Themen
- Volksaufstand 17. Juni 1953
- Flucht/Fluchthilfe
- Mauerbau 13. August 1961
- Umbruchserfahrungen seit 1989/90
- Wirtschaft/Landwirtschaft
Sprache
- Englisch
Biographical information
1937 Born in Berlin-Pankow
1942–1945 Evacuated to Mecklenburg together with his family
1945–1952 Attended primary school in Berlin-Pankow
1953–1956 Completed a technical apprenticeship
Witnessed the Uprising in East Berlin on 17 June 1953
1956–1959 Completed business management training
1959–1962 Completed a course of study at the Berlin Academy of Arts in Berlin-Charlottenburg (degree in design)
January 1961 Escaped to West Berlin
1962–1964 Worked in the clothing industry
1964–1970 Worked in sales and distribution
1970–1983 Worked as a sales manager, key account manager and management coach for companies in the German consumer goods sector
1983–2005 Owner of a consulting agency for marketing, sales and training in the state of Hesse
Since 2005 Retired
Profile
Heinz Puhlmann had witnessed the nights in the bomb shelters in Berlin from 1940–1942, before his family was evacuated to Mecklenburg-Hither Pomerania and, in a rather turbulent episode, returned to Berlin in 1945.
He grew up in Berlin’s Pankow district under immediate post-war conditions, attended primary school there and was subsequently admitted to the Wilhelm Pieck Secondary School, even though his parents were not part of the so-called "worker-peasant class". When he was the only one in his year to refuse to join the Free German Youth (FDJ) or assume any other social or political responsibilities, the school administration expelled him.
After his applications for professional training at state-owned enterprises were all rejected, he embarked on a technical apprenticeship with a private company. It was during this time that he witnessed the East Berlin Uprising of 17 June 1953 first hand.
His application to the Engineering School for Clothing Technology (which today is part of the Berlin University of Applied Sciences – HTW), failed due to the renewed request for him to enlist with the National People’s Army (NVA) as a long(er)-term volunteer. Finally, in 1959, he started a course of study in design at the Academy of Arts in West Berlin, graduating in 1962.
Heinz Puhlmann was a first-hand witness to the construction of the Berlin Wall at the sector boundaries after his escape to West Berlin in 1961. After spending several more years in the divided city, he decided to move to Hanover in West Germany with his family in 1969, before moving again, this time to the state of Hesse.
During the 1990s, Heinz Puhlmann worked as a staff trainer for West German companies operating in eastern Germany, while also gaining a thorough insight into the work of the privatisation agency known as the Treuhandanstalt (or just Treuhand).