radical fascist parties. They always carried a ''Stahlrute'', two steel springs that telescoped into a tube seven inches long, which when extended became a deadly, fourteen inch weapon. Not to be outdone by the NS, these street-fighters were often armed with pistols as well.<ref>Koehler, 1999, p.38.</ref></blockquote>

	===Murders of Paul Anlauf and Franz Lenck===		===Murders of Paul Anlauf and Franz Lenck===

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	[[Category:Soviet secret police]]		[[Category:Soviet secret police]]
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	~~[[Category:Communists in Germany]]~~
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	~~[[Category:Germany]]~~
	[[Category:European history]]		[[Category:European history]]
	[[de:Mielke, Erich]]		[[de:Mielke, Erich]]

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	*Pickard, Ralph (2012). STASI Decorations and Memorabilia Volume II. Frontline Historical Publication. ISBN 978-0-9797199-2-9		*Pickard, Ralph (2012). STASI Decorations and Memorabilia Volume II. Frontline Historical Publication. ISBN 978-0-9797199-2-9
	== References ==		== References ==
	{{Reflist}}		{{Reflist\|2}}

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	== References ==		== References ==
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	~~[[Categoryxxx]]~~
	~~[[Categoryxxx]]~~
	[[Category:People from Berlin]]		[[Category:People from Berlin]]
	[[Category:Communists]]		[[Category:Communists]]

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	== References ==		== References ==
	{{Reflist}}		{{Reflist}}
	[[~~Category:1907 births~~]]		[[Categoryxxx]]
	[[Category:2000 deaths]]		[[Category:2000 deaths]]
	[[Category:People from Berlin]]		[[Category:People from Berlin]]

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	== Life ==		== Life ==
	[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-Z0127-305, Berlin 1927, Reichstreffen RFB, Thälmann, Leow.~~jpg~~\|thumb\|335px\|Communist leaders Ernst Thälmann (left) and Willy Leow (right) in front of parading troops of ''Rotfrontkämpferbund'' during their national meeting in [[Berlin]], June 1927.]]		[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-Z0127-305, Berlin 1927, Reichstreffen RFB, Thälmann, Leow.png\|thumb\|335px\|Communist leaders Ernst Thälmann (left) and Willy Leow (right) in front of parading troops of ''Rotfrontkämpferbund'' during their national meeting in [[Berlin]], June 1927.]]
	[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-12159, Berlin, Trauerzug für ermordete Polizisten.~~jpg~~\|thumb\|335px\|[https://de.metapedia.org/wiki/Polizistenmorde_auf_dem_B%C3%BClowplatz The funeral of the murdered policemen Paul Anlauf and Franz Lenck] was attended by thousands of Berliners]]		[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-12159, Berlin, Trauerzug für ermordete Polizisten.png\|thumb\|335px\|[https://de.metapedia.org/wiki/Polizistenmorde_auf_dem_B%C3%BClowplatz The funeral of the murdered policemen Paul Anlauf and Franz Lenck] was attended by thousands of Berliners]]
	In handwritten biographies written for Stalin's secret police, Mielke described his background as follows:		In handwritten biographies written for Stalin's secret police, Mielke described his background as follows:

