Werner E. Ablaß
Werner E. Ablaß | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 11, 1946 Briesen, Germany |
| Occupation(s) | Political figure, Christian dissident |
| Known for | Instrumental in the dissolution of the National People's Army (NVA) amid German reunification |
Werner E. Ablaß (born 11 December 1946) is a German political figure and former Christian dissident in the East Germany (GDR). Together with Minister Rainer Eppelmann, who served as Secretary of State in the Ministerium für Abrüstung und Verteidigung (MfAuV), Ablaß was instrumental in the dissolution of the National People's Army (NVA) amid German reunification.
History
Ablaß was born in Briesen on 11 December 1946 to a father who worked as a carpenter and was brought up in the Christian faith. He completed his education at a Polytechnic Secondary School by 1963, after which he spent five years providing care at a diaconal facility in Züssow. Between 1969 and 1972, he worked as a bookseller in Potsdam before joining the state insurance sector of the GDR. In 1985, after applying for permission to relocate to West Germany—a request that was later withdrawn—he was dismissed from his position and subsequently employed as a cleaner at a church seminar. He returned to state insurance duties in 1987 and then managed a Protestant retirement home in Camin, Mecklenburg, from 1987 until early 1990.
As a co-founder of the Democratic Awakening party in Mecklenburg, Ablaß advanced to the role of Deputy Minister and State Secretary at the MfAuV in April 1990. He played a significant part in negotiating the Einigungsvertrag (Unification Treaty) and orchestrated the GDR’s exit from the Warsaw Pact. From October 1990 through December 1996, he led the Federal Ministry of Defence’s branch office located in Strausberg. Since 1997, Ablaß has been engaged in supporting the Bundeswehr within the "new federal states" that emerged from former East Germany. In recognition of his contributions, he was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz in 1997.
References
- Further reading
- (In German) Werner E. Ablaß: Zapfenstreich. Von der NVA zur Bundeswehr. Kommunalverlag, Düsseldorf 1992,
- (In German) Hans Ehlert: Armee ohne Zukunft. Das Ende der NVA und die deutsche Einheit. Ch. Links-Verlag, Berlin 2002, .
- (In German) Ehrhart Neubert: Geschichte der Opposition in der DDR 1949–1989. Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, Schriftenreihe volume 346, Bonn 1997, .