Werner Gruner

Werner Gruner (1904–1995) was a small-arms designer, mechanical engineer, university teacher and from 1958 to 1961 rector of the Dresden University of Technology.
Life and work before 1945.
Gruner was born on June 7, 1904 in the village Terpitzsch, then belonging to the municipality Zschadraß, which since January 1, 2011 is part of the town Colditz on the banks of the Zwickauer Mulde near its confluence with the Freiberger Mulde to form the Mulde 3.5 km north of the town.
His father taught in a "Volksschule" and he attended the "Realgymnasium" in Döbeln. In 1923 Gruner ended his secondary education in Leipzig with the abitur and was enrolled at the "Technical University of Dresden" in the same year. He studied mechanical engineering from 1923 to 1928 and after graduating (Dr.-Ing.) worked there as a research assistant for another four years till 1932, when he became a technical designer for the "Metall- und Lackwarenfabrik Johannes Großfuß" ("Metal and lacquer ware factory Johannes Großfuß") in Döbeln.
On May 1, 1933 he joined the NSDAP. In his role as constructor at "Großfuß" during the 1930s Gruner is credited with the invention of the well-known machine gun MG 42, the development of which was ordered by the "Waffenamt" after shortcomings of the MG 34 had been recognized. Named like its predecessor after the year of entry into active service, the MG 42 first supplemented and later replaced the MG 34 in the last years of World War II.
In 1943 Gruner was appointed as lecturer in the field of "non-cutting shaping of sheet metal" at the Braunschweig University of Technology, an appointment to the RWTH Aachen University in late 1944 was hindered by the advance of the Western Allies. In May 1945 he witnessed the arrival of the Red Army in Döbeln.
Post-war decades.
In August 1945 a work commitment was imposed on Gruner by the SMAD and he was later transferred to the Soviet Union as a technical-scientific specialist from 1945 (according to another source 1946) until his return to Dresden in 1950 (according to the other source 1952). Since 1952 he lectured in the field of "manufacturing technology for chipless shaping" at the TU Dresden, in 1953 he became a full professor of mechanical engineering and in 1969 the head of the "Institute of Agricultural Machinery Engineering".
Gruner received "emeritus" status in 1969, but held lectures at the Dresden University of Technology until 1978. He died in Dresden and his grave is located in the cemetery "Waldfriedhof Weißer Hirsch" in the eastern borough of Loschwitz above the right bank of the Elbe.
Awards.
Gruner received in 1940 and 1944 the War Merit Cross Second Class and the War Merit Cross First Class, respectively, and in 1944 the Dr. Fritz Todt-prize in silver.
In 1959 Gruner received the Patriotic Order of Merit, 1961 the National Prize of the GDR second class and in 1969 the Order of Banner of Labor. In 1972 he obtained the honorary degree "Dr. Ing. h.c." from the College of Agriculture Engineering in Rostov-on-Don. In 1979 he was appointed "Honorary Senator" of the TU Dresden and in the same year received the "Dr. h.c." from the Wilhelm Pieck University in Rostock.