Hermann Axen

Hermann Axen (6 March 1916 – 15 February 1992) was a German communist politician who held several high-ranking positions in the Socialist Unity Party between 1949 and 1989. He became involved in the German resistance to Nazi rule, spending much of that time in state detention, including Auschwitz. After the war he became a prominent politician in the Soviet occupation zone, reorganized in 1949 as the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). He served as a relatively high-profile member of the powerful Politburo of the Central Committee between 1970 and 1989.

In November 1989, Axen visited Moscow for eye surgery. While he was away, the entire Politburo (of which he was a member) resigned on 8 November 1989, and he too was excluded from it. On his return in January 1990 he was arrested, suspected of corruption and abuse of public office. This dramatic reversal of fortune came during a period of rapid political change. At the time of his death the arrest warrant had been rescinded and the case against him remained unproven, the necessary investigations having been delayed or suspended in response to his declining health. Provided by Wikipedia