Gustav Ernst Hans Jendretzky (20 July 1897 – 2 July 1992)[citation needed] was a German Communist politician. He was a prominent politician of the Socialist Unity Party (SED) in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
Hans Jendretzky
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|---|---|
 | |
| Chairman of the Free German Trade Union Federation | |
| In office 1946–1948 | |
| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | Herbert Warnke |
| Member of the Volkskammer | |
| In office 1958 – 1989 1950 – 1954 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 July 1897 Berlin, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire |
| Died | 2 July 1992 (1992-07-03) (aged 94) Berlin, Germany |
| Political party | SED |
| Occupation | Politician |
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He became a member of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany in 1919 and of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) in 1920. In the 1920s, he was one of the most prominents members of the KPD, and was head of the Roter Frontkämpferbund in Berlin. He was a member of the Parliament of Prussia from 1928 to 1932. In 1934, he was sentenced to three years of prison, being charged with "conspiracy to commit high treason."[1]
After World War II, he became active in communist politics in the Soviet Occupation Zone, and was president of the Free German Trade Union Federation (FDGB) 1946-1948, First Secretary (head) of the East Berlin SED district from 1948 to 1953. He was a candidate to the politburo from 1950, deputy minister of the Interior from 1957 to 1960, a member of the SED central committee 1957-1989, member of the Volkskammer 1950-1954 and 1958-1989.
Jendretzky famously denounced the Freedom Bell in western Berlin, a gift from Americans as a sign of the fight against communism in Europe, as the "death bell", warning: "The rope of the death bell will become the gallows rope for those who ring it."[2]