Heinrich Homann

Heinrich Homann
Chairman of the National Democratic Party of Germany
In office 1972 – December 1989
Preceded by	Lothar Bolz
Succeeded by	Günter Hartmann
Deputy Chairman of the State Council
In office 12 September 1960 – 17 November 1989
Vice President of the Presidium of the People's Chamber
In office 1950–1952
Member of the Volkskammer
In office 1949–1990
Personal details
Born	6 March 1911 Bremerhaven, German Empire
Died	4 May 1994(1994-05-04) (aged 83) Berlin, Germany
Political party	NSDAP NDPD
Alma mater	University of Tübingen University of Jena University of Göttingen University of Hamburg
Occupation	Politician
Military service
Allegiance	Nazi Germany (until 1943) East Germany (from 1949)
Branch/service	Heer
Years of service	1934–1943
Rank	Major
Conflict	World War II Battle of Stalingrad

Heinrich Homann (6 March 1911 – 4 May 1994) was a communist politician and former Wehrmacht officer who held a number of offices in the German Democratic Republic.

Biography

Homann speaking to the State Council in 1968

Heinrich Homann was born the son of a shipping company director in Bremerhaven in 1905. He studied law at the universities of Tübingen, Jena, Göttingen, and Hamburg. In 1933 he joined the Nazi Party and the following year entered the military. He eventually rose to the rank of Major in the Heer and fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. In 1943 he was taken prisoner by the Soviets at the Battle of Stalingrad. During his time as a prisoner of war, Homann became a member of the anti-Nazi National Committee for a Free Germany.

After the war, Homann returned to Soviet-occupied Germany and began his work in politics. He joined the National Democratic Party (NDPD), which largely represented former members of the Nazi Party and helped bind them to the state ideology of the German Democratic Republic. He was first elected to the Volkskammer in 1949 and held his seat in the chamber for the remainder of his career. He became a Deputy Chairman in the State Council in 1960 and in 1972 he succeeded Lothar Bolz as Chairman of the NDPD. He was removed from the State Council in November of 1989 in the wake of the Peaceful Revolution and expelled from his party the following month.