Daniela Dahn (born 9 October 1949, in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

) is a German writer, journalist and essayist. Since the reunification of Germany in 1990, Dahn has been an outspoken critic of the reunification process.Rado Pribić
The trouble with German unification: essays on Daniela Dahn
NoRa-Novitäten & Raritäten, 2008, Her highly personal style of writing, and her strident political opinions, have stirred controversy within Germany, but Dahn, who considered herself a dissident within East Germany before 1989, advocates for a critical journalism that continues the democratic tradition of challenging the government and policies of reunified Germany.

Biography

Dahn is the daughter of the journalist Karl-Heinz Gerstner and fashion journalist Sibylle Gerstner, founder of the East German

fashion magazine Fashion journalism is a component of fashion media, with a focus on writing and photojournalism. Fashion journalists write about fashion events, trends and have to cultivate and maintain a relationship with stylists and designers. A fashion journ ...

"Sibyl", and the older sister of Sonja Gerstner, who famously documented her own mental illness and the professional treatment she received. Dahn was born just two days after the founding of the East German state. Dahn was brought up in Kleinmachnow, Brandenburg in what was then

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. Daniela Dahn studied journalism in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

and then worked as a television journalist, editing for GDR Television, before turning to freelance writing in 1981. In 1989 Dahn became one of the founders of the GDR opposition group Democratic Awakening. She later withdrew from it. The Party of Democratic Socialism controversially introduced Dahn as one of their two candidates for the office of

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

judge in Brandenburg, in 1998. Her nomination was challenged by the Social Democratic Party of Germany and her candidacy was retracted at the last moment, after heated debate among the parties of the Brandenburg state parliament. Dahn serves on the Executive Board of the writers' association

PEN A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity wh ...

and lectures internationally. Dahn is also on the Advisory Board of the Humanist Union, and has held the post of Writer in Residence at

Sunderland University , mottoeng = Sweetly absorbing knowledge , established = 1901 - Sunderland Technical College1969 - Sunderland Polytechnic1992 - University of Sunderland (gained university status) , staff = , chancellor = Emeli ...

in the UK. In addition, Dahn is co-editor of the weekly newspaper '' der Fritag''. Her husband Jochen Laabs was from 1999 to 2001 Vice-President of PEN Center in Germany. Along with

Christa Wolf Christa Wolf (; née Ihlenfeld; 18 March 1929 – 1 December 2011) was a German novelist and essayist.
Barbara Gard ...

, with whom she has collaborated in the past, Dahn was seen as a possible choice by Die Linke as their candidate for

President of Germany The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...

in the 2009 presidential election.

Peter Sodann Peter Sodann (born 1 June 1936 in Meissen, Saxony) is a German actor, director and politician. He was the Left Party's nominee for the 2009 presidential election, but was not considered a serious candidate by the German media. Early life Sodann ...

was eventually chosen instead.

Controversy

In February 2023, Dahn was among the initial signers of a petition calling for an end to military support to

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

in the wake of the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...

Works

* ''Prenzlauer Berg-Tour.'' Mitteldeutscher Verlag Halle/Leipzig 1987, * ''Wir bleiben hier oder Wem gehört der Osten''. Pol. Sachbuch, Reinbek 1994, * ''Westwärts und nicht vergessen. Vom Unbehagen in der Einheit'', Essay. Berlin 1996, * ''Vertreibung ins Paradies. Unzeitgemäße Texte zur Zeit'', Essays. Reinbek 1998, * ''In guter Verfassung. Wieviel Kritik braucht die Demokratie?'', Essay u. Dokum., Reinbek 1999, * ''Wenn und Aber. Anstiftungen zum Widerspruch''. Essays. Reinbek 2002, * ''Demokratischer Abbruch, Von Trümmern und Tabus'', Essays, Reinbek 2005, * ''Wehe dem Sieger! Ohne Osten kein Westen'', Rowohlt, 2009,

Awards

* Ludwig Börne Prize (''Ludwig-Börne-Preis''), 2004 * Louise Schroeder Medal (''Louise-Schroeder-Medaille''), 2002 * Kurt Tucholsky Prize (''Tucholsky-Preis''), 1999 * Fontane Prize (''Fontane-Preis''), 1988 * Berlin Prize (''Berlin-Preis''), 1987

References

External links

* Daniela Dahn website: http://www.danieladahn.de/ * Daniela Dahn’s author page at Rowohlt: http://www.rowohlt.de/autorin/daniela-dahn.html * Video: Daniela Dahn on the Ukrainian Crisis: �
Daniela Dahn: NATO finanzierte ukrainischen Ministerpräsidenten Jazenjuk
- Kontext TV” {{DEFAULTSORT:Dahn, Daniela 1949 births Living people Writers from East Berlin Writers from Berlin Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany) politicians Aufstehen East German writers East German women German essayists German women journalists German women essayists German women poets 20th-century German women 21st-century German women