Horst Bittner (14 June 1927 – 16 April 2013) was an

East German 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 ...

politician ( SED) and diplomat. Between 1965 and 1974 he served as the East German ambassador to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in succession to Rudolf Dölling.

Life

Horst Bittner was born into a working-class family in

Taucha Taucha () is a town in the district of Nordsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Parthe, 10 km northeast of Leipzig. Geography Taucha is part of the Leipzig Bay. The Parthe runs through the city, and its expansive flo ...

, an industrial town on the northeast side of

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 ...

. On leaving school he trained and then worked as a printer. He grew up during 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 ...

which ended formally in May 1945. By that time the region had been taken over by the

American army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. However, the division of postwar Germany had already been pre-agreed by the victorious war leaders and in July 1945 the Americans withdrew: the region became part of the Soviet administered occupation zone. Bittner immediately involved himself in the "Anti-fascist Youth" movement in his home region. In 1946 he joined the newly formed Socialist Unity Party (''"Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands"'' / SED). He enrolled at the Workers' and Farmers' faculty in

, later switching to the city's university where he studied, and in 1949 obtained his degree, in social sciences. Between 1949 and 1957 he worked at the Ministry for Foreign and Inter-German Trade after the Soviet occupation zone was relaunched, in October 1949, as 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 ...

. Within the ministry, after a few years he took charge of the "Soviet Union department". In 1954 he was the director leading the East German Industrial Exhibition in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. He entered the diplomatic service in 1957 and served, till 1963, as commercial attaché and deputy head of the East German trade mission in Moscow. Between 1964 and 1965 he held the appointment of Deputy Minister for Foreign and Inter-German Trade. In 1964 he was appointed East German ambassador in Moscow. It was considered normal in East Germany for the country's most important ambassadorial posts to be held not by long standing career diplomats but by men who had built their careers and contacts inside the country's political establishment. Returning to

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 ...

, between 1974 and 1984 Bittner held a senior post in the

Ministry for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral rela ...

. His last important posting, between 1984 and 1989, was as Commercial Counsellor at the East German embassy in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. By 1969 Bittner was already being identified in the party newspaper as a candidate for membership of the country's powerful Party Central Committee. Other sources indicate he was a candidate member between 1971 and 1976. Either way, he appears never to have made the final leap to Central Committee membership. Horst Bittner died aged 85 on 16 April 2013 and was buried in the protestant Georgen-Parochial Cemetery II in Berlin.Traueranzeige/Death Announcement in

Berliner Zeitung The ''Berliner Zeitung'' (; ) is a daily newspaper based in Berlin, Germany. Founded in East Germany in 1945, it is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since Reunification of Germany, reunification. It is published by Berl ...

27 April 2013.

Awards and honours

* 1965

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 bronze * 1970

in silver * 1974

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...

(Soviet honour) * 1987 Verdienter Mitarbeiter des Handels der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik (for service to East German trade and commerce)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bittner, Horst 1927 births 2013 deaths People from Taucha Candidate members of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Ambassadors of East Germany to the Soviet Union East German civil servants Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples