Wikipedia

Christa Zellmer

Christa Zellmer (née Holzheuer; 5 November 1930 – 14 October 2002) was a German politician and party functionary of the Socialist Unity Party (SED).

Christa Zellmer
First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party
in Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder)
In office
3 November 1988 – 15 November 1989
Second Secretary
  • Günter Grell
Preceded byHans-Joachim Hertwig
Succeeded byBernd Meier
Personal details
Born
Christa Holzheuer

(1930-11-05)5 November 1930
Ströbitz, Province of Brandenburg, Free State of Prussia, Weimar Republic (now Cottbus-Ströbitz, Brandenburg, Germany)
Died14 October 2002(2002-10-14) (aged 71)
Frankfurt (Oder), Brandenburg, Germany
Political partySocialist Unity Party
(1947–1989)
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Politician
  • Party Functionary
  • Saleswoman
Awards
Central institution membership
Other offices held

One of only a handful of women in the SED's nomenklatura, Zellmer was a member of the Central Committee of the SED and briefly served as First Secretary of the SED in Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) for a year on the eve of the Peaceful Revolution.

Life and career

edit

Early career

edit

Zellmer was born as the daughter of a working-class family. After attending primary school, she completed a commercial apprenticeship and subsequently worked as a retail saleswoman. In 1950, she took over the management of a youth sales outlet in Cottbus.[1]

In June 1947, she became a member of the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED).[1] From 1952 to 1965, she served as the Secretary of the Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) Democratic Women's League of Germany (DFD),[1][2] a SED-controlled mass organization.

After studying at the SED's "Karl Marx" Party Academy and graduating with a diploma in social sciences (Dipl.-Ges.-Wiss.) in 1965, she was assigned as Secretary to the Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) Council,[1] making her a full-time member of the Bezirk government.

In February 1966, she was made Secretary for Agitation and Propaganda of the Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) SED,[1][3] succeeding Wilfried Maaß,[1] who had been appointed Deputy Minister for Culture.[4] In 1967, she was one of only three women among the 119 members of the SED Bezirk secretariats.[5]

She additionally became a candidate member of the Central Committee of the SED in June 1971 (VIII. Party Congress)[6] and a full member in June 1975,[7] serving until its collective resignation in December 1989.[1]

During her 22-year tenure as Secretary, she wrote two books about Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder).

Zellmer was awarded the Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze in 1969 and in silver in 1976.[1][8]

Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) SED First Secretary

edit

On 28 September 1988, Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) SED First Secretary Hans-Joachim Hertwig surprisingly died at the age of 60. Second Secretary Günter Grell was unusually passed over in favor of Zellmer, who was elected to succeeded Hertwig on 3 November 1988.[1][9][10][11]

It was the first and only time that a woman became the First Secretary of a Bezirk SED.[10]

Peaceful Revolution

edit

During the Peaceful Revolution, on 15 November 1989, she and the entire Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) SED Secretariat resigned,[1][12][13] citing their shared responsibility for the accumulated problems in the Bezirk as the reason for their resignation.[13] Zellmer asked Bernd Meier, party secretary at the Schwedt Petrochemical Combine, to succeed her.[12][13][14]

Reunified Germany

edit

Zellmer passed away in Frankfurt (Oder) in 2002 at the age of 71.[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Zellmer, Christa". www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de. Wer war wer in der DDR? (in German). Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship. 2009. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  2. ^ Zellmer, Christa (1959-07-04). "Ohne Sorgen nach Weimar". Neues Deutschland (in German). Berlin State Library. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  3. ^ Parteiapparat der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik 1970 (PDF) (in German) (4th ed.). Bonn: Gesamtdeutsche Institut – Bundesanstalt für gesamtdeutsche Aufgaben. 1971. p. 21. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  4. ^ "Maaß, Wilfried". www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de. Wer war wer in der DDR? (in German). Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship. 2009. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  5. ^ "Die Sekretariate der Bezirksleitungen". Neues Deutschland. Berlin State Library. 1967-03-14. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  6. ^ "Kandidaten des Zentralkomittees". Berliner Zeitung (in German). Berlin State Library. 1971-06-20. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  7. ^ "Kommuniqué der 14. Tagung des Zentralkomitees". Neues Deutschland. Berlin State Library. 1975-06-06. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  8. ^ "Vaterländischer Verdienstorden in Silber". Neues Deutschland. Berlin State Library. 1976-05-01. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  9. ^ "Bezirksleitung Frankfurt (Oder) der SED (1952 - 1990)". www.bundesarchiv.de (in German). German Federal Archives. 2006. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  10. ^ a b "Rotation in der DDR". taz (in German). 1988-11-05. ISSN 0931-9085. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  11. ^ "Christa Zellmer 1. Sekretär der SED-Bezirksleitung Frankfurt". Neues Deutschland. Berlin State Library. 1988-11-04. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  12. ^ a b Kleps, Erhard. "Rücktritte der 1. Sekretäre der SED-Bezirksleitungen im November 1989". www.ddr89.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  13. ^ a b c "Neue Bezirkssekretäre der SED gewählt". Berliner Zeitung (in German). Berlin State Library. 1989-11-16. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  14. ^ Lorenz, Astrid (2010). Gersdorff, Andrea von (ed.). Neuanfang in Brandenburg (PDF) (in German). Potsdam: Brandenburgische Landeszentrale für Politische Bildung. p. 176. ISBN 978-3-932502-57-6. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christa_Zellmer&oldid=1252259702"