Heinz Geggel

Heinz Geggel (11 November 1921 – 15 November 2000) was a German Holocaust survivor, journalist and party functionary of the Socialist Unity Party (SED).

Nicknamed 'Geggels' in reference to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, he served as the longtime head of the powerful Agitation Department at the Central Committee of the SED and de facto commanded East German press.

Born to a merchant, Geggel attended primary and secondary school in Munich from 1928 to 1936.^[1]

Due to his Jewish heritage, he had to emigrate from Germany. Until 1938, he completed an apprenticeship at a commercial school in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, then switched to study textile engineering at a technical school in Verviers, Belgium. From May 1940 to June 1941, he was interned and forced into labor. In 1940, the Nazi regime revoked his German citizenship.^[1]

In December 1941, he emigrated with his family via Casablanca to Cuba, where he worked as a diamond cutter.^[1] He became a member of the Confederation of Cuban Workers and the Committee of German Antifascists in Cuba.^[1][2] In 1944, Geggel joined the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and dealt with the registration of German Nazis living in Cuba.^[1]

He returned to Germany in November 1947, arriving in Berlin via Frankfurt am Main in February 1948. He became a member of the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED) in March 1948 and initially worked as an editor at the Grünau radio station. From 1949 to 1956, he was an editor and department head at Berliner Rundfunk. He attended the "Karl Marx" Party Academy for a year in 1953/54.^[1]

From 1957 to 1960, he was the director of Deutschlandsender^[3] and concurrently the deputy chairman of the State Broadcasting Committee of the GDR. Following this, until 1962, he headed the SPD Working Group of the West Commission and from 1962 was the secretary of the West Commission at the Politburo of the SED Central Committee.^[1][3]

From January 1963 (VI. Party Congress) to June 1971 (VIII. Party Congress), he was a candidate member and from 1971 to its collective resignation in December 1989, a full member of the SED Central Committee. In 1963, Geggel became the deputy head of the West Department of the SED Central Committee, eventually becoming its head in 1965 (succeeding Arne Rehahn).^[1]

In October 1973, he succeeded Rudi Singer, Werner Lamberz, and Hans Modrow as the fourth head of the Agitation Department of the SED Central Committee,^[4][5] a position he held until stepping down during the Peaceful Revolution in November 1989.^[1] From 1971 to 1990, Geggel was also a board member of the Association of Journalists of the GDR.^[1]

As head of the Agitation Department, Geggel's task was to align the East German press with the political line of the SED.^[6][7][8][9] The chief editors of the East German press were required to attend weekly 'argumentation sessions' at the SED headquarters for this purpose.^{[5][6][7][8][10]} At times, the wording of headlines and specific phrases was dictated during these meetings.^{[5][7][10][11]} Due to his unyielding stance in these sessions, journalists sometimes referred to him as 'Dr. Geggels,' in reference to Joseph Goebbels.^[7][10][12]

Geggel was awarded the Patriotic Order of Merit in 1959, 1964 and 1970, the Banner of Labor in 1968, 1971 and 1981, the Karl Marx Order in 1981 and 1986,^[1] and the Hero of Labour title in 1984.^[13]

Geggel passed away in 2000 at the age of 79 in Berlin.^[1]