Global InformationErich Apel information
Erich Apel | |
|---|---|
 Apel in 1963 | |
| Chairman of the State Planning Commission | |
| In office 12 January 1963 – 3 December 1965 | |
| Chairman of the Council of Ministers |
|
| First Deputy | See list
|
| Preceded by | Karl Mewis |
| Succeeded by | Gerhard Schürer |
| Minister without portfolio | |
| In office 4 July 1962 – 12 January 1963 Serving with Gerhard Grüneberg | |
| Chairman of the Council of Ministers |
|
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Secretary for the Economy of the Central Committee Secretariat of the Socialist Unity Party | |
| In office 16 July 1958 – 28 June 1962 | |
| First Secretary |
|
| Preceded by | Gerhart Ziller |
| Succeeded by | Günter Mittag |
| Minister for Heavy Engineering | |
| In office 15 April 1955 – 15 February 1958 | |
| Minister-President |
|
| Preceded by | Gerhart Ziller |
| Succeeded by | Gerhard Zimmermann (1965) |
| Member of the Volkskammer | |
| In office 16 November 1958 – 3 December 1965 | |
| Preceded by | multi-member district |
| Succeeded by | Margitta Stopp (1966) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Erich Hans Apel 3 October 1917 Judenbach, Saxe-Meiningen, German Empire (now Thuringia, Germany) |
| Died | 3 December 1965 (aged 48) East Berlin, East Germany |
| Political party | Socialist Unity Party (1946–1965) |
| Other political affiliations | Social Democratic Party (1946) |
| Spouse |
Christa Metzner (m. 1951) |
| Children | 1 |
| Occupation |
|
| Known for | his apparent suicide |
| Awards | Patriotic Order of Merit Banner of Labor |
Central institution membership
Other offices held
| |
Erich Apel (3 October 1917 – 3 December 1965) worked during World War Two as a rocket engineer at the Peenemünde Army Research Center in Nazi Germany. After his return from the Soviet Union, where he had forcibly worked for rocketry development under the Operation Osoaviakhim until 1952, he became an East German party official. During the later 1950s, he was increasingly involved in economic policy, serving from 1958 as head of the German Democratic Republic's Economics Commission in the Politburo. He was seen as a reformer. However, economic reform rapidly fell off the agenda after October 1964 when Nikita Khrushchev fell from power in Moscow.[1][2]
Apel served as president of the state planning commission between 1963 and 1965. His final project was to negotiate a trade deal with the Soviet Union. However, hours before he was due to sign the resulting agreement on behalf of the East German government, he killed himself.[3][4][5]
- ^ Monika Kaiser; Helmut Müller-Enbergs. "Apel, Erich Hans * 3.10.1917, † 3.12.1965 Sekretär des ZK der SED, Vorsitzender der Staatlichen Plankommission". Wer war wer in der DDR?. Ch. Links Verlag, Berlin & Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur, Berlin. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
- ^ "Erich Apel, deutscher Wirtschaftspolitiker; SED; Dr. oec". Munzinger-Archiv GmbH, Ravensburg. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
- ^ "Schuß im Büro". Der Spiegel. 15 December 1965. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
- ^ Rainer Karlsch (2 December 1995). "Der Selbstmord des Chefs der Staatlichen Plankommission und das Ende der Wirtschaftsreformen 1965 in der DDR Warum ging Erich Apel in den Tod?". Berliner Zeitung. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
- ^ Wolf-Sören Treusch. "DDR-Wirtschaftsreformer Erich Apel nahm sich das Leben". Deutschlandradio, Köln. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
Zu Beginn der 1960er-Jahre bemühte sich das SED-Regime um eine Wirtschaftsreform. Das 'Neue Ökonomische System' von Erich Apel sollte den Betrieben mehr Eigenständigkeit geben, die Fremdbestimmung der Investitionslenkung aufheben. Doch der Sturz von Chruschtschow ließ Apels Reformbestrebungen scheitern – und ihn verzweifeln.