Gert Bastian | |
|---|---|
 Bastian in 1987 | |
| Member of theBundestag | |
| In office 29 March 1983 – 18 February 1987 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1923-03-26)26 March 1923 Munich,Weimar Republic |
| Died | October 1992 (aged 69) Bonn, Germany |
| Political party | Christian Social Union (1950s) German Green Party (1983–1987) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany (to 1945) Federal Republic of Germany |
| Service | German Army Bundeswehr |
| Years of service | 1941–45; 1956–80 |
| Rank | Generalmajor |
| Unit | 12th Tank Division |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
Gert Bastian (26 March 1923 –c. 1 October 1992) was a German military officer and politician with theGerman Green Party.[1]
Born inMunich, Bastian volunteered for theWehrmacht in 1941, at the age of nineteen.[2] InWorld War II he served on theEastern Front, being wounded by a bullet in the right arm and in the head by a grenade fragment. He was also hit by American machine gun fire in France.
After the war, he started a business that failed and then rejoined the military. From 1956 to 1980 Bastian served in theBundeswehr—joining as a first lieutenant, promoted in 1962 to the position of general staff officer/officer in the army command staff, and in 1974 promoted to the rank ofBrigadier General, chief of staff in the army office—ending his service as adivisional commander with the rank ofMajor General.[3] During this period Bastian's politics changed radically. In the 1950s he had been a member of theChristian Social Union in his nativeBavaria. Yet Bastian was also an opponent of the planned stationing of medium-range missiles with nuclear warheads in Europe and joined the peace movement.[4]
In 1980, he outlined those views in a memorandum to the West German government, asking to retire in the face of what he considered unacceptable military policies; his request was rejected and he resigned.[5] In 1981 he was the joint founder of a group called "Generals for Peace".[6] In the 26 April 1994 edition ofThe Independent newspaper, Günter Bohnsack, who spent 26 years in theActive Measures Department of theStasi, claimed that "Generals for Peace was conceived, organised and financed by the Stasi ... This created a real power that was in line with Moscow's ideas ... and we always controlled this through our intelligence services in Moscow and East Berlin."[7]
In the 1980s, Bastian was, together with his partnerPetra Kelly, one of the most important West German supporters of the opposition in theGerman Democratic Republic.[8]
On 19 October 1992, the decomposing bodies of Bastian and Kelly were discovered in the bedroom of their house inBonn by police officials after they received a call from both Bastian's wife and Kelly's grandmother who reported that they had not heard from either Bastian or Kelly for a few weeks. The police asserted that Kelly was shot dead while sleeping by Bastian, who then died of suicide. Police estimated the deaths had most likely occurred on 1 October, but the exact time of death could not be pinpointed due to the delay in finding the bodies and their resultant state of decomposition. Neither Bastian nor Kelly left any written message or other evidence useful to explain the reason of the homicide-suicide. Theories have been put forward that Bastian was afraid of an imminent opening ofStasi files revealing his role as an agent of theEast German secret police, but no such evidence has emerged.[9]
Bastian was buried in theNordfriedhof inSchwabing, Munich.[10]
Media related toGert Bastian at Wikimedia Commons| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by GeneralmajorPaul-Georg Kleffel | Commander of12th Panzer Division (Bundeswehr) 1 October 1976 – 21 January 1980 | Succeeded by GeneralmajorGerd-Helmut Komossa |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
