 He did reserveofficertraining in the German Airborne troops (Fallschirmjäger) until his fiftys.In 1969, he became a member of the SPD.He was a founder of the "JuSo Hochschulgruppen" (Young Socialist Student Groups) and acted as chairman of the General Students Committee (AStA) at the Saarbrücken University, and from there was elected to the federal executive of the Verband Deutscher Studentenschaften, the national confederation of the General Students Committees.