Gustav Just
Gustav Just | |
|---|---|
 1954 meeting of German and Soviet writers and scientists | |
| Born | 16 June 1921 |
| Died | 23 February 2011(aged 89) Brandenburg,Germany |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation | Journalist |
Gustav Just(16 June 1921 – 23 February 2011)[1]was the first Secretary of theGerman Writers' Association(DSV) (German:Deutscher Schriftstellerverband) and editor-in-chief of theEast GermanweeklySonntaguntil 1957.
Early life and military service
[edit]Just was born inNorthern Bohemia.His father was a member of theCommunist Party of Czechoslovakia.[2]
After graduating fromhigh schoolin 1940, Just volunteered to join theWehrmacht.DuringWorld War II,he participated in theinvasion of the Soviet Union.He was wounded twice in combat, and reached the rank oflieutenant.On 15 July 1941, Just, then 20, participated in the firing squad of six Jews rounded up from a village nearKholm,an incident which he recorded in his diary. According to the entry, Just had been told that the men, whom Ukrainian villagers described as "Jewish terrorists", were criminals who'd attacked a Ukrainian family and killed her husband. In his entry, he wrote: "It's a strange feeling to shoot a person for the first time. And if it's a criminal." He was promoted after the killings.[2]
Over the course of the war, he received theIron Cross First Class,Infantry Assault Badge,Eastern Medal,and theBlack Wound Badge.[3][4]
Post-war life
[edit]After the war, Just joined theSocialist Unity Party of Germany.On a questionnaire, he omitted almost all information regarding his time in the war. In 1957 he was arrested for opposition activities. Just served as the editor-in-chief of the East German weeklySonntaguntil 1957. That year, he was arrested for anti-constitutional activities ( "inciting to boycott" ) for his involvement with the writing of articles critical of the regime. At the trial, prosecutorErnst Melsheimerread out the contents of his diary, which had been uncovered by theStasi,to the court. The captain of Just's unit had asked him and the nearly 20 other soldiers in his platoon to carry out the executions. When nobody came forward, the captain threatened to choose the shooters himself. Just and five other soldiers promptly volunteered.[5]
Janka was found guilty, along withWalter Janka,Heinz Zöger, and Richard Wolf, and sentenced to four years in prison. He served a total of 45 months atBautzen Prison,including two years in solitary confinement. However, he was never prosecuted for the incident specifically. Afterwards, Just said he was threatened that if he ever caused trouble again, he would be put on trial as a war criminal.[6]After his release, Just became a prolific translator of primarilyCzechbut alsoSlovakworks intoGermanand was "rehabilitated" in 1990. Just served in theBrandenburgState Parliament (as itsAlterspräsident,or "chairman by seniority" ) in the newly unifiedGermanyuntil he was forced to resign in 1992, after confirming allegations from Stasi archives that he'd participated in wartime atrocities on theEastern Frontduring the war.[7]
Just claimed that he'd been forced to participate in the executions under the threat of death. However, testimony and documents in his files confirmed he and the other soldiers had volunteered to carry out the executions.Heinz Galinski,the chairman of theCentral Council of Jews in Germany,demanded further investigation and a criminal prosecution against Just. However, no charges were filed. At the time, there was controversy over allegations that theSocial Democratgovernment ofManfred StolpeinBrandenburghad known about Just's past for several years, but remained silent. Several of his colleagues had urged him not to resign, claiming the time that he spent in prison atoned for his past.[8][9][10]
In 1998 he received theJohann-Heinrich-Voß-Preis für Übersetzung.
Publications
[edit]- Zeuge in eigener Sache: Die fünfziger Jahre in der DDR,Berlin:Luchterhand,Morgenbuch, 1990.
- Witness in His Own Cause: The Fifties in the German Democratic Republic,Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1995.
- Deutsch, Jahrgang 1921: Ein Lebensbericht,Potsdam: Verlag für Berlin und Brandenburg, 2001.
References
[edit]- ^Alterspräsident des Brandenburger Landtages verstorbenArchived19 July 2011 at theWayback Machine,Märkische Oderzeitung, 23 February 2011 (German).
- ^ab"Rezension: Sachbuch: Absolute Dummheit?".FAZ.NET(in German). 20 August 2001.ISSN0174-4909.Retrieved3 December2023.
- ^"Faschistische Vergangenheit in der DDR".telegraph(in German). 10 September 2015.Retrieved3 December2023.
- ^Harry Waibel:Diener vieler Herren. Ehemalige NS-Funktionäre in der SBZ/DDR.Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main u. a. 2011,ISBN978-3-631-63542-1,S. 158–159.
- ^markmeyer, bettina (10 March 1992)."Just:" Mitgeschossen "und unschuldig".Die Tageszeitung: taz(in German). p. 4.ISSN0931-9085.Retrieved3 December2023.
- ^Buruma, Ian (2015).The Wages of Guilt: Memories of War in Germany and Japan.New York Review of Books. p. 156.ISBN978-1-59017-858-4.
- ^"Former Nazi quits German Parliament".Tampa Bay Times.Retrieved15 September2023.
- ^"Jewish Leader Ired German State Won't Try Ex-nazi Who Killed Jews".Jewish Telegraphic Agency.20 March 2015.Retrieved6 November2023.
- ^Tagliabue, John (11 March 1992)."Eastern German Quits Over Link to War Atrocity".New York Times.
- ^"Völlig vergessen".Der Spiegel(in German). 15 March 1992.ISSN2195-1349.Retrieved3 December2023.
- 1921 births
- 2011 deaths
- People from Jablonec nad Nisou
- Sudeten German people
- Naturalized citizens of Germany
- Socialist Unity Party of Germany members
- Social Democratic Party of Germany politicians
- Members of the Landtag of Brandenburg
- 20th-century German translators
- 20th-century German male writers
- German male non-fiction writers
- German murderers
- German politicians convicted of crimes
- German prisoners and detainees
- German Army personnel of World War II
- Hitler Youth members
- Recipients of the Iron Cross (1939), 1st class
- Political scandals in Germany
- Prisoners and detainees of East Germany
- Nazi war criminals