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Erich Mielke
Erich Fritz Emil Mielke (; 28 December 1907 – 21 May 2000) was a German communist official who served as head of the East Germany, East German Ministry for State Security (''Ministerium für Staatsicherheit'' – MfS), better known as the Stasi, from 1957 until shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Dubbed "The Master of Fear" () by the West German press, Mielke was one of the most powerful, feared, and hated men in East Germany. A working-class native of the Wedding (Berlin), Wedding slum district of Berlin and a second-generation member of the Communist Party of Germany, Mielke was one of two gunmen in the 1931 murders of Berlin Police captains Murder of Paul Anlauf and Franz Lenck, Paul Anlauf and Franz Lenck. After learning that a witness had survived, Mielke escaped arrest by fleeing to the Soviet Union, where the NKVD recruited him. He was one of the key figures in the decimation of Moscow's many German Communist refugees during the Great PurgeJohn O. Koehler ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murder Of Paul Anlauf And Franz Lenck
On 9 August 1931 a double homicide took place in Berlin, Weimar Germany, when Berlin police captains Paul Anlauf and Franz Lenck were assassinated by the paramilitary wing of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) on the orders of KPD leader and future East German premier Walter Ulbricht. One of the murderers, Erich Mielke, later became the head of the Stasi, the secret police of East Germany, and it was only in 1993 that he was tried and convicted of the murders. Planning and execution During the last days of the Weimar Republic, Berlin's contingent of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) had a policy of assassinating a Berlin police officer in retaliation for every KPD member assassinated by the police. On 2 August 1931, KPD Reichstag members Heinz Neumann and Hans Kippenberger received a dressing down from future East German Premier Walter Ulbricht, the KPD's leader in the Berlin-Brandenburg region. Enraged by police interference and by Neumann and Kippenberger's failure ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security (, ; abbreviated MfS), commonly known as the (, an abbreviation of ), was the Intelligence agency, state security service and secret police of East Germany from 1950 to 1990. It was one of the most repressive police organisations in the world, infiltrating almost every aspect of life in East Germany, using torture, intimidation and a vast network of informants to crush dissent. The function of the Stasi in East Germany (the GDR) resembled that of the KGB in the Soviet Union, in that it served to maintain state authority and the position of the ruling party, in this case the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). This was accomplished primarily through the use of a network of civilian informants (called Unofficial collaborator, unofficial collaborators) who contributed to the arrest of approximately 250,000 people in East Germany. It also had a large elite paramilitary force, the Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment, that served as its armed wing. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a significant role in the unification of Germany in 1871 and was a major constituent of the German Empire until its German Revolution of 1918–1919, dissolution in 1918. Although it took its name from the Prussia (region), region called Prussia, it was based in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Its capital was Berlin. The list of monarchs of Prussia, kings of Prussia were from the House of Hohenzollern. The polity of Brandenburg-Prussia, predecessor of the kingdom, became a military power under Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, known as "The Great Elector". As a kingdom, Prussia continued its rise to power, especially during the reign of Frederick the Great, Frederick II "the Great".Horn, D. B. "The Youth of Frederick the Great 1712–30." ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Defence Council (East Germany)
The National Defense Council of the German Democratic Republic (German: ''Nationaler Verteidigungsrat der DDR'' - NVR) was created in 1960 as the supreme state body of the German Democratic Republic (also known as East Germany or the GDR) in charge of national defense matters, including mobilization planning. The NVR held the supreme command of the GDR's armed forces (including the internal security forces), and the NVR's chairman was considered the GDR's commander-in-chief. Background The predecessor of the NVR, the ''Security Commission'' of the Politbüro of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), met for the first time on 6 July 1954. With the enactment of the "Law on the Formation of the National Defense Council of the GDR" on 13 February 1960, the Security Commission was transformed into the NVR. When the State Council was created on 12 September 1960 to replace the office of President, the law creating the State Council (which amended the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Army General (East Germany)
''Army general'' (), was the highest peacetime general officer rank in the so-called ''armed organs of the GDR'' (), that is, the Ministry of National Defence (East Germany), Ministry of National Defence, the Stasi, and the Ministry of the Interior (East Germany), Ministry of the Interior. It is comparable to the four-star rank in many NATO armed forces. It was aligned with Soviet military doctrine and other armed forces of the Warsaw Pact. The rank was reserved to minister level exclusively. Consequently, in the National People's Army Military branch, service branches, Land Forces of the National People's Army, Landstreitkräfte, Air Forces of the National People's Army, Luftstreitkräfte/Luftverteidigung, Border Troops of the German Democratic Republic, Border troops, and Volksmarine there was no equivalent. However, if a Navy flag officer was designated or appointed Minister of National Defence he would be promoted to Flottenadmiral. When the armed organs of the GDR were dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
