Erich Honecker agenda now being the composition of the Politburo. Krenz and Mielke attempted by telephone on the night of 16 October to win other Politburo members over to remove Honecker. At the beginning of the session on 17 October, Honecker asked his routine question of “Are there any suggestions for the agenda?” Stoph replied, "Please, General Secretary, Erich, I propose that a new item be placed on the agenda. It is the release of Erich Honecker as General Secretary and the election of Egon Krenz in his place." Honecker reportedly calmly responded: "Well, then I open the debate". All those present
Erich Bär German DKP and the West Berlin Socialist Unity Party of West Berlin. Bär retired in 1972. Erich Bär Erich Bär (born May 23, 1916 in Dresden; died April 5, 2005) was a resistance against Nazism and later Lieutenant Colonel of Ministry of State Security (Stasi) of the GDR. He was, from 1957 to 1972 head of the executive offices of the Stasi in East Berlin. Bär, son of a worker made after Volksschule a training for tinsmith and plumber. Early on, he was active in communist organizations and was 1931-1935 a functionary in the Young Communist League of Germany. After