Siegfried Böhm

Böhm was born in Plauen on 20 August 1928.^[1] He received a degree in economics.^[2]

Böhm was appointed the finance minister in December 1966, succeeding Willy Rumpf in the post.^[2] Böhm's term lasted until 1980.^[1] He was among the central committee members of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany.^[3] He was also a member of the Working Group Balance of Payments from 1974 to 1980.^[1] Böhm was one of the first officials who alerted the East German authorities about the negative consequences of the indebtedness to the Western countries.^[1][4] He also criticized the illegal currency and gold transactions carried out in the country.^[5]

Böhm died at his home in Berlin-Karlshorst on 4 May 1980.^[1][6] The East German officials reported on the next day that his wife shot him during a quarrel and then she committed suicide.^[3][7] The official paper Neues Deutschland argued that Böhm and his wife died in an accident without giving any further details about the incident.^[8] One week later their children issued an obituary in a state-controlled paper.^[8]

Böhm was buried in a state ceremony.^[8] He was succeeded by Werner Schmieder as finance minister in June 1980.^[9][10]

It was revealed in 2003 as a result of the investigations that Böhm was in fact killed by an East German hit squad due to his potential reports about the bankruptcy faced in East Germany.^[7] His wife was also murdered by the squad to fabricate the official story of his death.^[7]

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