Werner Bruschke (18 August 1898, in

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

Province of Saxony The Province of Saxony (), also known as Prussian Saxony (), was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg. It was formed by the merger of various territories ceded ...

– 17 February 1995, in

Halle (Saale) Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East Berlin, East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chem ...

) 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 and member of the

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 Mar ...

. He was Minister-President of

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

(

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 ...

) from 13 August 1949 until the state was abolished on 23 July 1952. From 1933 he worked as tobacco goods dealer and later an insurance agent. After

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

came to power, Bruschke, together with Ludwig Wellhausen and Ernst Lehmann, established an underground contact network for social democrats in and around Magdeburg. Due to his illegal political activity, he was accused in 1939 of treason (''Landesverrat'' and ''Hochverrat'') and from 1942 to 1945 was a political prisoner 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 ...

s Sachsenhausen and

Dachau Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

.Herlemann, Beatrix. ''"Wir sind geblieben, was immer wir waren, Sozialdemokraten." Das Widerstandsverhalten der SPD im Parteibezirk Magdeburg-Anhalt gegen den Nationalsozialismus''. Halle, 2001. From 11 May 1992 to his death in 1995, he was the oldest former Minister-President of a German state, preceded in this by Bruno Diekmann.

References

1898 births 1995 deaths Politicians from Magdeburg Politicians from the Province of Saxony Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians Members of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany Members of the Provisional Volkskammer Members of the 1st Volkskammer Minister-presidents of Saxony-Anhalt Members of the Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt German resistance members Dachau concentration camp survivors Sachsenhausen concentration camp survivors Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit (honor clasp) Recipients of the Banner of Labor {{Germany-SED-politician-stub