Gustav Just
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Gustav Just | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 1954 meeting of German and Soviet writers and scientists | |
| Born | 16 June 1921 |
| Died | 23 February 2011 (aged 89) Brandenburg, Germany |
| Occupation | Journalist |
Gustav Just (16 June 1921 – 23 February 2011)[1] was the first Secretary of the German Writers' Association (DSV) (German: Deutscher Schriftstellerverband) and editor-in-chief of the East German weekly Sonntag until 1957.
Just was born in Northern Bohemia. His father was a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.[2]
After graduating from high school in 1940, Just volunteered to join the Wehrmacht. During World War II, he participated in the invasion of the Soviet Union. He was wounded twice in combat, and reached the rank of lieutenant. On 15 July 1941, Just, then 20, participated in the firing squad of six Jews rounded up from a village near Kholm, an incident which he recorded in his diary. According to the entry, Just had been told that the men, whom Ukrainian villagers described as "Jewish terrorists", were criminals who'd attacked a Ukrainian family and killed her husband. In his entry, he wrote: "It's a strange feeling to shoot a person for the first time. And if it's a criminal." He was promoted after the killings.[2]
Over the course of the war, he received the Iron Cross First Class, Infantry Assault Badge, Eastern Medal, and the Black Wound Badge.[3][4]
