Heinz Zöger (19 November 1915 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 ...

– 21 March 2000 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

) was a German political

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. Between 1968 and his death in 2000 he was married to Carola Stern.

Biography

Heinz Zöger was born in Leipzig: his adoptive father was a

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German ...

. On leaving school Zöger, between 1930 and 1933, undertook an apprenticeship as a

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

setter. In 1932, he was a member of the "Antifaschistischen Roten Garde" and also around this time of Revolutionary Union Opposition (RGO / ''Revolutionäre Gewerkschafts Opposition''). After

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...

he was twice arrested and sentenced to terms of imprisonment because of his resistance activities. 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 ...

, almost all of which he had spent in prisons in Germany, he joined the

German Communist Party The German Communist Party (, ) is a communist party in Germany. The DKP supports far-left positions and was an observer member of the European Left before leaving in February 2016. History The DKP considered itself a reconstitution of the C ...

(KPD / ''Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands'') and held senior positions in what became the East German Broadcasting Corporation. From 1955 till autumn 1956, he was Editor in Chief of the weekly Newspaper "Sonntag" (''"Sunday"''). On 8 March 1957, during the trial of the Harich Group, Zöger was arrested in the courtroom for taking part in the counter-revolutionary activities of the group. In July of the same year, he was sentenced to a prison term along with

Walter Janka Walter Janka (29 April 1914 – 17 March 1994) was a German communist, political activist and writer who became a publisher. Janka is notable for having spent time incarcerated as a political prisoner under the rule of the Nazis and later impris ...

, then in charge of the

Aufbau-Verlag Aufbau Verlag is a German publisher. It was founded in Berlin in 1945 and became the biggest publisher in East Germany (GDR). During that time it specialised in Socialist literature, socialist and Russian literature. Aufbau Verlag (officially s ...

, a major East German publishing house, Gustav Just and Richard Wolf for crimes against Article 6 of the East German Constitution. He was released in 1959 and fled to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. In May 1990, the East German Supreme Court set aside the judgement of 1957 under which Zöger had been sentenced. He later obtained a job as an editor with

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

-based West German national broadcaster,

Westdeutscher Rundfunk (; "West German Broadcasting Cologne"), shortened to WDR (), is a German public broadcasting, public-broadcasting institution based in the States of Germany, Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a const ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zoeger, Heinz 1915 births 2000 deaths Writers from Leipzig People from the Kingdom of Saxony Communist Party of Germany politicians Socialist Unity Party of Germany members German male journalists Communists in the German Resistance German male writers German adoptees 20th-century German journalists German newspaper editors