Heinz Gronau

1. Buchenwald concentration camp
   Dates unknown

Heinz Gronau (1 January 1912 – 28 October 1977) was a communist resistance activist during the years Hilter was in power. He was transferred to Buchenwald concentration camp in 1938. At the concentration camp he became a leading figure in the (covert and illegal) "International Buchenwald Military Organisation" ("Internationale Militärorganisation Buchenwald"). He survived the war and in 1946 joined the (semi-militarised) police service in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany. A succession of promotions followed. In 1966 he was promoted to the rank of Major general in the East German Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment. During the final years of his career he combined his overtly military posting with command of the National Department I ("Hauptabteilung I") at the Ministry for State Security ("Stasi"). The department was a specialist intelligence section of the ministry, tasked with attending to the intelligence needs of the ministry's armed units.