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Günther Jahn

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Günther Jahn
Jahn in 1973
First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party
in Bezirk Potsdam
In office
23 January 1976 – 15 November 1989
Second Secretary
  • Ulrich Schlaak
Preceded byWerner Wittig
Succeeded byHeinz Vietze
First Secretary of the
Free German Youth
In office
13 May 1967 – 9 January 1974
Second Secretary
Preceded byHorst Schumann
Succeeded byEgon Krenz
Volkskammer
Member of the Volkskammer
In office
25 June 1981 – 5 April 1990
Preceded byFriedrich Ebert Jr.
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
ConstituencyPotsdam-Stadt, Potsdam-Land, №1
In office
29 October 1976 – 25 June 1981
Preceded byFriedrich Kind
Succeeded byBrunhilde Hanke
ConstituencyPotsdam-Stadt, Potsdam-Land, №2
In office
14 July 1967 – 29 October 1976
Preceded bymulti-member district
Succeeded byWilli Grandetzka
ConstituencyArnstadt, Weimar-Land, Apolda, №1
Personal details
Born(1930-01-09)9 January 1930
Erfurt, Province of Saxony, Free State of Prussia, Weimar Republic (now Thuringia, Germany)
Died29 October 2015(2015-10-29) (aged 85)
Beelitz-Fichtenwalde, Brandenburg, Germany
Political partySocialist Unity Party
(1946–1989)
Other political
affiliations		Communist Party of Germany
(1946)
Party of Democratic Socialism
(1989–1991)
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Politician
  • Party Functionary
  • Economist
Awards
Central institution membership
Other offices held

Günther Jahn (9 January 1930 – 29 October 2015) was an East German economist, politician and functionary of the Free German Youth (FDJ) and the Socialist Unity Party (SED).

Originally a socialist economist working on Walter Ulbricht's New Economic System, Jahn eventually became First Secretary of the FDJ and later First Secretary of the Bezirk Potsdam SED. Though not known for straying from the party line, he was the first high-ranking SED official to call on Erich Honecker to resign during the Peaceful Revolution.

Life and career

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Early career

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Günther Jahn was born in Erfurt on 9 January 1930. His father was the locksmith and Communist Party of Germany (KPD) functionary Hermann Jahn. He was a member of the Jungvolk and the Hitler Youth from 1940 to 1945. After the war, in 1946, he joined the Free German Youth (FDJ) and the KPD. He became a member of the Socialist Unity Party (SED) following the KPD's forced merger with the SPD later that year.[1] He obtained his Abitur in 1948 from the Humboldt School in Erfurt and began studying economics at the University of Jena, graduating in 1952 from the University of Economics Berlin with a diploma in economics (Dipl.-Ök.).[1][2]

In 1954, Jahn joined the apparatus of the Central Committee of the SED as a political employee in the Planning Sector of the Central Committee Planning and Finance Department. He held that role until 1956 to become a aspirant (doctoral candidate) at the Academy for Social Sciences at the Central Committee of the SED.[1] He earned a doctorate in economics (Dr. rer. oec.) in 1961, working as a visiting lecturer at the Academy for another year before returning to his old job at the Planning and Finance Department.[1][2]

In 1964, Jahn was promoted to become the deputy head of the Department for Ideological Work at the Office for Industry and Construction at the SED Politburo. A year later he was made head of the newly created Socialist Economic Management Working Group,[1] which was tasked with the training of future economic cadres. In these roles, Jahn was involved in the development of Walter Ulbricht's New Economic System.[2][3]

Free German Youth

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Jahn (left) and PLO leader Yasser Arafat (left of center) at the 10th World Festival of Youth and Students in East Berlin in July 1973

In 1966, Jahn was transferred to the FDJ as Second Secretary. He was elected First Secretary of the FDJ in May 1967 following Horst Schumann's retirement.[1][2][3][4]

He had already been made a full member of the Central Committee of the SED in April (VII. Party Congress) and joined the Volkskammer in July,[1] nominally representing the rural southwest of Bezirk Erfurt until 1976,[5] then Potsdam and its suburbs.[6]

During his time as the top FDJ official, he was informally mocked as "Jubel-Jahn" (English: Jubilant Jahn) due to his impulsive exclamations like "Long live international solidarity" at political events.[7]

On 17 August 1970, Red Army Faction terrorist Ulrike Meinhof asked for a meeting with Jahn. Though not granted, the attempt marked the beginning of the GDR's covert support of the RAF and their members.[8]

Bezirk Potsdam SED career

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Jahn (center) and Lao People's Revolutionary Party head Kaysone Phomvihane (left) visiting farmers in Satzkorn, now a part of Potsdam, in September 1982

Jahn retired as First Secretary of the FDJ in January 1974 and was succeeded by Egon Krenz.[9] He joined the Bezirk Potsdam SED as Second Secretary later that year, rising to First Secretary in January 1976 after longtime incumbent Werner Wittig surprisingly died.[1][2][3][10][11] Unlike other First Secretaries such as Hans Modrow, Jahn did not become known for being outspoken, strictly executing party decisions.[2]

He took interest in Potsdam's movie industry, personally taking charge of the planning and securing financial aid of the GDR's film museum, opened in 1981.[12] At the same time, artists also feared backlash from him regarding political content.[13] For example, Jahn made sure a political satire was stopped to be played in 1989.[14]

Peaceful Revolution

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Though initially opposed to dialogue with demonstrators and reforms,[2] Jahn eventually criticized Erich Honecker shortly before his downfall, accusing him of weak leadership and asking him to resign.[2][15] On 15 November 1989, he resigned as First Secretary,[11][16] and in December of the same year, he resigned alongside the entire SED Central Committee.[1][3] The Bezirk Potsdam SED choose reformer Heinz Vietze as his successor.[11]

