Bruno Lietz

Bruno Lietz (22 November 1925 – 11 May 2005) was a German politician and party functionary of the Socialist Unity Party (SED).

One of a few former Nazis to have a political career in East Germany, Lietz rose to become an influential agriculture policymaker in the 1980s, briefly serving as head of the powerful Agriculture Department of the SED Central Committee and later Agriculture Minister before having to step down during the Peaceful Revolution.

Life and career Early career Lietz completed training as an auto mechanic from 1940 to 1943.

On 13 January 1943, he applied for membership in the Nazi Party (NSDAP) and was accepted on April 20 (Hitler's birthday) of the same year (membership number 9,365,258). He served as a soldier in the German Wehrmacht until 1945.

Between 1952 and 1954, Lietz served as a sector leader for political mass work in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Lietz further climbed the party ranks when he was elected as a candidate member of the Central Committee of the SED in January 1963 (VI. Party Congress). Longtime head and famed Stakhanovite activist Bruno Kiesler officially retired of his own will, but was actually dismissed due to his disagreements with the SED's economic policies.

Lietz additionally rose to become a full Central Committee member in 1982.

Lietz additionally became a member of the Volkskammer in June 1986,

Lietz was again awarded the Banner of Labor in 1984, as well as the Order of Karl Marx in 1985.

Death

During the Peaceful Revolution, on 7 November 1989, he resigned alongside rest of the government led by Willi Stoph and retired in 1990.

He died in 2005 and was buried in the Berlin-Kaulsdorf cemetery.