Heinz Kessler

Heinz Kessler or Heinz Keßler (26 January 1920 – 2 May 2017) was a former East German communist politician, military officer and a convicted felon. He is known for his role in political repression in East Germany prior to the communist regime's downfall in 1989.
In East Germany, he held the rank of "Armeegeneral" in the National People's Army ("Nationale Volksarmee") and was Minister of Defense of the GDR, a member of the "Politbüro" of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), and a deputy of the GDR's "Volkskammer" (parliament).
Convicted for his role in the crimes of the communist regime, he was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison after German reunification, and served his sentence in Hakenfelde Prison. He was released from prison in 1998 after serving only five years.
Kessler was expelled from the Party of Democratic Socialism in 1990. In 2009, he joined the German Communist Party (DKP). He was a DKP candidate in the Berlin state election, 2011. Kessler died 2 May 2017 at the age of 97.