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	=== Working for the Soviet Union ===		=== Working for the Soviet Union ===
	[[Image:Бутовский полигон. Средняя часть основной вывески. Бутовский полигон-2.~~jpg~~\|thumb\|335px\|Partial view of a plaque with photos of victims of the [[Great Purge]] who were shot in the [[NKVD]]'s Butovo firing range, Moscow.]]		[[Image:Бутовский полигон. Средняя часть основной вывески. Бутовский полигон-2.png\|thumb\|335px\|Partial view of a plaque with photos of victims of the [[Great Purge]] who were shot in the [[NKVD]]'s Butovo firing range, Moscow.]]
	Arriving in [[Leningrad]] and with fluent Russian he was sent to [[Ukraine]] as a member of a grain-collecting unit, helping to requisition the last grain reserves that desperate villagers had concealed from the authorities, so that Party officials and their guards would not go hungry even if the local peasants starved. His reward was admission to the Frunze Military Academy in [[Moscow]]<ref>Cate, 1978, p.37.</ref> in 1932. Later he also attended the Lenin School and was subsequently recruited into the [[NKVD]]. Although Moscow's German Communist community was decimated during [[Joseph Stalin]]'s [[Great Purge]], Mielke, who had "informed" on many of his comrades, survived and was promoted. In a handwritten biography prepared after [[World War II]], Mielke recalled, <blockquote>"During my stay in the S.U. (Soviet Union), I participated in all Party discussions of the [[Communist Party of Germany\|K.P.D.]] and also in the problems concerning the establishment of 'socialism' and in the trials against the traitors and enemies of the S.U."<ref>Koehler, 1999, p.51.</ref></blockquote>		Arriving in [[Leningrad]] and with fluent Russian he was sent to [[Ukraine]] as a member of a grain-collecting unit, helping to requisition the last grain reserves that desperate villagers had concealed from the authorities, so that Party officials and their guards would not go hungry even if the local peasants starved. His reward was admission to the Frunze Military Academy in [[Moscow]]<ref>Cate, 1978, p.37.</ref> in 1932. Later he also attended the Lenin School and was subsequently recruited into the [[NKVD]]. Although Moscow's German Communist community was decimated during [[Joseph Stalin]]'s [[Great Purge]], Mielke, who had "informed" on many of his comrades, survived and was promoted. In a handwritten biography prepared after [[World War II]], Mielke recalled, <blockquote>"During my stay in the S.U. (Soviet Union), I participated in all Party discussions of the [[Communist Party of Germany\|K.P.D.]] and also in the problems concerning the establishment of 'socialism' and in the trials against the traitors and enemies of the S.U."<ref>Koehler, 1999, p.51.</ref></blockquote>

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	===Post-war criminal investigation===		===Post-war criminal investigation===
	[[File:Berlin Kollegienhaus.~~jpg~~\|thumb\|335px\|The ''Kammergericht'']]		[[File:Berlin Kollegienhaus.png\|thumb\|335px\|The ''Kammergericht'']]
	In January 1947, however, two Weimar-era policemen recognized Mielke at an official function. Informing the head of the [[Kripo\|criminal police]] in [[West Berlin]], the policemen demanded that Mielke be arrested and prosecuted for the murders of Captains Anlauf and Lenck.<ref name="Stasi53">Koehler, 1999, page 53.</ref> Prosecutor [[Wilhelm Kühnast]] of the [[Kammergericht]] was immediately informed and ordered a search of the archives. To his astonishment, the files of the 1931 murders had survived the wartime bombing of Germany. Finding ample evidence of Mielke's involvement, Kühnast ordered the arrest of the communist policeman.		In January 1947, however, two Weimar-era policemen recognized Mielke at an official function. Informing the head of the [[Kripo\|criminal police]] in [[West Berlin]], the policemen demanded that Mielke be arrested and prosecuted for the murders of Captains Anlauf and Lenck.<ref name="Stasi53">Koehler, 1999, page 53.</ref> Prosecutor [[Wilhelm Kühnast]] of the [[Kammergericht]] was immediately informed and ordered a search of the archives. To his astonishment, the files of the 1931 murders had survived the wartime bombing of Germany. Finding ample evidence of Mielke's involvement, Kühnast ordered the arrest of the communist policeman.

