Leonhard Helmschrott

Leonhard Helmschrott (born 5 June 1921 (Unterthürheim); died 28 October 2011 (Berlin) was a German journalist and politician. He was a founding member of the National Committee for a Free Germany (NKFD / Nationalkomitee Freies Deutschland). Between 1948 and 1989 he was the chief editor of the Bauernecho (Farmer's Echo).

Advertisement poster (1954)For greater prosperity, "Farmers' Echo" shows you the way!

Life Early life, military service Helmschrott was born the son of a small farmer in a small hamlet on the western edge of Bavaria, not too far from Augsburg. He left school in 1935 and worked on the family farm. In February 1941 he was drafted into the army. Before the end of 1945 Helsmchrott had joined the Communist party (KPD). This, following the forced merger in what was becoming the Germany Democratic Republic (East Germany) of the KPD and the SPD left him, in 1946, a member of the new country's ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). Between 1971 and 1976 he was deputy chairman of the East German Interparliamentary Group.

After completing a correspondence course with the Karl Marx University at Leipzig, in 1962 Helmschrott received a Diploma in Journalism. Between 1986 and 1990 he was a member of the State Council of East Germany.

Fall of the Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989, and on 15 November 1989, reacting to events more quickly than many party colleagues, Helmschrott had at his own request been replaced both at the "Bauern Echo" and from his political positions as Presidium member and in the party secretariat. That left the presidency of the DBD (Democratic Farmers' Party), and he resigned from this in January 1990. In June 1990 the DBD merged with the CDU (Christian Democratic Union) which would itself merge with its West German counterpart in October of the same year. For the first time since his return from Moscow in 1945 Leonhard Helmschrott was not a member of any political party.

Awards 1970 Patriotic Order of Merit (gold) 1975 Star of People's Friendship 1981 Patriotic Order of Merit (clasp)

Publication Sag nicht, ich kann nichts tun. Erinnerungen. edition ost, Berlin 2011.