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 world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing politics, left-leaning Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic. The opposing Nationalists were an alliance of Falangism, Falangists, monarchists, conservatives, and Traditionalism (Spain), traditionalists led by a National Defense Junta, military junta among whom General Francisco Franco quickly achieved a preponderant role. Due to the international Interwar period#Great Depression, political climate at the time, the war was variously viewed as class struggle, a War of religion, religious struggle, or a struggle between dictatorship and Republicanism, republican democracy, between revolution and counterrevolution, or between fascism and communism. The Nationalists won the war, which ended in early 1939, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parole
Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or else they may be rearrested and returned to prison. Originating from the French word ('speech, spoken words' but also 'promise'), the term became associated during the Middle Ages with the release of prisoners who gave their word. This differs greatly from pardon, amnesty or commutation of sentence in that parolees are still considered to be serving their sentences, and may be returned to prison if they violate the conditions of their parole. It is similar to probation, the key difference being that parole takes place after a prison sentence, while probation can be granted in lieu of a prison sentence. Modern development Alexander Maconochie (penal reformer), Alexander Maconochie, a Scottish geographer and captain i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Attempted Murder
Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven years, dependent on prior convictions and relation to organized crime. United Kingdom England and Wales In English criminal law, attempted murder is the crime of simultaneously preparing to commit an unlawful killing and having a specific intention to cause the death of a human being under the King's Peace. The phrase "more than merely preparatory" is specified by the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 to denote the fact that preparation for a crime by itself does not constitute an "attempted crime". In England and Wales, as an " attempt", attempted murder is an offence under section 1(1) of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 and is an indictable offence which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment (the same as the mandatory sentence ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the crime of killing a person with malice aforethought or with recklessness manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.") This state of mind may, depending upon the jurisdiction, distinguish murder from other forms of unlawful homicide, such as manslaughter. Manslaughter is killing committed in the absence of Malice (law), ''malice'',This is "malice" in a technical legal sense, not the more usual English sense denoting an emotional state. See malice (law). such as in the case of voluntary manslaughter brought about by reasonable Provocation (legal), provocation, or diminished capacity. Involuntary manslaughter, ''Invol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Communist Party Of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany (, ; KPD ) was a major Far-left politics, far-left political party in the Weimar Republic during the interwar period, German resistance to Nazism, underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and minor party in Allied-occupied Germany and West Germany during History of Germany (1945–1990), the post-war period until it Merger of the KPD and SPD, merged with the Social Democratic Party of Germany, SPD in the Soviet occupation zone in 1946 and was banned by the West German Federal Constitutional Court in 1956. The construction of the KPD began in the aftermath of the First World War by the Rosa Luxemburg, Rosa Luxembourg's and Karl Liebknecht's faction of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD) who had opposed World War I, the war and Majority Social Democratic Party of Germany, the Majority Social Democratic Party of Germany (MSPD)'s Burgfriedenspolitik, support of it. The KPD joined the Spartacist uprising of January 1919, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist party, established in 1946 as a Merger of the Communist Party of Germany and the Social Democratic Party of Germany, merger of the East German branches of the Communist Party of Germany and Social Democratic Party of Germany. The German Democratic Republic (GDR) was effectively a one-party state. Other institutional Popular front, popular front parties were permitted to exist in alliance with the SED; these parties included the Christian Democratic Union (East Germany), Christian Democratic Union, the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany, Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany, Democratic Farmers' Party, and the National Democratic Party of Germany (East Germany), Nat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
