Lieutenant in the Black Reichswehr: An illegal paramilitary organization in the Weimar Republic.

Member of the Stahlhelm: A conservative-nationalist paramilitary organization.

Youth worker at the Reichsnährstand: An organization responsible for agricultural policy during the Nazi regime.

Member of the SA (Sturmabteilung): From November 1933 to March 1934.

Member of the SS (Schutzstaffel): Became an applicant in November 1936 and was an accepted member by 1940.

Member of the NSDAP (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei): Joined in 1939/1940.

Founding member of the "Green List Schleswig-Holstein": Which later contributed to the formation of the Green Party.

Involved in the founding of the federal party "Die Grünen" (The Greens): Left the party in 1980 due to ideological differences.