Erich Honecker

German communist politician. He served as General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party (SED) and Chairman of the Council of State of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), ruling as the country's supreme leader from 1971 to 1989. He spearheaded the construction of the Berlin Wall and border controls between East and West Germany in an effort to preserve the socialist system. On the other hand, he faced heavy criticism for harsh control policies, including restrictions on speech and political activity, and shoot-to-kill orders against border crossers. He fell from power amid the East European revolutions and massive domestic protests in East Germany in 1989, and following German reunification, he faced prosecution for human rights abuses and other charges. Legal proceedings were halted due to illness, and after relocating to Chile, he died of liver cancer.

Timeline

Category
Element

Year	Erich Honecker
1912	Birth of Erich Honecker (Period: August 25, 1912, Location: Neunkirchen, Saarland, Federal Republic of Germany)
1929	Joining the Communist Party of Germany (KPD, Age: 16 years old, Period: Around 1929–1930, Location: Saar region, Germany)
1933	Resistance activities against the Nazi regime (Age: 20 years old, Period: 1933–1935, Location: Saar region, Paris, Berlin, etc.)
1935	Arrest and imprisonment by the Nazi regime (Age: 22 years old, Period: 1935–1945, Location: Berlin, Brandenburg an der Havel, etc., various parts of Germany)
1939	World War II (Age: 26 years old, Period: 1939–1945, Location: Britain, North Africa, Mediterranean region, etc.)
1946	Founding and leadership of the Free German Youth (FDJ, Age: 33 years old, Period: 1946–1955, Location: Soviet occupation zone, later East Germany) Participation in the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party (SED, Age: 33 years old, Period: From 1946 onwards, Location: East Berlin) Marriage (Erich Honecker, Charlotte Schueler, Age: 34 years old, Period: December 23, 1946, Location: Details cannot be confirmed)
1947	Cold War (Age: 34 years old, Period: c. 1947–1991, Location: Europe, North America, Cuba, etc.)
1953	East German popular uprising of June 17, 1953 (Age: 40 years old, Period: June 17, 1953, Location: Various parts of East Germany centered on East Berlin)
1955	Training at the Higher Party School of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Age: 42 years old, Period: 1955–1956, Location: Moscow, Soviet Union) Marriage (Erich Honecker, Edith Baumann, Age: 42 years old, Period: Stated as 1947 or 1949 depending on sources. Some sources also state divorce year as 1953 or 1955., Location: Details cannot be confirmed) Marriage (Erich Honecker, Margot Feist, Age: 42 years old, Period: Stated as 1953 or 1955 depending on sources., Location: Details cannot be confirmed)
1958	Berlin Crisis of 1961 (Age: 45 years old, Period: 1958–1961, especially 1961, Location: Berlin and the inner-German border) Rise in the Politburo of the SED Central Committee (Age: 45 years old, Period: 1958–1971, Location: East Berlin)
1970	Improvement of intra-German relations (Age: 57 years old, Period: 1970s–1980s, Location: East Germany, West Germany, Berlin)
1971	Unification of economic and social policies (Age: 58 years old, Period: From 1971 onwards, Location: Whole of East Germany)
1973	Formal admission of East Germany to the United Nations (Age: 61 years old, Period: September 18, 1973, Location: New York, United States)
1975	Response to the Helsinki Final Act (Age: 62 years old, Period: From August 1, 1975 onwards, Location: Helsinki, Finland and various parts of Europe)
1976	Assumption of the office of Chairman of the Council of State of East Germany (Age: 64 years old, Period: October 29, 1976, Location: East Berlin)
1987	Official visit to West Germany (Age: 75 years old, Period: September 7–11, 1987, Location: Bonn, West Germany, Saarland, etc.)
1989	East German Peaceful Revolution of 1989 (Age: 76 years old, Period: Summer–Autumn 1989, Location: Various parts of East Germany such as Leipzig, East Berlin, Dresden) Assumption of office as General Secretary of the SED (Age: 77 years old, Period: May 3, 1971, Location: East Berlin) Resignation and political downfall (Age: 77 years old, Period: October 18, 1989, Location: East Berlin) Prosecution of East German leaders (Age: 77 years old, Period: November 1989–January 1993, Location: Berlin, Moscow, Santiago, Chile) Fall of the Berlin Wall (Age: 77 years old, Period: November 9, 1989, Location: Berlin, Germany)
1993	Emigration to Chile and death (Age: 80 years old, Period: 1993–1994, Location: Santiago, Chile)
1994	Death of Erich Honecker (Age: 81 years old, Period: May 29, 1994)

Map

Category
Element

Europe World

Group	List
The Division of Germany	Konrad Adenauer Walter Ulbricht Otto Grotewohl Wilhelm Pieck Erich Honecker Willy Brandt Helmut Kohl
Prague Spring	Ludvík Svoboda Josef Smrkovský Ludvík Vaculík Alexander Dubček Václav Havel Milan Kundera Oldřich Černík
Fall of the Berlin Wall	Erich Honecker Helmut Kohl Mikhail Gorbachev Egon Rudi Ernst Krenz Günter Schabowski Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm
Literature and Thought	Václav Havel Milan Kundera Czesław Miłosz Wisława Szymborska Günter Grass Heinrich Böll Thomas Bernhard Ingeborg Bachmann Elfriede Jelinek
Arts & Film	Sándor Pál Andrzej Wajda Krzysztof Kieślowski Miloš Forman Jiří Menzel Werner Herzog Rainer Werner Fassbinder Wim Wenders

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Erich Honecker

Erich Honecker

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