Erich Bär (born 23 May 1916 in

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 ...

; died 5 April 2005) was a resister against Nazism and later lieutenant colonel of Ministry of State Security (Stasi) of the

GDR 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 ...

. He was, from 1957 to 1972, head of the executive offices of the Stasi in

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

. Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk,
Stasi konkret: Überwachung und Repression in der DDR
', C.H.Beck, 2013.

Life

Bär, son of a worker, after

compulsory education Compulsory education refers to a period of education that is required of all people and is imposed by the government. This education may take place at a registered school or at home or other places. Compulsory school attendance or compulsory sc ...

trained as a

tinsmith A tinsmith is a historical term for a skilled craftsperson who makes and repairs things made of tin or other light metals. The profession was also known as a tinner, tinker, tinman, or tinplate worker; whitesmith may also refer to this profe ...

and

plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, hot-water production, sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

. Early on, he was active in communist organizations and was from 1931 to 1935 a functionary in the

Young Communist League of Germany The Young Communist League of Germany (, abbreviated KJVD) was a political youth organization in Germany. History The KJVD was formed in 1920 from the Free Socialist Youth () of the Communist Party of Germany, A prior youth wing had been formed ...

. After the

Nazi seizure of power The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He quickly rose t ...

, Bär supported the KPD also in the underground and was charged in 1935 with "conspiracy to commit high treason". Without trial he was detained until 1945 in the penitentiaries

Zwickau Zwickau (; ) is the fourth-largest city of Saxony, Germany, after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, with around 88,000 inhabitants,. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ''Zwickauer Mulde''; progression: ), ...

, Berlin-Plötzensee and Bremen-Oslebshausen and from 1938 to 1945 in the

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...

After 1945

After the end of 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 ...

Bär became a member of the KPD. In 1946 he became a member of the SED. In 1947 Bär was deputy staff chief of the Saxony police. In 1949 he worked for the main administration for the protection of the national economy of Saxony; from there emerged in February 1950, the Saxony state administration of the

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 pol ...

. In 1952 he became deputy head of the district administration

Bezirk Neubrandenburg The Bezirk Neubrandenburg was a district (''Bezirk'') of East Germany. The administrative seat and the main town was Neubrandenburg. History The district was established, with the other 13, on 25 July 1952, substituting the old German states. A ...

of the Stasi; from 1953 at the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1956 Bär became deputy head of the district administration

Frankfurt an der Oder Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (, ; Marchian dialects, Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With a ...

. In 1959 Bär rose to deputy head of the Department VII, in charge of the Ministry of the Interior and

Volkspolizei The (DVP, German for "German People's Police"), commonly known as the or VoPo, was the national uniformed police force of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1945 to 1990. The Volkspolizei was a highly- centralized agency re ...

. In 1960 Bär became officer on special assignment at the Volkspolizei within the Ministry of the Interior. In 1962 Bär was employed in the Stasi Department passport control and investigation office and in 1963 he was Officer of Special Affairs in the line II office, responsible for the support of the West German DKP and the

Socialist Unity Party of West Berlin The Socialist Unity Party of West Berlin (, SEW) was a communist party in West Berlin. The party was founded on 24 November 1962, when the West Berlin local organization of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) was separated from the main ...

. Bär retired in 1972.

Honours

* 1986

Patriotic Order of Merit The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...

in Gold

Literature

* Gieseke, Jens: Erich Bär. In: Wer war wer in der DDR? 5. Ausgabe. Band 1, Ch. Links, Berlin 2010, . * Gieseke, Jens: ''Wer war wer im Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS-Handbuch)''. BStU. Berlin 2012. *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bar, Erich Socialist Unity Party of Germany members Communist Party of Germany politicians German resistance members 1916 births 2005 deaths