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Willi Kreikemeyer (* 1894, † unknown, probably 1950) was a German labourer and a Communist. From 1941 he and his wife Marthe Kreikemeyer were close assistants of Noel Field who supported German anti-Nazi refugees in France and Switzerland.

After the War the settled in East Berlin. In 1949 Kreikemeyer became Director General of the East German railway company Deutsche Reichsbahn.

When in 1950 the slandering campaign against Noel Field started - he was accused of having built an anti-Communist spy network while pretending to be a communist sympathizer - Mr Kreikemeyer was arrested and never seen again. At least one propaganda article against the alleged spy was published in an East German newspaper and a show trial against him was being prepared, but never took place. Mrs Kreikemeyer wrote dozens of letters to the GDR authorities inquiring about her husband's destiny. For seven years the authorities pretended that Mr Kreikemeyer was alive and well, waiting for his trial. Fearing to be arrested as well, Mrs Kreikemeyer escaped to her home country France in 1954. She continued writing her letters. In 1957 she was told Willi Kreikemeyer had died a few days after his imprisonment.

Erich Mielke, later Head of the East German Secret Service, had been responsible for the detainee. In a confidential document he claimed that Kreikemeyer had committed suicide in his prison cell on 31th August 1950. This story is proven to be a lie. But what really happend to Kreikemeyer can hardly be reconstructed. Today it's known that Kreikemeyer named Mielke as one of the persons supported by Noel Field. That information threatened Mielke's career: according to a Soviet order, people, who had spent the war in the West had to resign from public office. (In his official CV Mielke claimed that he had fought in the Red Army). What's more, the collaboration with an "American spy" could even lead to death penalty.
It's therefore likely that Willi Kreikemeyer was murdered on behalf of Erich Mielke.

References

Template:De icon Wolfgang Kießling Leistner ist Mielke. Schatten einer gefälschten Biographie Aufbau Taschenbuch Verlag, Berlin 1998, ISBN 3-7466-8036-0

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-'''Willi Kreikemeyer''' (* 1894, † ''unknown, probably 1950) was a German labourer and a [[communist]]. From 1941 he and his wife ''Marthe Kreikemeyer'' were close assistants of [[Noel Field]] who supported German [[anti-Nazi]] refugees in France and Switzerland.
+'''Willi Kreikemeyer''' (* 1894, † ''unknown, probably'' 1950) was a German labourer and a [[Communist]]. From 1941 he and his wife ''Marthe Kreikemeyer'' were close assistants of [[Noel Field]] who supported German [[anti-Nazi]] refugees in France and Switzerland.
-In 1949 Kreikemeyer became Director General of the [[East German]] railway company [[Deutsche Reichsbahn]].
+After the War the settled in [[East Berlin]]. In 1949 Kreikemeyer became Director General of the [[East German]] railway company [[Deutsche Reichsbahn]].
-When in 1950 the slandering campaign against Noel Field started, Kreikemeyer was arrested. Some propaganda articles were published in East German Newspapers, a show trial against him was being prepared, but never took place.
+When in 1950 the slandering campaign against Noel Field started - he was accused of having built an anti-Communist spy network while pretending to be a communist sympathizer - Mr Kreikemeyer was arrested and never seen again.
-His wife eventually flew to her home country [[France]], but she never stopped writing letters to [[GDR]] authorities, inquiring about her husband's destiny. Only in 1957 she was told that Willi Kreikemeyer had died a few days after his imprisonment.
+At least one propaganda article against the alleged spy was published in an East German newspaper and a show trial against him was being prepared, but never took place. Mrs Kreikemeyer wrote dozens of letters to the [[GDR]] authorities inquiring about her husband's destiny. For seven years the authorities pretended that Mr Kreikemeyer was alive and well, waiting for his trial.
+Fearing to be arrested as well, Mrs Kreikemeyer escaped to her home country [[France]] in 1954. She continued writing her letters. In 1957 she was told Willi Kreikemeyer had died a few days after his imprisonment.
-[[Erich Mielke]],later Head of the East German [[Secret Service]], had been responsible for the detainee. In a confidential document he claimed that Kreikemeyer had committed suicide in his prison cell on 31th August 1950.
-Nowadays it's known that Kreikemeyer named Mielke as one of the persons supported by Noel Field. That Kreikemeyer was murdered on behalf of Mielke is therefore more likely than the suicide story.
+[[Erich Mielke]], later Head of the East German [[Secret Service]], had been responsible for the detainee. In a confidential document he claimed that Kreikemeyer had committed suicide in his prison cell on 31th August 1950. This story is proven to be a lie. But what really happend to Kreikemeyer can hardly be reconstructed.
+Today it's known that Kreikemeyer named Mielke as one of the persons supported by Noel Field. That information threatened Mielke's career: according to a [[Soviet]] order, people, who had spent the war in the West had to resign from [[public office]]. (In his official [[Résumé|CV]] Mielke claimed that he had fought in the [[Red Army]]). What's more,  the collaboration with an "American spy" could even lead to death penalty. <br>
+It's therefore likely that Willi Kreikemeyer was murdered on behalf of Erich Mielke.
+== See also ==
+* [[Erich Mielke]]
+* [[Noel Field]]
 == References ==
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 [[Category:1884 births|Kreikemeyer, Willi]]
 [[Category:German communists|Kreikemeyer, Willi]]
+[[de:Willi Kreikemeyer]]