After the Peaceful Revolution, Jahn went into retirement, refusing to give interviews.[2] In autumn 1991, he left the SED's successor party, the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS).[2] He passed away on 29 October 2015, at the age of 85, in Fichtenwalde.[1][2][3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Müller-Enbergs, Helmut; Herbst, Andreas (2010). "Jahn, Günther". www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de. Wer war wer in der DDR? (in German). Berlin: Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Krause, Volkmar (2015-12-14). "Nachruf auf Günther Jahn: Potsdams ehemaliger SED-Bezirkschef tot". www.maz-online.de (in German). Märkische Allgemeine. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  3. ^ a b c d e "DDR-Politiker Günther Jahn verstorben". junge Welt (in German). Junge Welt. 2015-11-03. p. 2. Retrieved 2023-12-27. Fichtenwalde. Der DDR-Politiker Günther Jahn ist tot. Nach jW vorliegenden Informationen starb er am vergangenen Donnerstag im brandenburgischen Fichtenwalde. Jahn war von 1967 bis 1973 Erster Sekretär des Zentralrats der Freien Deutschen Jugend (FDJ), danach zunächst Zweiter Sekretär der SED-Bezirksleitung Potsdam, von 1976 bis 1989 deren Erster Sekretär. Im Dezember 1989 trat er mit dem gesamten Zentralkomitee der SED zurück, 1991 verließ er die PDS und zog sich weitgehend aus der Öffentlichkeit zurück. Jahn wurde am 9. Januar 1930 in Erfurt geboren. Er war an der Entwicklung des »Neuen Ökonomischen Systems« beteiligt, mit dem der damalige Staats- und Parteichef Walter Ulbricht umfassende Reformen durchsetzen wollte.
  4. ^ "Blaue Wogen Lebensfreude und Kampfbereitschaft". Neues Deutschland (in German). Berlin: Berlin State Library. 1967-05-14. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
  5. ^ Volkskammer der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik 1971-1976 (PDF) (in German). Berlin: VEB Staatsverlag der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik. 1972. p. 777. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
  6. ^ Volkskammer der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik 1976-1981 (PDF) (in German). Berlin: VEB Staatsverlag der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik. 1977. p. 29. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
  7. ^ Jäkel, Horst (2016-12-15). DDR unvergessen (in German). Schkeuditz: GNN Schkeuditz. pp. 59–60. ISBN 978-3-89819-430-3.
  8. ^ "Morgen eröffnet die RAF-Ausstellung. Über das Verhältnis der DDR-Führung zu den Terroristen: Ulrike Meinhof besucht die FDJ". Berliner Zeitung (in German). 2005-01-28. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  9. ^ "Im Geiste Ernst Thälmanns für die Stärkung der DDR". Neues Deutschland (in German). Berlin: Berlin State Library. 1974-01-10. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
  10. ^ Written at Potsdam. "Günther Jahn zum 1. Sekretär der Bezirksleitung Potsdam der SED gewählt". Neues Deutschland (in German). Berlin: Berlin State Library. 1976-01-24. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
  11. ^ a b c "Bezirksleitung Potsdam der SED (1952-1990)". www.bundesarchiv.de (in German). German Federal Archives. 2006. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  12. ^ "First exhibition at the Film Museum of the GDR, 1983 to 1992". www.filmmuseum-potsdam.de. Filmmuseum Potsdam. Retrieved 2023-12-27. Die politische Bedeutung, die die SED ihr zumaß, zeigte sich u.a. darin, dass Günther Jahn, Erster Sekretär der Bezirksleitung der SED Potsdam (vorher Chef des DDR-Jugendverbandes FDJ, 1989 kurze Zeit Nachfolger von Erich Honecker an der Partei- und Staatsspitze) persönlich die "Arbeitsgruppe Filmmuseum" leitete und dem Projekt nach 1981 zu mehr als 1 Millionen Mark zusätzlicher Mittel verhalf.
  13. ^ "Kultur: Der Vermittler". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). 2008-02-26. ISSN 1865-2263. Retrieved 2023-12-27. Er musste als Intendant des Hans Otto Theaters zu DDR-Zeiten so manchen politischen Strauß ausfechten: mit Günther Jahn und seinem Gefolge. Die Genossen der Bezirksleitung der SED verpassten keine Premiere, und auch schon zuvor warfen sie ihr kritisches Auge auf die Probenverläufe.
  14. ^ Hohenstein, Erhart (2009-05-22). "Notbremse der SED: Seidel musste gehen". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). ISSN 1865-2263. Retrieved 2023-12-27. Premierengast war auch der 1. Sekretär der SED-Bezirksleitung, Günther Jahn. „Er sah sich dieses Stück an ohne jegliche Regung und ohne Applaus", heißt es in einem Stasi-Bericht, „Beim Hinausgehen soll Jahn geäußert haben: ,Die Konterrevolution marschiert! Das Stück wurde nach drei Vorstellungen aus dem Spielplan gestrichen."
  15. ^ Niemann, Mario (2007-09-14), "Abgesang – Die Sekretariate der SED-Bezirksleitungen im Herbst 1989", Die Sekretäre der SED-Bezirksleitungen 1952-1989 (in German), Brill Schöningh, p. 338, ISBN 978-3-657-76401-3, retrieved 2024-01-07
  16. ^ Kleps, Erhard. "Rücktritte der 1. Sekretäre der SED-Bezirksleitungen im November 1989". www.ddr89.de (in German). Berlin. Retrieved 2024-01-07. 15.11. Potsdam: Günther Jahn, Nachfolger am 15.11. Heinz Vietze
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