Georg Ewald (30 October 1926 – 14 September 1973) was a German politician and high-ranking party functionary of the

Socialist Unity Party 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 Ma ...

(SED). In the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, he briefly served as the First Secretary of the SED in

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 ...

and, most notably, as the longtime GDR Agriculture Minister and as a candidate member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the SED. Ewald died in a car accident in 1973.

Life and career

Early career

After attending agricultural school, Ewald worked in his parents' farm until he was drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1943. From 1946 to 1949, Ewald was a

farmworker A farmworker, farmhand or agricultural worker is someone employed for labor in agriculture. In labor law, the term "farmworker" is sometimes used more narrowly, applying only to a hired worker involved in agricultural production, including har ...

and joined the

Free German Youth The Free German Youth (; FDJ) is a youth movement in Germany. Formerly, it was the official youth wing of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. The organization was meant for young adults, both male a ...

(FDJ) and the ruling

(SED) in 1946. In 1949/1950, he was the mayor of his hometown and from 1950 to 1953, he was the district councilor for agriculture, a member of the district council of Stralsund, and a member of the SED district leadership. From 1953 to 1954, Ewald attended the "Karl Marx" Party Academy and then served as First Secretary of the SED in the districts of Bad Doberan and Rügen.

Bezirk Neubrandenburg SED career

In October 1960, he succeeded Max Steffen as First Secretary of the

SED leadership. Steffen had received a reprimand and was demoted to First Secretary of the SED in the

Lübbenau Lübbenau (, ; officially Lübbenau/Spreewald, Lower Sorbian, L.S. Lubnjow/Błota (meaning ''Lübbenau/Spree Forest'') Polish language, Polish: ''Lubniów'') is a town in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Upper Spree Forest-Lusatia District of Brandenbu ...

coal power plant. From January 1963 ( VI. Party Congress) until his death, he was a full member of the Central Committee of the SED and a candidate member of its

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...

, the ''de facto'' highest leadership body in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

Agriculture Minister

In February 1963, the GDR's Ministry of Agriculture was abolished and replaced by the Agricultural Council, later renamed Council for Agricultural Production and Food Economy, its chairman holding ministerial rank. Karl-Heinz Bartsch, appointed on 7 February, was forced to resign only two days later, on 9 February, after

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

media revealed that he had concealed his membership in the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

. Ewald replaced him, additionally becoming a member of the Presidium of the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

and a member of the

Volkskammer The Volkskammer (, "People's Chamber") was the supreme power organ of East Germany. It was the only branch of government in the state, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it. The Volkskammer was initia ...

later that year, nominally representing a constituency in northeastern

Bezirk Rostock The Bezirk Rostock was a district (''Bezirk'') of East Germany. The administrative seat and the main town was Rostock. History The district was established, with the other 13, on 25 July 1952, substituting the old German states. After 3 October ...

. In 1971, the Ministry of Agriculture was reestablished as Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Ewald becoming Minister. His tenure was marked by further

collectivization Collective farming and communal farming are various types of "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member- ...

efforts. During his leadership, he frequently clashed with SED Agriculture Secretary Gerhard Grüneberg, who implemented many ideas aimed at industrializing the collectively managed agriculture in the 1960s. The most significant aspect became the gradual separation of animal and plant production, which was a failure. Ewald was awarded the Medal of Merit of the GDR, and the

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 silver in 1960 and 1964 and the

Banner of Labor The Banner of Labor () was an order issued in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was given for "excellent and long-standing service in strengthening and consolidating the GDR, especially for achieving outstanding results for the national ec ...

in 1969.

Death

Ewald died in a

car accident A traffic collision, also known as a motor vehicle collision, or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other moving or stationary obstruction, such as a tree, pole or building. T ...

on the morning of 14 September 1973, near

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

. Two other SED functionaries, members of the Bezirk Erfurt SED leadership, also died in the accident. Immediately afterwards, 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 ...

confiscated documents relating to his activities as candidate member of the Politburo of the SED Central Committee and his ministerial office from the work rooms. He was interred at the ''Memorial of the Socialists'' at the

Friedrichsfelde Central Cemetery The Friedrichsfelde Central Cemetery () is a cemetery in the borough of Lichtenberg in Berlin. It was the cemetery used for many of Berlin's Socialists, Communists, and anti-fascist fighters. History When the cemetery was founded in 1881 it ...

Berlin-Lichtenberg Lichtenberg () is a quarter (''Ortsteil'') of Berlin in the homonymous borough (''Bezirk'') of Lichtenberg. Until 2001 it was an autonomous district with the localities of Fennpfuhl, Rummelsburg, Friedrichsfelde and Karlshorst. History The ...

. In Gotha's local

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

, the stretch of road where Ewald died (a long curve of the B 247 between the A4 motorway exit and the entrance to Gotha) is still known today as ''Minister's Curve'' ().

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ewald, Georg 1926 births 1973 deaths Road incident deaths in Germany Politicians from the Province of Pomerania Mayors of places in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Members of the 4th Volkskammer Members of the 5th Volkskammer Members of the 6th Volkskammer Members of the Volkskammer Government ministers of East Germany Members of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Candidate members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Recipients of the Medal of Merit of the GDR Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver Recipients of the Banner of Labor German communists German Army personnel of World War II