Hans Modrow, who has died aged 95, was the last communist prime minister of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) before free elections took place in March 1990. Taking office at the height of the peaceful revolution in 1989, Modrow immediately set up a grand coalition government of all five parties, giving up his leading role in the Socialist Unity party (SED). He set out to reform the command economy, developed new ideas about education and within weeks dissolved the state security apparatus (the Stasi).
Modrow had long been a popular figure in the party hierarchy and was known for his tolerance, innovative approach and lack of dogmatism. He was one of the few leaders who publicly criticised the longtime SED chief Erich Honecker. Such attitudes did not endear him to the leadership, who were also suspicious of his popularity.
When the first anti-government demonstrations started in Dresden in October 1989, it was Modrow (then head of the regional ruling party) who, against the will of the government, supported a dialogue between the demonstrators, the state and the church (a mediator in the protests).
Even before these events Modrow had built up a reputation of constructive criticism, questioning the ossified attitude of the East German leadership, which led some to dub him “East Germany’s own Gorbachev”. In early 1987, the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and the KGB had even explored the possibility of engineering Honecker’s replacement by Modrow.
While the old ruling party and government structures in East Germany were collapsing as a result of the protests during 1989, Modrow was a unifying figure. He became prime minister four days after the Berlin Wall was opened that November in a panic reaction by the previous government.
His overall aim was to prevent the country from descending into chaos. He worked to ensure that the transformation would be a peaceful one and organised in such a manner that people’s lives, jobs and communities would be protected. He was keen to avoid too rapid a unification process, fearing, rightly as it turned out, that the implosion of the country’s infrastructures would mean a takeover by the much stronger Federal Republic, rather than a gradual merging of two different systems.
On 30 January 1990, Gorbachev and Modrow met in Moscow for an exchange of ideas on the situation in the GDR. Gorbachev let drop that he saw no reason why the GDR and the Federal Republic should not be united. This was the first time Moscow had mentioned unification. The next day, on 1 February 1990, Modrow proposed a slow, three-stage process towards unification to create a neutral Germany. Yet this was rejected by the West German government, which viewed Gorbachev’s shifted position regarding unification as a green light to disregard Modrow’s demand for neutrality.
The West German chancellor Helmut Kohl was determined to push through unification as fast as possible and thus become the hero of the day; and Gorbachev was prepared to give Kohl what he wanted, on the understanding that the latter would provide the Soviet Union with desperately needed economic support. Under this scenario Modrow’s plan to safeguard the rights and achievements of the GDR in a unification process of two equal states was crushed. He set out details of this process in his 2008 book Perestroika and Germany. The Truth Behind the Myths.
During his short time in office (until the elections of 18 March 1990), Modrow was courageous and innovative in setting up a “Round Table”, a grassroots governing body that drew in all significant political forces in the GDR, including the new oppositional parties and organisations – something that was unique in German history. Among other things, the Round Table drafted a completely new constitution for a united Germany which was, however, rejected by Kohl.
The third child of Franz Modrow, a seafarer, and his wife, Agnes (nee Krause), Hans was born in Jasenitz – today Jasienica in Poland. He left the local secondary school aged 14, and began training as a machine fitter. But before he could complete this training he was drafted into Hitler’s Volkssturm militia as a 17-year-old and despatched to the eastern front.
His brief service came to an end as the Red Army swept through Stettin and he became one of thousands to be captured. In March 1946, he was sent to a PoW camp near Moscow, where he joined an anti-fascist school set up by the Red Army. He was released in 1949 and like many others, returned to Germany determined to help build a new, democratic and anti-fascist country.
He returned to his old career as a machine tool fitter for a big locomotive manufacturing company. There he became politically active, first in the GDR’s socialist youth movement, rose through the ranks of the ruling SED and eventually, in 1973, became its regional secretary in Dresden, East Germany’s third-largest city. He won widespread respect for his honesty and modest lifestyle.
After German reunification, Modrow served first as a member of the Bundestag and later as an MEP. He was made honorary chair of Die Linke (the Left party) and remained an active participant in the political life of Germany until he died. He was consulted by South Korean and other governments about his experience of unifying a divided country.
Modrow’s wife, Annemarie (nee Straubing), whom he married in 1950, died in 2003, and two of their three children also predeceased him.
He is survived by his partner, Gabriele Lindner, and his daughter Tamara.
• Hans Modrow, politician, born 27 January 1928; died 11 February 2023
