Steinwand, Rudolph

Steinwand was born into a teacher's family. After being expelled from the French-occupied zone of Germany, he was forced to interrupt his studies at the gymnasium and received a matriculation certificate in 1928. He had to give up teaching courses in the absence of funds. Since 1930, he participated in the work of the Communist Party of Germany , was arrested for illegal activities. After the rise of the National Socialists and the ban on the KKE, he was subjected to security arrests several times and kept in concentration camps , nevertheless, after some time he was released, and in 1939 came under amnesty. In the fall of 1941, he was drafted into the army, after some time he was arrested for contacts with the Resistance group Andreas Hövel in Koblenz, from prison he was sent to the Eastern Front . In 1945 he surrendered to the Red Army and was later able to return to Germany.

In the Soviet occupation zone, Steinwand joined the SED in 1946 and was in charge of the human resources department in the government of Thuringia . In December 1948, the Landtag of Thuringia delegated Steinwand to the German Economic Commission , where he worked until 1949. In 1950-1952, Steinwand led the steel mill in Unterwellenborn , in 1950-1954 he was a deputy of the People’s Chamber of the GDR . In 1952, Rudolf Steinwand was appointed head of the main department of the Ministry of Mining and Steel Industry, then received the position of Secretary of State and Deputy Minister of Heavy Engineering of the GDR. From November 1955 to 1958, Steinwand served as Minister of Mining, Metallurgy and Potassium of the GDR. Since February 1958, he was a member of the State Planning Commission and led the heavy industry department. Until 1966, he served as Deputy Permanent Representative of the GDR to the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance .

• Biography (German)