Heinz Keßler

Heinz Keßler (26 January 1920 – 2 May 2017) was a German communist politician and military officer in East Germany.

His career in the military started when he was conscripted into the Wehrmacht, the armed forces of Nazi Germany, in World War II. Due to his communist convictions, he deserted the Wehrmacht and fought for the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front. Upon his return to East Germany, he entered service in the National People's Army (''Nationale Volksarmee'') upon its establishment in 1956. Later, he was Minister of Defense of the GDR with the rank of ''Armeegeneral'', a member of the ''Politbüro'' of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), and a deputy of the GDR's ''Volkskammer'' (parliament).

Convicted for his role in the deaths of defectors along the Berlin wall, he was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison after German reunification, and served his sentence in Hakenfelde Prison. He was released from prison in 1998 after serving only two years. Provided by Wikipedia