Heinrich Homann was born the son of a shipping company director in Bremerhaven in 1905.

He eventually rose to the rank of Major in the Heer and fought on the Eastern Front in World War II.

During his time as a prisoner of war, Homann became a member of the anti-Nazi National Committee for a Free Germany.

After the war, Homann returned to Soviet-occupied Germany and embarked on a political career.

He joined the National Democratic Party (NDPD), which largely represented former members of the Nazi Party and helped bind them to the state ideology of the German Democratic Republic.