Ernst Goldenbaum | |
Office1: | Chairman of the Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany |
Term Start1: | 1948 |
Term End1: | 1982 |
Predecessor1: | office established |
Successor1: | Ernst Mecklenburg |
Office2: | Minister of Agriculture and Forestry (East Germany) |
Term Start2: | 1949 |
Term End2: | 1950 |
Predecessor2: | office established |
Successor2: | Paul Scholz |
Office3: | Member of the Volkskammer |
Term Start3: | 1949 |
Term End3: | 1990 |
Office4: | Mayor of Parchim |
Term Start4: | 1945 |
Term End4: | 1945 |
Predecessor4: | Rudolf Prestien |
Successor4: | Otto Schmidt |
Office5: | Member of the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Schwerin |
Term Start5: | 1924 |
Term End5: | 1932 |
Birth Date: | 15 December 1898 |
Birth Place: | Parchim, German Empire |
Death Place: | East Berlin, German Democratic Republic |
Party: | Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany (1948-) Socialist Unity Party of Germany (1946-1948) Communist Party of Germany (1920-1946) Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (1919-1920) |
Spouse: | Käte Goldenbaum (1925-1951) |
Children: | |
Awards: | Order of Karl Marx (1973) Star of People's Friendship (1969) Hero of Labour (1968) Patriotic Order of Merit, honor clasp (1965) Banner of Labor (1964) Medal for Fighters Against Fascism (1959) Patriotic Order of Merit, in gold (1958) Patriotic Order of Merit, in silver (1955) (1955) |
Allegiance: | German Empire |
Branch: | Imperial German Army |
Serviceyears: | 1917-1918 |
Battles: |
Ernst Goldenbaum (15 December 1898, Parchim - 13 March 1990, Berlin) was a German politician who served as the chairman of the Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany from 1948 to 1982.[1]
Goldenbaum was born in Parchim. During World War I he served in the military and he participated in the German November Revolution. In 1919 he joined the left-wing USPD and a few years later the Communist Party of Germany.
From 1923 to 1925 he was a member of the city council of Parchim and from 1924 to 1932 he was a member of the Landtag of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. From 1932 to 1933 he was the editor of Volkswacht, a communist newspaper. After the Nazis seized power he became a farmer and a member of the German resistance.
In 1944 he was arrested and he spent the last year of the war in concentration camp Neuengamme. In 1945, he was one of very few who survived the sinking of the SS Cap Arcona which claimed over 4000 lives.
After the war he joined the Socialist Unity Party (SED), but in 1948 he co-founded the communist-sponsored Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany (DBD). The DBD was a close ally of the SED. Until 1982, Goldenbaum was the chairman of the party.
From 1949 to 1990 Goldenbaum was a member of the People's Chamber. From 1949 to 1950 Goldenbaum was East Germany's first Minister of Agriculture and Forestry. Goldenbaum supported the SED's collectivisation in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1950 to 1963 he was the deputy chairman of the People's Chamber. After 1963 he was a member of the Presidium of the People's Chamber.