born Aug. 25, 1912, Neunkirchen, Ger.
died May 29, 1994, Chile
German communist head of East Germany's Socialist Unity Party (1971–89) and chairman of the Council of State (1976–89).
A member of the German Communist Party, he was imprisoned by the Nazis from 1935 to 1945. In 1946 he cofounded and led the Free German Youth movement in East Germany. In 1961 he oversaw the building of the Berlin Wall . He succeeded Walter Ulbricht as head of East Germany, which under his rule was one of the most repressive but also one of the most prosperous of the Soviet-bloc countries. He allowed the growth of some trade and travel ties with West Germany in return for West German financial aid. He was forced to resign with the collapse of communism in 1989.