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	=== Building East Germany ===		=== Building East Germany ===
	[[Image:Mielke hon ulb.~~jpg~~\|thumb\|335px\|Mielke with [[Erich Honecker]] and [[Walter Ulbricht]]]]		[[Image:Mielke hon ulb.png\|thumb\|335px\|Mielke with [[Erich Honecker]] and [[Walter Ulbricht]]]]
	In 1945, Mielke was returned to Germany by the Soviet authorities as a police inspector, with a mandate to build up a security force which would ensure the dominance of the Communist Party in what would become the [[German Democratic Republic]], or what Germans called "Middle Germany", eastern German provinces falling fully under Soviet and subsequently [[Poland\|Polish]] occupation. Mielke was a protege of [[NKGB]] General [[Ivan Serov]], who was headquartered at the Berlin suburb of [[Karlshorst]]. On August 16, 1947, Serov ordered the creation of ''Kommissariat 5'', the first German [[political police]] since the defeat of [[National Socialist Germany]].<ref>Koehler, 1999, page 52.</ref> [[Wilhelm Zaisser]] was appointed the organization's head and Mielke as installed as his deputy.<ref>Cate, 1978, p.38.</ref> According to John Koehler, <blockquote>"The K-5 was essentially an arm of the Soviet secret police. Its agents were carefully selected veteran German communists who had survived the former German era in Soviet exile or in concentration camps and prisons. Their task was to track down "Nazis" and anti-communists, including hundreds of members of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany\|SPD]]. Mielke and his fellow bloodhounds performed this task with ruthless precision. The number of arrests became so great that the regular prisons could not hold them. Thus, Serov ordered the establishment or re-opening eleven concentration camps, including the former Nazi death camps of [[Buchenwald concentration camp#Soviet Special Camp 2\|Buchenwald]] and [[NKVD special camp Nr. 7\|Sachsenhausen]]."<ref>Koehler, 1999, p.52.</ref></blockquote>		In 1945, Mielke was returned to Germany by the Soviet authorities as a police inspector, with a mandate to build up a security force which would ensure the dominance of the Communist Party in what would become the [[German Democratic Republic]], or what Germans called "Middle Germany", eastern German provinces falling fully under Soviet and subsequently [[Poland\|Polish]] occupation. Mielke was a protege of [[NKGB]] General [[Ivan Serov]], who was headquartered at the Berlin suburb of [[Karlshorst]]. On August 16, 1947, Serov ordered the creation of ''Kommissariat 5'', the first German [[political police]] since the defeat of [[National Socialist Germany]].<ref>Koehler, 1999, page 52.</ref> [[Wilhelm Zaisser]] was appointed the organization's head and Mielke as installed as his deputy.<ref>Cate, 1978, p.38.</ref> According to John Koehler, <blockquote>"The K-5 was essentially an arm of the Soviet secret police. Its agents were carefully selected veteran German communists who had survived the former German era in Soviet exile or in concentration camps and prisons. Their task was to track down "Nazis" and anti-communists, including hundreds of members of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany\|SPD]]. Mielke and his fellow bloodhounds performed this task with ruthless precision. The number of arrests became so great that the regular prisons could not hold them. Thus, Serov ordered the establishment or re-opening eleven concentration camps, including the former Nazi death camps of [[Buchenwald concentration camp#Soviet Special Camp 2\|Buchenwald]] and [[NKVD special camp Nr. 7\|Sachsenhausen]]."<ref>Koehler, 1999, p.52.</ref></blockquote>

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	===Stasi===		===Stasi===
	[[Image:Stasi Small Cell.~~jpg~~\|thumb\|335px\|[[Stasi]] Isolation Cell, Berlin-Hohenschönhausen]]		[[Image:Stasi Small Cell.png\|thumb\|335px\|[[Stasi]] Isolation Cell, Berlin-Hohenschönhausen]]
	Mielke was a member of the Central Committee of the [[communist]] Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) from 1950 until his forced retirement at the end of 1989. From July 1946 to October 1949 he served as Vice-president of the Administration of the Interior. From October 1949 to February 1950, Mielke served as head of the Main Administration for the 'Protection of the People's Economy', the forerunner of the Ministry of State Security (MfS or ''[[Stasi]]'') which was raised to top eschelon status and moved into the huge headquarters the Soviet NKVD had just vacated. From 1950–1953 he was promoted to State Secretary in the MfS, given the rank of Lieutenant-General<ref>Cate, 1978, p.38.</ref>, later serving as full State Secretary from 1953–1955. From 1955–1957 he was Deputy Minister of State Security.		Mielke was a member of the Central Committee of the [[communist]] Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) from 1950 until his forced retirement at the end of 1989. From July 1946 to October 1949 he served as Vice-president of the Administration of the Interior. From October 1949 to February 1950, Mielke served as head of the Main Administration for the 'Protection of the People's Economy', the forerunner of the Ministry of State Security (MfS or ''[[Stasi]]'') which was raised to top eschelon status and moved into the huge headquarters the Soviet NKVD had just vacated. From 1950–1953 he was promoted to State Secretary in the MfS, given the rank of Lieutenant-General<ref>Cate, 1978, p.38.</ref>, later serving as full State Secretary from 1953–1955. From 1955–1957 he was Deputy Minister of State Security.

