Klaus Gysi (3 March 1912 – 6 March 1999) was a journalist and publisher and a member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

against the Nazis. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he became a politician in the

German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...

, serving in the government as Minister of Culture from 1966 to 1973, and from 1979 to 1988, as the State Secretary for Church Affairs. He was a member of the Socialist Unity Party (SED) and after German Reunification, the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS). His son is the German politician Gregor Gysi.

Life

Gysi was born in Neukölln, a borough of

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 ...

, Germany. His father was a doctor3. März 1912 - DDR-Politiker Klaus Gysi wird geboren: Ein Fanatiker, mit dem sich reden lässt

Westdeutscher Rundfunk Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (''West German Broadcasting Cologne''; WDR, ) is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the conso ...

(March 3, 2012). Retrieved October 16, 2013 and his mother a bookkeeper. He attended grade school and Gymnasium in Neukölln and in 1928, joined the Young Communist League of Germany, the

Workers International Relief The Workers International Relief (WIR) — also known as Internationale Arbeiter-Hilfe (IAH) in German and as Международная рабочая помощь (Mezhdunarodny Rabochy Komitet Pomoshchi Golodayushchim Rossii − Mezhrabpom) in R ...

and the Sozialistischer Schülerbund. He received his Abitur from the

Odenwaldschule The Odenwaldschule was a German school located in Heppenheim in the Odenwald. Founded in 1910, it was Germany's oldest '' Landerziehungsheim'', a private boarding school located in a rural setting. Edith and Paul Geheeb established it using ...

in Darmstadt in 1931, and that same year, joined the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

(KPD). From 1931 to 1935, he studied social economics in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

in Paris, and in Berlin. He became active in the left-wing students' movement in 1931 and in 1935; he was expelled from

Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

. He went to

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

, England in 1936 and later, to Paris, France, where in 1939, he became one of the student leaders of the Communist Party there. He was then detained in France from 1939 to 1940, afterward returning to Germany on order of the KPD, accompanied by his wife, Irene.''Dem Heldenkind gehört die Zukunft.''
In: ''taz.'' 5. August 2005. In Berlin, Gysi worked at the publisher Hoppenstedt & Co. and was involved in underground political activities against the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. After the war, Gysi joined the SED. From 1945 to 1948, he was the editor-in-chief of the monthly ''Aufbau: Kulturpolitische Monatsschrift''. From 1945 to 1977, he was a member of the presidium council, the federal secretary and lastly, a member of the presidium of the

Cultural Association of the GDR The Cultural Association of the GDR (german: Kulturbund der DDR, KB) was a federation of local clubs in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It formed part of the Socialist Unity Party-led National Front, and sent representatives to the Volksk ...

. From 1949 to 1954, he was a representative in the GDR's parliament, the

People's Chamber __NOTOC__ The Volkskammer (, ''People's Chamber'') was the unicameral legislature of the German Democratic Republic (colloquially known as East Germany). The Volkskammer was initially the lower house of a bicameral legislature. The upper house w ...

. From 1952 to 1957, he worked at the publishing house Verlag Volk und Wissen, afterward succeeding

Walter Janka Walter Janka (29 April 1914 – 17 March 1994) was a German communist, political activist and writer who became a publisher. Janka is notable for having spent time incarcerated as a political prisoner under the rule of the Nazis and later impri ...

as head of Aufbau-Verlag, working there until 1966. In 1963, Gysi became a member of the West Commission of the Politburo of the SED's Central Committee. From January 1966 to 1973, he was the Minister for Culture, a member of the

Council of Ministers of East Germany The Council of Ministers (German: ''Ministerrat der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik'') was the cabinet and executive branch of the German Democratic Republic from November 1950 until the country was reunified on 3 October 1990.Starcevi, Nesha ...

and the Culture Commission of the Central Committee's Politburo. From 1967 to March 1990, he again served as a representative in the People's Chamber. From 1973 to 1978, Gysi was ambassador to Italy,

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

and

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. From December 1978 to 1979, he was the General Secretary of the GDR's Committee for European Security and Cooperation, which prepared for GDR's participation in the

Helsinki Accords The Helsinki Final Act, also known as Helsinki Accords or Helsinki Declaration was the document signed at the closing meeting of the third phase of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) held in Helsinki, Finland, between ...

. In November 1979 Gysi succeeded Hans Seigewasser as the State Secretary for Church Affairs, remaining in this position until his retirement in 1988. After the

Fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of eve ...

, Gysi became a member of the PDS in 1990.

Personal

Gysi was married three times and had seven children. His first wife, Irene (née Lessing) (1912-2007) was the sister of Gottfried Lessing, and sister-in-law of Doris Lessing. They divorced in 1958. Their daughter, Gabriele Gysi (*1946), is an actress. She moved to the former

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

in 1985. Their son

Gregor Gregor is a masculine given name. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People * Gregor Abel (born 1949), Scottish footballer * Gregor Adlercreutz (1898–1944), Swedish equestrian * Gregor Aichinger (c. 1565–1628), G ...

(*1948), a lawyer, was head of the PDS from 1989 to 1993 and is today one of the most prominent politicians in Germany's Left Party.

Recognition and honors

In 1969, Gysi was awarded the

Banner of Labor The Banner of Labor () was an order issued in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was given for "excellent and long-standing service in strengthening and consolidating the GDR, especially for achieving outstanding results for the national e ...

; in 1970, he received the Memorial Medal of the Ministerium für Staatssicherheit and the

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

Memorial Medal. In 1972, he was awarded the

Patriotic Order of Merit The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...

; in 1977, the

Order of Karl Marx The Order of Karl Marx () was the most important order in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The award of the order also included a prize of 20,000 East German marks. The order was founded on May 5, 1953 on the occasion of Karl Marx's 135th ...

; and in 1982, he received the honor clasp of the Patriotic Order of Merit. In 1987, he was awarded the

Star of People's Friendship The Star of People's Friendship (german: Stern der Völkerfreundschaft), Star of Nations' Friendship, was an order awarded by the German Democratic Republic German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Ge ...

and received an

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from the

University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gysi, Klaus 1912 births 1999 deaths Politicians from Berlin German people of Jewish descent Communist Party of Germany politicians Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany) politicians Government ministers of East Germany Members of the Provisional Volkskammer Members of the 1st Volkskammer Members of the 5th Volkskammer Members of the 6th Volkskammer Members of the 7th Volkskammer Members of the 8th Volkskammer Members of the 9th Volkskammer Cultural Association of the GDR members Ambassadors of East Germany to Italy Cold War diplomats People of the Stasi Communists in the German Resistance Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit (honor clasp) Recipients of the Banner of Labor People from Neukölln

Life

Personal

Recognition and honors

References

Further reading

External links