Christa Zellmer

Christa Zellmer (née Holzheuer; 5 November 1930 – 14 October 2002) was a German politician and party functionary of the Socialist Unity Party (SED).

Christa Zellmer
First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party in Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder)
In office 3 November 1988 – 11 November 1989
Second Secretary	Günter Grell
Preceded by	Hans-Joachim Hertwig
Succeeded by	Bernd Meier
Personal details
Born	Christa Holzheuer (1930-11-05)5 November 1930 Ströbitz, Province of Brandenburg, Free State of Prussia, Weimar Republic (now Cottbus-Ströbitz, Brandenburg, Germany)
Died	14 October 2002(2002-10-14) (aged 71) Frankfurt (Oder), Brandenburg, Germany
Political party	Socialist Unity Party (1947–1989)
Alma mater	"Karl Marx" Party Academy (Dipl.-Ges.-Wiss.)
Occupation	Politician Party Functionary Saleswoman
Awards	Patriotic Order of Merit, 2nd class
Central institution membership 1975–1989: Full member, Central Committee 1971–1975: Candidate member, Central Committee Other offices held 1966–1988: Secretary for Agitation and Propaganda, Socialist Unity Party in Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) 1965–1966: Secretary, Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) Council

One of only a handful of women in the SED's nomenklatura, Zellmer was a member of the Central Committee of the SED and briefly served as First Secretary of the SED in Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) for a year on the eve of the Peaceful Revolution.

Life and career

Early career

Zellmer was born as the daughter of a working-class family. After attending primary school, she completed a commercial apprenticeship and subsequently worked as a retail saleswoman. In 1950, she took over the management of a youth sales outlet in Cottbus.^[1]

In June 1947, she became a member of the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED).^[1][2][3] From 1952 to 1965, she served as the secretary of the Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) Democratic Women's League of Germany (DFD),^[1][4] a SED-controlled mass organization.

After studying at the SED's "Karl Marx" Party Academy and graduating with a diploma in social sciences (Dipl.-Ges.-Wiss.) in 1965,^[1][3] she was assigned as secretary to the Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) Council,^[1] making her a full-time member of the Bezirk government.

In February 1966, she was made secretary for Agitation and Propaganda of the Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) SED,^[1][2][3][5] succeeding Wilfried Maaß,^[1] who had been appointed deputy minister for culture.^[6] In 1967, she was one of only three women among the 119 members of the SED Bezirk secretariats.^[7]

She additionally became a candidate member of the Central Committee of the SED in June 1971 (VIII. Party Congress)^[2][3] and a full member in June 1975,^[3][8] serving until its collective resignation in December 1989.^[1]

During her 22-year tenure as secretary, she wrote two books about Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder).

Zellmer was awarded the Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze in 1969 and in silver in 1976.^[1][9]

Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) SED First Secretary

On 28 September 1988, Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) SED First Secretary Hans-Joachim Hertwig surprisingly died at the age of 60. Second Secretary Günter Grell was unusually passed over in favor of Zellmer, who was elected to succeeded Hertwig on 3 November 1988.^{[1][3][10][11]}

It was the first and only time that a woman became the First Secretary of a Bezirk SED.^[11]

Peaceful Revolution

During the Peaceful Revolution, on 11 November 1989, she and the entire Bezirk Frankfurt (Oder) SED Secretariat resigned,^[1][12][13] citing their shared responsibility for the accumulated problems in the Bezirk as the reason for their resignation.^[13] Zellmer asked Bernd Meier, party secretary at the Schwedt Petrochemical Combine, to succeed her.^[12][13][14]

Reunified Germany

Zellmer passed away in Frankfurt (Oder) in 2002 at the age of 71.^[1]