	Mielke had been taken completely by surprise by the workers' revolt of June 1953 but his reaction was brutal. In a couple of weeks his agents rounded up more than a thousand "ringleaders" who were jailed as "agents of the imperialist powers". Three years later when the Hungarian uprising threatened to touch of a second revolt in the DDR, and there was major industrial unrest at the Leuna chemical works near Merseburg in Saxony, [[Walter Ulbricht]] chose Mielke to be the man to "restore order". A ridiculous conspiracy theory was worked up saying that agents of I.G.Farben had infiltrated the works. Mielke soon 'unearthed' half a dozen hapless and helpless "I.G.Farben agents" who were promptly jailed. Further strikes and other anti-Party activities ceased. Meilke was rewarded with a new appointment as Minister of State Security in November 1957.<ref>Cate, 1978, p.38-40.</ref>		Mielke had been taken completely by surprise by the workers' revolt of June 1953 but his reaction was brutal. In a couple of weeks his agents rounded up more than a thousand "ringleaders" who were jailed as "agents of the imperialist powers". Three years later when the Hungarian uprising threatened to touch of a second revolt in the DDR, and there was major industrial unrest at the Leuna chemical works near Merseburg in Saxony, [[Walter Ulbricht]] chose Mielke to be the man to "restore order". A ridiculous conspiracy theory was worked up saying that agents of I.G.Farben had infiltrated the works. Mielke soon 'unearthed' half a dozen hapless and helpless "I.G.Farben agents" who were promptly jailed. Further strikes and other anti-Party activities ceased. Meilke was rewarded with a new appointment as Minister of State Security in November 1957.<ref>Cate, 1978, p.38-40.</ref>

	[[Image:Bundesarchiv Bild Y 10-0097-91, 30 Jahre MfS, Erich Honecker, Erich Mielke.~~jpg~~\|thumb\|335px\|Mielke receives award from Erich Honecker]]		[[Image:Bundesarchiv Bild Y 10-0097-91, 30 Jahre MfS, Erich Honecker, Erich Mielke.png\|thumb\|335px\|Mielke receives award from Erich Honecker]]
	Mielke headed the [[Stasi]] until the fall of the [[Berlin Wall]] in 1989. His network of 85,000 full-time domestic spies and 170,000 'voluntary' informers kept tabs on millions of people. So many people collaborated with the Stasi that when the records were opened, it was discovered that in every public building, at least one of its members kept the Stasi informed about everything that happened within it. On his orders, and with his full knowledge, Stasi officers also engaged in arbitrary arrest, kidnapping, brutal harassment of political dissidents, and the inhumane imprisonment of tens of thousands of citizens. On his personal responsibility the MfS launched the counter attacks by the Stasi against the dissident [[Rudolf Bahro]] and his book ''Die Alternative: Zur Kritik des 'real existierenden Sozialismus''' and those who supported, discussed and published his work. Mielke was one of the most powerful – and most hated – men in East Germany, feared even by members of his own ministry.		Mielke headed the [[Stasi]] until the fall of the [[Berlin Wall]] in 1989. His network of 85,000 full-time domestic spies and 170,000 'voluntary' informers kept tabs on millions of people. So many people collaborated with the Stasi that when the records were opened, it was discovered that in every public building, at least one of its members kept the Stasi informed about everything that happened within it. On his orders, and with his full knowledge, Stasi officers also engaged in arbitrary arrest, kidnapping, brutal harassment of political dissidents, and the inhumane imprisonment of tens of thousands of citizens. On his personal responsibility the MfS launched the counter attacks by the Stasi against the dissident [[Rudolf Bahro]] and his book ''Die Alternative: Zur Kritik des 'real existierenden Sozialismus''' and those who supported, discussed and published his work. Mielke was one of the most powerful – and most hated – men in East Germany, feared even by members of his own ministry.

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	===The Peaceful Revolution===		===The Peaceful Revolution===
	[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1990-0924-010, Berlin, Vorgehen gegen Demonstranten.~~jpg~~\|thumb\|left\|250px\|Plainclothes police officers arrest demonstrators 17 October 1989]]		[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1990-0924-010, Berlin, Vorgehen gegen Demonstranten.png\|thumb\|left\|250px\|Plainclothes police officers arrest demonstrators 17 October 1989]]
	[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1989-1106-405, Plauen, Demonstration vor dem Rathaus.~~jpg~~\|thumb\|335px\|A demonstration on 30 October 1989]]		[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1989-1106-405, Plauen, Demonstration vor dem Rathaus.png\|thumb\|335px\|A demonstration on 30 October 1989]]
	[[Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1990-0116-013, Berlin, Stürmung Stasi-Zentrale.~~jpg~~\|thumb\|335px\|East Germans invading the [[Stasi]] headquarters on 16 January 1990. The sign says that the Stasi and the [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany]] are Nazistic dictators.]]		[[Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1990-0116-013, Berlin, Stürmung Stasi-Zentrale.png\|thumb\|335px\|East Germans invading the [[Stasi]] headquarters on 16 January 1990. The sign says that the Stasi and the [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany]] are Nazistic dictators.]]
	Increasingly concerned over the growing popular opposition, Stasi Minister Mielke early in 1989 ordered the creation of a special elite unit for crushing disturbances. Its personnel were carefully selected members of the counterespionage and counter-terrorism directorate. They were equipped with special batons similar to electric cattle prods but much more powerful. In a secret speech to top-ranking Stasi officers on June 29, Mielke warned that, "hostile opposing forces and groups have already achieved a measure of power and are using all methods to achieve a change in the balance of power." Former Stasi Colonel [[Rainer Wiegand]] told me he was horrified when Mielke compared the situation with that of [[China]] two months earlier. Chinese students in [[Beijing]] had begun massive protests in April and in May, culminating in the now infamous student demonstration in Tiananmen Square, where security troops had opened fire on them killing hundreds. "Mielke said our situation was comparable and we had to be ready to counter it with all means and methods," Wiegand recalled. "Mielke said that the [Red] Chinese leadership had succeeded in smothering the protests before the situation got out of hand."<ref>Koehler, 1999, p.403-4.</ref>		Increasingly concerned over the growing popular opposition, Stasi Minister Mielke early in 1989 ordered the creation of a special elite unit for crushing disturbances. Its personnel were carefully selected members of the counterespionage and counter-terrorism directorate. They were equipped with special batons similar to electric cattle prods but much more powerful. In a secret speech to top-ranking Stasi officers on June 29, Mielke warned that, "hostile opposing forces and groups have already achieved a measure of power and are using all methods to achieve a change in the balance of power." Former Stasi Colonel [[Rainer Wiegand]] told me he was horrified when Mielke compared the situation with that of [[China]] two months earlier. Chinese students in [[Beijing]] had begun massive protests in April and in May, culminating in the now infamous student demonstration in Tiananmen Square, where security troops had opened fire on them killing hundreds. "Mielke said our situation was comparable and we had to be ready to counter it with all means and methods," Wiegand recalled. "Mielke said that the [Red] Chinese leadership had succeeded in smothering the protests before the situation got out of hand."<ref>Koehler, 1999, p.403-4.</ref>